Supernova (MIT Press Essential Knowledge)

A solid entry in MIT Press's pocket-sized 'essential knowledge' series, introducing supernovas. (The author would not like my use of this plural: he sniffily comments that 'although "supernovas" is sometimes used in popular media, it is seldom used by astronomers'. This is because 'nova' comes from the Latin - which it does - but perhaps it's worth pointing out we are writing in English, not Latin.) A supernova can be one of several different types of collapsing/exploding stars: Or Graur gives us a good deal of detail on current best ideas on the different ways a supernova can form and behave.Along the way, we are introduced to the history of our noticing supernovas, the role of star remnants in distributing the heavier elements across the universe and how astronomers use supernovas as standard candles to measure great distances (amongst other things). Graur is unusually flexible for an astronomer here, allowing that dark energy is based on distinctly uncertain data (derived from supernova observations), though elsewhere he refers to dark matter with no suggestion that this too has uncertainty about its existence. Unusually for these books there is a glossy colour plate section in the middle, allowing for much clearer images than is normally possible on conventional paper, which was real benefit.Graur also makes it clear (with relish) that there are plenty of questions left for astronomers and astrophysicists still to answer about these phenomena. Superficially there is nothing very surprising in this book, but there is considerably more up-to-date detail than would usually be presented in a title pitched at the general reader. This has its good side - we find out, for example, about exotic supernova types that will not usually get a mention - but it also has a less useful aspect as there is, if anything, too much detail on each type, meaning that the writing can get more like a bullet-pointed fact sheet than a readable narrative.There is a real problem, which Graur highlights without realising the consequences in his introduction. He tells us 'For too long, popular culture has focused on a handful of famous, eccentric, or controversial scientists... In reality, there are tens of thousands of scientists spread across the world... To combat this pernicious stereotype, I have sought to highlight the global and collaborative nature of astronomy and refrained from gossiping about the astrophysicists mentioned in this book.' Of course the collaborative aspect is true - but what Graur unfortunately seems to miss is that stories need insights into individual humans - by largely sticking to impersonal facts you also produce uninspiring writing. It's a paradox - we do need to emphasise the wide-ranging collaboration, but also to provide specific stories of real people's individual work if a book is to be accessible.I read most of this book while in a public space, which highlighted to me the worst thing about the series format. Every few pages, a whole page is black with a short pull quote in large white letters. These don't add anything at all - and the quotes themselves are rarely thrilling (for example 'Today hundreds of astronomers routinely discover thousands of supernovae each year'). I found it quite embarrassing for these things to be visible to those around me, as if I were reading a children's book and rushed past them.An effective, up-to-date summary for those who want more detail on supernovas than is usually found in a popular science book.