A breathtaking account of how the surrounding cosmos impacts life on
Earth
Did you know that as you read these words showers of high-speed
particles from exploding stars are raining down on you? As you gaze into
the starry sky, you might feel isolated from the Universe around
you--but you're not. This book reveals the startling ways life on Earth
is touched by our cosmic environment, and demonstrates why without such
contact, life itself wouldn't be possible.
Heaven's Touch embarks on an unforgettable journey across the cosmos,
beginning in near space with a look at the gentle ebb and flow of lunar
and solar tides. Acclaimed astronomer James Kaler describes their subtle
effects on our world and also explores the Sun's more potent influences,
such as solar storms that cause auroras, give comets their tails, and
knock out power grids on Earth. He ventures across the Solar System to
consider how the planets can act to produce climate change, even global
disaster. Kaler shows how Jupiter's gravity can throw asteroids toward
potentially devastating collision with Earth, and how even our whole
Galaxy might hurl comet storms at us. He then takes us into deepest
space to describe the cosmic rays launched at us from exploding stars,
and considers not just how these exploders might harm us, but how they
also join together in the creation of stars and how they serve to
populate the Universe with the very building blocks of life.
Informative and entertaining, Heaven's Touch reveals how intimately
connected we really are with the dynamic Universe in which we live.
