You want to witness the birth of a star, or visit the black hole at the center of our galaxy? You want to know if there are aliens out there, or how to travel through a wormhole? Well stop, Paul Sutter cautions, because all that will probably kill you. From mundane comets in our solar backyard to exotic remnants of the Big Bang, from dying stars to young galaxies, the universe may be beautiful, but it's treacherous. In this entertaining guide to astrophysics, Sutter details how particles, forces, and fields interplay to create the drama in the heavens above us.

"Sutter's tone is suffused with enthusiasm for his topic and with disarming humor. Funny and informative, Sutter's gleefully bleak interstellar survey will foster a greater appreciation for humanity's home, and a deeper understanding of space."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)