The Extravagant Universe: Exploding Stars, Dark Energy, and the Accelerating Cosmos.

For the past 30 years, Kirshner has been among the leading researchers studying the nature of exploding stars known as supernovae. He takes readers to the heart of this pursuit by revealing the stunning finding of his team--that the universe is not only expanding, but also accelerating. Kirshner unravels the mysteries of this finding--explaining how this expansion is being fueled by dark energy, how scientists are measuring the rate of acceleration, and moreover, what this all means in the grand scheme of how the universe operates. He draws on years of speculation and study beginning with the work of Albert Einstein and Edwin Hubble. Those two famed scientists shaped popular beliefs until Kirshner turned the field upside down just a few years ago. In fact, Kirshner's work validates what Einstein had thought was an error in his calculations: the need to account for the universal force now known as dark energy. Princeton U Pr, 2002, 282 p., color plates/b&w photos/illus., hardcover, $29.95.