Our Accidental Universe

An astonishing tour of the key astronomical events of the past century, and of all the accidents and human error involved in our pursuit of asteroids, radio waves, new stars and alien life. *Now updated to include a new Afterword.*'A riveting real-life Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.' Telegraph'‘An enjoyable tour of astronomical discoveries…His excellent book is a layman’s guide to the surprises’ - Daily Mail'Lintott's boundless enthusiasm for everything cosmic makes it hard to put this book away once you start reading.' BBC Sky at Night Magazine'Entertaining and enlightening' - The Idler.....................................................................................................................................................................................................The BBC presenter of 'Sky at Night', and Gresham Professor of Astronomy, Chris Lintott, takes us on an astonishing tour of bizarre accidents, big characters, and human error to tell the story of some of the most important astronomical events of the past hundred years.- Our first views of the earliest galaxies were brought to us by the Hubble Space Telescope when it was pointed at absolutely nothing.- The ice-covered Enceladus, one of Saturn's nearly one hundred moons, was revealed as a possible habitat for life after a by-chance fly by of NASA's Cassini probe on a mission elsewhere.- Pulsars, the spectacular remnants of long-dead massive stars, were discovered as 'scruff' in the data for measurements of the twinkling of possible radio stars.As new telescopes are built on mountaintops and in deserts around the world, aiming to transform our view of the universe once more, Chris Lintott shows us that keeping an open mind will benefit us all - whatever might still be out there for us to find.........................................................................................................................Praise for Our Accidental Universe'A scientific tour de force.' Dr Becky Smethurst'Highly recommended.' Tristan Gooley'Extravagantly entertaining ... warmly informative.' Lev Parikian'A fascinating look at the strange and alien side of space.' Dr Lucy RogersMore praise for Chris Lintott'Superbly written insights.' - Professor Brian Cox'Chris Lintott is a modest genius. He has quietly revolutionized modern astronomy.' Brian May'Lintott deftly interweaves personal experience and more philosophical ruminations.' Michael West, Nature