This volume offers the account of an epic astronomical journey, a tale told by an early 21st century human sailor among the stars. The account is discovered, as an alien translator's note reveals, sixty million years in Earth's future - the product of one man's amazing, revelatory, and occasionally perilous space odyssey. Astrophysicist Mitchell Begelman takes the reader to far-distant shores, across a vast ocean of time, in a narrative that zips along at just below light speed. We travel to the centre of the Milky Way, witness the births and deaths of stars, almost perish in the crushing forces at the perimeter of a black hole - and all the while the author explains the way things work in the cosmos. Grounded both in history and in astrophysical thinking and observation, Turn Right at Orion is serious science that reads like fiction.

Richly illustrated with the images from observatories on the ground and in space, and computer simulations, this book shows how black holes were discovered, and discusses what we've learned about their nature and their role in cosmic evolution. This thoroughly updated third edition covers new discoveries made in the past decade, including the discovery of gravitational waves from merging black holes and neutron stars, the first close-up images of the region near a black hole event horizon, and observations of debris from stars torn apart when they ventured too close to a supermassive black hole. Avoiding mathematics, the authors blend theoretical arguments with observational results to demonstrate how both have contributed to the subject. Clear, explanatory illustrations and photographs reveal the strange and amazing workings of our universe. The engaging style makes this book suitable for introductory undergraduate courses, amateur astronomers, and all readers interested in astronomy and physics.