The exceptional cosmic history and the fabulous destinies of exploding stars - supernovae and gamma-ray bursters - are highly fertile areas of research and are also very special tools to further our understanding of the universe. In this book, cosmologists Dr Alain Mazure and Dr Stephane Basa throw light on the assemblage of facts, hypotheses and cosmological conclusions and show how these `beacons' illuminate their immediate surroundings and allow us to study the vast cosmos, like searchlights revealing the matter comprising our universe.