Astrophysics for Supervillains (Supervillain Academy)

Based on real questions from children, expert author Dr Matt Bothwell has created the Supervillain Academy to teach astrophysics to middle graders

"Could you crash the Moon into the Earth? If the Sun explodes, would we all get vaporised? What’s the weather like on Mercury?"

Discover the answers to these questions and many more at the Supervillain Academy: the magnificently morbid school for young bad guys-in-training. Facts about space are all well and good, but discovering that if you threw someone into a black hole, they would be spaghettified - stretched out long and thin before getting squashed smaller than an atom – is truly, fascinatingly gruesome.

At the Supervillain Academy, readers will learn about the solar system, galaxies, the universe, and, most importantly, the answer to the question “Which planet is entirely populated by robots?”. Perfect for fans of Kay’s Marvellous Medicine and the Horrible Histories series, Astrophysics for Supervillains is the first book of the Supervillain Academy series that will have curious kids keen to get to school on time!

Reviews

Bothwell is the public astronomer at the University of Cambridge's Institute of Astronomy, so engaging a school-age audience is all in a day’s work, and Astrophysics for Supervillains is no exception.

It cleverly weaves around tough answers that might require an actual PhD to unpick, coupling them with plenty of cartoon illustrations and the kind of choice typography that makes an intriguing Buzzfeed article. It’s a really fun insight into the cosmos that could inspire future generations of astronomers.