Death Stars, Weird Galaxies, and a Quasar-Spangled Universe: The Discoveries of the Very Large Array Telescope

Karen Taschek

In 1931, Karl Jansky was hired by AT&T to search for sources of static that might interfere with radio waves for transatlantic communications. Jansky identified static from thunderstorms and random radio noise from devices on Earth, but he also found a radio hiss from the Milky Way galaxy.

After World War II, astronomers constructed more radio telescopes with greater sensitivity to faint radio signals from space. In the 1970s, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory built the Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope, on the plains of San Agustin, New Mexico. The VLA is well equipped to hunt for strange objects and solve astronomical mysteries.

The VLA receives radio signals from outer space. Most are so faint, a blastingly strong signal would be a cell phone ringing on the moon, 238,900 miles away from Earth. The VLA has shown ice on the burning-hot planet of Mercury, has discovered a burst of brand-new star formations, and has probed dying and exploding stars.

Karen Taschek introduces young readers to the wonders revealed by the VLA. She begins with basic information on our solar system and our own Milky Way galaxy and then extends the discussion to galaxies billions of light-years from Earth.

Reading level: 14 years and up

". . .Taschek takes the reader 'out of this world' via the VLA."--Odyssey Magazine

"Ably authored, and historically concise..Death Stars, Weird Galaxies, and a Quasar-Spangled Universe is very highly recommended as a complete, active, thorough, and exclusive coverage of the fascinating world of the discoveries made with the technology of modern astronomical sciences for readers of all ages."--Midwest Book Review

"In her nonfiction debut, Taschek writes in lean, lively prose that suits the powerful phenoma under discussion...the book offers a visually rich overview of the problems currently preoccupying astronomers..."--Booklist

"In this unique and fun-to-read book, Taschek explores the VLA's role in studying awesome processes like star formation and supernova explosions."--Ruidoso News, NM

"The current, authoritative, and interesting text contains data that would be useful in research and gives a good sense of how telescopes are changing our view of the universe." --School Library Journal

Karen Taschek, writing under the name Karen Bentley, has written twelve books on horses in the best-selling Thoroughbred series on racehorses, two romances, and a children's book on race cars. She was also a copy editor for Scientific American, Inc., and copy chief at Random House Children's Books.

7 x 10 88 pages 43 color photographs, 5 color illustrations