Astrophysics for Supervillains

Learn how to destroy the universe with the power of astrophysics

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, listeners 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!

Dr Matt Bothwell is the public astronomer at the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge. He currently runs the university’s astronomy public engagement program. He visits more than 100 schools and libraries every year to talk about space, and runs astronomy evenings for thousands of brownies, guides, cubs, and scouts. During the 2020 lockdowns, he presented a series of interactive astronomy lectures for children on YouTube. He is the author of adult title The Invisible Universe (Why There’s More To Reality Than Meets The Eye), and his writing has appeared online in The Daily Beast, The Guardian, and Writer’s Digest.