Note: Intro -- Copyright -- Preface -- About the Author -- Contents -- Part I: An Overview of Stellar Evolution -- 1. The Biology of Supernovae -- Introduction -- Spectra: Chemical Portraits of Stars -- Photometry: Behavioral Studies of Stellar Death -- The HR Diagram -- The Power Sources of Nuclear Reactions in Stars -- The Proton-Proton Chain of Low Mass Stars -- The Carbon-Nitrogen Cycle -- The Chemical Composition of Stars -- Stellar Structure -- The Lowest Mass Stars (0.075-0.3 Solar Masses) -- Low Mass Stars (0.3 to ~ 2.0 Solar Masses) -- Intermediate and Massive Stars (Masses Greater Than Approximately 2 Solar Masses) -- Rotation and Angular Momentum -- The Effects of Magnetism -- The Biology of Supernovae -- Supernova Taxonomy -- Basic Identifying Features -- Type Ia -- Type .Ia ("Point One-a") -- Type Ib -- Type Ibn -- Type Ic -- Type II-P -- Type II-L -- Type IIn -- Type IIa -- Conclusions -- 2. The Anatomy of Stellar Life and Death -- Initial Conditions -- The Life of a Star -- The Main Sequence -- The Main Sequence Lifetime -- Instability on the Main Sequence -- b -Cephei Variables -- As Above, So Below -- Helium Ignition and Subsequent Evolution -- Death of a Star -- Fallback -- The Neutron Star -- The Fate of the Surrounding Star -- Formation of Supernova Remnants -- Messages From a Retreating Front -- Conclusions -- Part II: A Walk Across the Rooftops -- 3. Stellar Evolution at the Summit of the Main Sequence -- Introduction -- Looking Deeper into the Controversy -- A Problem with Wolves -- The Humphrey-Davidson Limit -- Luminous and Violent Blue Variables -- Evolutionary Paths of the Most Massive Stars -- Type IIn Supernovae -- Explaining Type IIn Properties -- Catching the Wave -- From Imposter to Supernova -- Direct Detonation of LBVs -- Slow Blow: The Case of Supernova SN 2008iy -- The Impact of Collisions (No Pun Intended!). , Conclusions -- 4. Collapsars, Hypernovae and Long Gamma Ray Bursts -- Introduction -- From Star Wars to Star Death -- Beppo-SAX to the Rescue -- Of Fireballs and Jets -- A Best Fit: The Collapsar Model -- Hypernovae and Hyperbolae -- Reconstructing the Supernova-GRB Connection -- Supernova: Or Supranova? -- XRFs and Type Ibc Supernovae -- SN 2010jp: The First Jet-Powered Type II Supernova -- Conclusions -- 5. Death by Fallback -- Introduction -- The Mystery of Cygnus X-1 -- Controversial Supernovae -- Populations -- Conclusions -- 6. The Formation of Massive Stars by Collision and Their Fate -- Introduction -- A Lack of Interpersonal Skills: Harassment and Scandal -- Conclusions -- 7. Electron-Capture Supernovae -- Introduction -- Supernova or Imposter? -- The Troubling Fates of Intermediate Mass Stars -- Limiting Factors -- Post Main Sequence Evolution -- The Cassino da Urca -- Many Roads Lead to Rome -- Did the Progenitor of SN 2008S Spend Too Much Time at the Roulette Table? -- SN 2009md: A Faint Type IIP Supernova with a Troubling Origin -- A Coda from the Distant Past: Type I.5 Supernovae -- Conclusion -- 8. Ultra-luminous Type IIn Supernovae -- Introduction -- Taking the Pulse -- A Lethal Pulse: SN 2006gy and 2006tf as Pulsational Pair-Instability Supernovae -- SN 2008es: An Ultra-Luminous Type II-L Supernova -- A Deadly Couple Embrace: Was SN 2007bi the First Pair Instability Supernova? -- Was Pair Instability a Common Cause of Death in the Early Universe? -- Conclusion -- 9. The Magnetar Model for Ultra-Luminous Supernovae -- Introduction -- The Magnetar Model -- SN 2006aj and the X-ray Flashes -- Conclusions -- 10. The Mysterious SN 2005ap and Luminous Blue Flashes -- Introduction -- SN 2005ap -- Arrival of the White Knights -- The PPI Model -- The Magnetar Model -- The Buried GRB Model -- Are These Blue Explosions Pair-Instability Events?. , Pan-STARRS Events -- Can We Tie Up All the Loose Ends? -- Conclusions -- Part III: Thermonuclear Supernovae -- 11. Hypotheses and an Oxymoron -- Introduction -- What Astronomers Know -- What Astronomers Think They Know -- What Astronomers Don't Know -- Mechanisms and Scenarios -- The Single-Degenerate Scenario -- More Problems -- A Precious Few -- Double-Degenerate Models -- The Explosion -- SN 2011fe: A Defining Type Ia Supernova -- Conclusions -- 12. Are there Super- Chandrasekhar Supernovae? -- Introduction -- Type Ia Supernovae: A reprise -- SN 1991T -- SN 2003fg: Too Bright for Its Own Good? -- Loneliness in a Crowd -- Conclusions -- 13. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Thermonuclear Supernovae -- Introduction -- R Corona Borealis: Born Again Stars -- Mergers of More Massive White Dwarf Stars -- AM CVn Systems -- Type .Ia Supernovae: Descendents of AM CVn Binaries? -- Record Breaking Type .Ia Supernova or Something Else? -- Do Some Type Ia Supernovae Explode Without Detonation? -- SN 2008ha: A Cousin of SN 2005hk? -- PTF 09dav: Something Else? -- SN 2005E: Lex Parsimoniae -- Conclusions -- Part IV: In Flagrante Delicto -- 14. The Mysterious Case of V838 Monocerotis and the Red Novae -- Introduction -- V838 Moncerotis -- V4332 Sagittarii -- A Stellar Merger Caught in the Act -- M85's Red Nova -- The Case of the Optical Transient NGC 300 OT -- Once Red, Now Blue -- What Do These Collisions Tell Us About Stellar Eruptions? -- The Great Eruption of Eta Carinae: A Reprise -- Conclusions -- 15. Between Scylla and Charybdis -- Introduction -- Type IIa? -- What Might the New Scheme Be Based Upon? -- Conclusions -- Glossary -- Index.

