Derek Ward-Thompson

This groundbreaking book brings the cosmos to life like never before. Featuring more than two hundred stunning color photographs from the world’s leading observatories and eighty detailed diagrams, this large-format book offers a mesmerizing journey through the formation, nature, evolution, and classification of galaxies. Highlights include: • A look at the universe in three dimensions with Brian May’s patented 3-D viewer, • Accessible science, offering a non-mathematical review of modern cosmology and astronomy • An exploration of the chaotic beauty of colliding and merging galaxies, • A reference section on historical galaxy catalogues, plus a comprehensive index. Authored by renowned astrophysicist Derek Ward-Thompson and the world’s most famous astronomer Dr Brian May, with ground-breaking stereos by J-P MetsÄvainio, Islands of Infinity is a must-have for anyone fascinated by the night sky. Co-published with London Stereoscopic Company. The University of Arizona Press is pleased to offer this title in North America.

Guiding the reader through all the stages that lead to the formation of a star such as our Sun, this advanced textbook provides students with a complete overview of star formation. It examines the underlying physical processes that govern the evolution from a molecular cloud core to a main-sequence star, and focuses on the formation of solar-mass stars. Each chapter combines theory and observation, helping readers to connect with and understand the theory behind star formation. Beginning with an explanation of the interstellar medium and molecular clouds as sites of star formation, subsequent chapters address the building of typical stars and the formation of high-mass stars, concluding with a discussion of the by-products and consequences of star formation. This is a unique, self-contained text with sufficient background information for self-study, and is ideal for students and professional researchers alike.