This book is for amateur astronomers who are readers of Sky & Telescope magazine or similar astronomical journals - or at least the same level of knowledge and enthusiasm. Supernovae represent the most violent asteroids in the universe.

This is a unique guide to the realities of supernovae, which is also a control / discovery guide, all in one package. Astronomers often discover supernovae, and the book describes the best strategies for discovery and observation.

Moreover, it contains detailed information about the potential physics of supernovae, a subject that remains to this day imperfectly understood.