Note: Intro -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Preface -- About the Author -- Contents -- Part I: Common Themes -- 1. The Discovery of Extraterrestrial Worlds -- Introduction -- Radial Velocity: The Pull of Extrasolar Planets -- Transit: The Shadow of a Planet Cast by Its Star -- Microlensing: The Ghosts of Hidden Worlds -- Now You See It, Now You Don't: Formalhaut B and Beyond -- What Worlds Await Us? -- Chthonian Worlds -- Helium Planets: Gravestones for Former Stars? -- Carbon Planets -- Cannonballs -- Aquaplanets with Ice Mantles -- Dream Worlds -- Conclusions -- 2. The Formation of Stars and Planets -- Introduction -- Gravity's Role in Star and Planet Formation -- The Effects of Neighboring Stars -- Brown Dwarfs -- The Planets of Red Dwarfs -- Alternative Routes to Rome -- Energy and Life -- Planetary Heat -- Atmosphere, Hydrosphere and Biosphere -- Conclusions -- 3. Stellar Evolution Near the Bottom of the Main Sequence -- Introduction -- Stellar Evolution and the HR Diagram -- Spectral Features of M and K Dwarfs -- Spectral Features of K-Class Stars -- Structure of M- and K-Class Stars -- The Stellar Furnace -- Spectacularly Faint Dwarfs -- A Primer of Stellar Evolution -- The Life of an "Ordinary" Red Dwarf -- The Fate of the Most Massive Red Dwarf Stars -- The Missing Piece -- Flings for Mid-Range M-Dwarf Stars -- The Evolution of Orange K-Dwarfs -- Which Stars Burn Helium? -- The Second Ascension -- The Fate of the Smallest K-Dwarf Stars -- Pulsations -- The End of the Lowest Mass K-Dwarfs -- Conclusions -- 4. The Living Planet -- Introduction -- Plate Tectonics: A Primer -- Glorious Granite -- The Mantle and Oceanic Crust -- Eclogite -- Constructing Continents -- Assembling a Continental Jigsaw -- The Role of Mantle Plumes in Continent Formation -- Just How Does Plate Tectonics Work?. , The Past, Present and Future of Tectonics on Earth and Other Worlds -- The Organization of Early Plate Tectonics -- The Construction of Continents and the Heat-Death of a Planet -- Plate Tectonics and the Stability of a Planet's Biosphere -- Conclusions -- 5. The Carbon Dioxide Connection -- Introduction -- Carbon Dioxide: The Essential Gas -- The Fate of Carbon Dioxide -- Life Under the Thick Lid -- Super-Volcanic Eruptions -- Photosynthetic Miners -- Conclusions -- 6. Stability of Habitable Atmospheres on Red Dwarf Worlds -- Introduction -- Tidal Locking -- The Atmosphere After Tidal Locking -- The Coriolis Effect -- Atmospheric Modeling -- The Effect of Topography -- Conclusions -- 7. The Development and Sustenance of Life -- Introduction -- Our Alien World: The Hot, Deep Biosphere -- The Concept of the Stellar Climatic Habitable Zone -- What Is Life? -- How Does Life Arise? -- From Stellar Fluff to Complex Cells -- Sense and Sensibility -- Oxygen: A Contradiction -- Multi-cellularity -- The Links Between the Biosphere and Geosphere -- Identifying Living Worlds -- Conclusions -- Part II: Life Under a Crimson Sun -- 8. Red Dwarfs, PAR and the Prospects for Photosynthesis -- Introduction -- A Primer on Photosynthesis -- Action Spectra and Beyond -- Wavelength and the Products of Photosynthesis -- Physical Constraints Imposed on Photosynthesis by Red Dwarf Stars -- The Effect of Planetary Climate -- The Temperature Limits of Life -- The Effect of Star Spots -- Conclusions -- 9. Gliese 581d: The First Potentially Habitable Water-World Discovered? -- Introduction -- Gliese 581g: Now You See It, Now You Don't -- Gliese 581d: An Ancient Water World? -- Orbital Migration and the Composition of Gliese 581d -- The Nice Group -- The Late Heavy Bombardment -- Putting Gliese 581d's Formation and Early History in Context -- The Fate of the Gliese 581 System. , Conclusions -- 10. The Evolution of an Earth-Like World -- Introduction -- The Development and Fate of Planet Gliese 667Cc -- Future World -- The Geodynamo and the Preservation of the Atmosphere -- Stellar Evolution and the Ultimate Fate of the System -- Sustainability of Life on Other Worlds -- Conclusions -- Final Thoughts -- Dwarfs, Metals and the Fate of Life in the Distant Future -- The Last Stars Exit Stage Right -- Conclusions -- Glossary -- Index.