An astonishing tour of the key astronomical events of the past century, and of all the accidents and human error involved in our pursuit of asteroids, radio waves, new stars and alien life. 'A riveting real-life Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.' Telegraph'¿An enjoyable tour of astronomical discoveries¿His excellent book is a layman¿s guide to the surprises¿ - Daily Mail'Lintott's boundless enthusiasm for everything cosmic makes it hard to put this book away once you start reading.' BBC Sky at Night Magazine'Entertaining and enlightening' - The Idler............................................................................. ............................................................................. ........................................... The BBC presenter of 'Sky at Night', and Gresham Professor of Astronomy, Chris Lintott, takes us on an astonishing tour of bizarre accidents, big characters, and human error to tell the story of some of the most important astronomical events of