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. '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.............................................................................
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........................................... 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.
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........................................... Praise for Our Accidental UniverseA 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
