This book describes why Sirius has been regarded as an important fixture of the night sky since the beginnings of history. It also examines the part that Sirius has played in how we came to achieve our current scientific understanding of stars.

This is the first book to integrate the cultural history of Sirius with modern astrophysics in a way which provides a realistic view of how science progresses over time. The book tells two stories. The first and most obvious is why the star known as Sirius has been regarded as an important fixture of the night sky by many civilizations and cultures since the beginnings of history. A second, but related, narrative is the prominent part that Sirius has played in how we came to achieve our current scientific understanding of the nature and fate of the stars. The book further provides an intriguing, in-depth treatment of longstanding Sirius controversies, such as Red Sirius and the story of the Dogon tribe, and it contains the results of original historical studies, as well as topical and timely scientific research.

Autorentext

The author, Jay Holberg, is well known, both as an historian and as an astrophysicist, and in telling the story of Sirius he is able to integrate the history of the star with modern astrophysics in a way which provides a realistic view of how science progresses over time.

Inhalt
Ancient Sirius.- The Goddess of the Eastern Horizon.- The Dog Star.- The Nature of the Stars.- From Myth to Reality.- A Dark Star Prophesied.- A Dark Star Revealed.- The Physics of the Stars.- An Odd Pair.- Giants among the Dwarfs.- A Matter of Degeneracy.- Einstein's Well.- A Controversial and Occult Sirius.- A Red Sirius.- Modern Mysteries.- A Contemporary and Future Sirius.- A View from Space.- Past, Present, and Future.