This book is intended for amateur astronomers who are readers of Sky & Telescope magazine or similar astronomy periodicals – or are at least at the same level of knowledge and enthusiasm. Supernovae represent the most violent stellar explosions in the universe. This is a unique guide to supernova facts, and it is also an observing/discovery guide, all in one package. It is the only book about supernovae that explains to amateur astronomers what they are, and how to observe and discover them. Moreover, the book contains detailed information about the probable physics of supernovae, a subject which even today is imperfectly understood, and contains detailed galaxy images for readers to begin their own search for new supernova. Here is a book that is essential reading for any amateur astronomer who is interested in discovering, observing, or learning about supernovae.

Martin Mobberley has a BSc Honours degree in Electronic Engineering from Brunel University, and is a former British Astronomical Association President and Goodacre Medallist.

He is also the author of Astronomical Equipment for Amateurs (1998) and The New Amateur Astronomer (2004); and has contributed chapters to three other Springer Practical Astronomy Series Books. He wrote the children’s book Space Navigator , and has published many papers in Astronomy Now, The Journal of the British Astronomical Association, The Astronomer, and Sky & Telescope.