Best of
Astronomy

2019

Cosmos: Possible Worlds


Ann Druyan - 2019
    From the emergence of life at deep-sea vents to solar-powered starships sailing through the galaxy, from the Big Bang to the intricacies of intelligence in many life forms, acclaimed author Ann Druyan documents where humanity has been and where it is going, using her unique gift of bringing complex scientific concepts to life. With evocative photographs and vivid illustrations, she recounts momentous discoveries, from the Voyager missions in which she and her husband, Carl Sagan, participated to Cassini-Huygens's recent insights into Saturn's moons. This breathtaking sequel to Sagan's masterpiece explains how we humans can glean a new understanding of consciousness here on Earth and out in the cosmos--again reminding us that our planet is a pale blue dot in an immense universe of possibility.

Our Universe: An Astronomer's Guide


Jo Dunkley - 2019
    For thousands of years it has been at the heart of scientific and philosophical inquiry, from the first star catalogues etched into ancient Mesopotamian clay tablets to the metres-wide telescopes constructed in Chile's Atacama Desert today. On a clear night it is hard not to look up and pick out familiar constellations, and to think of the visionary minds who pioneered our understanding of what lies beyond.In this thrilling new guide to our Universe and how it works, Professor of Astrophysics Jo Dunkley reveals how it only becomes more beautiful and exciting the more we discover about it. With warmth and clarity, Dunkley takes us from the very basics - why the Earth orbits the Sun, and how our Moon works - right up to massive, strange phenomena like superclusters, quasars, and the geometry of spacetime. As she does so, Dunkley unfurls the history of humankind's heroic journey to understand the history and structure of the cosmos, revealing the extraordinary, little-known stories of astronomy pioneers including Williamina Fleming, Vera Rubin and Jocelyn Bell Burnell.Illuminating and uplifting, this is your essential guide to the biggest subject of all.

The Sky Atlas: The Greatest Maps, Myths and Discoveries of the Universe


Edward Brooke-Hitching - 2019
    This is the sky as it has never been presented before: the realm of stars and planets, but also of gods, devils, weather wizards, flying sailors, medieval aliens, mythological animals and rampaging spirits. The reader is taken on a tour of star-obsessed cultures around the world, learning about Tibetan sky burials, star-covered Inuit dancing coats, Mongolian astral prophets and Sir William Herschel's 1781 discovery of Uranus, the first planet to be found since antiquity. Even stranger are the forgotten stories from European history, like the English belief of the Middle Ages in ships that sailed a sea above the clouds, 16th-century German UFO sightings and the Edwardian aristocrat who mistakenly mapped alien-made canals on the surface of Mars.As the intricacies of our universe are today being revealed with unprecedented clarity, there has never been a better time for a highly readable book as beautiful as the night sky to contextualise the scale of these achievements for the general reader.

Space: The 10 Things You Should Know


Becky Smethurst - 2019
    Written by Oxford astrophysicist Dr Becky Smethurst and composed of ten captivating, simple essays, it guides you swiftly through the galaxies, explaining the mysteries of black holes, dark matter and what existed before the Big Bang, presenting the evidence as to whether we really are alone, illuminating what we still don't know, and much more besides.If you have big questions about Space, this book will provide you with the answers in an engaging and succinct way.

National Geographic Backyard Guide to the Night Sky


Andrew Fazekas - 2019
    In these inviting pages, "Night Sky Guy" Andrew Fazekas takes an expert but easygoing approach that will delight would-be astronomers of all levels. Essential information, organized logically, brings the solar system, stars, and planets to life in your own backyard. Start with the easiest constellations and then "star-hop" across the night sky to find others nearby. Learn about the dark side of the moon, how to pick Mars out of a planetary lineup, and which kinds of stars twinkle in your favorite constellations. Hands-on tips and techniques for observing with the naked eye, binoculars, or a telescope help make the most out of sightings and astronomical phenomena such as eclipses and meteor showers. Photographs and graphics present key facts in an easy-to-understand format, explaining heavenly phenomena such as black holes, solar flares, and supernovas. Revised to make skywatching even easier for the whole family, this indispensable guide shines light on the night sky--truly one of the greatest shows on Earth!

The Universe


Lonely Planet - 2019
    Unique to these pages are wonderful comparisons of Earth with the other worlds of our solar system and even those exoplanets orbiting other stars.You'll discover as much as we know about our celestial neighbourhood and our place in it. In addition to planets and moons, get to know our Sun, explore the asteroid belt and the Kuiper Belt, and learn what lays beyond, in interstellar space. Outside our solar system, travel to some of the notable neighbouring stars, stellar systems and exoplanets we've discovered. You'll understand how we search for planets where life might exist and the stars they orbit.Finally, discover the edge of the observable Universe. Get to know the structure of the Milky Way as well as an orientation to neighbouring galaxies like the Andromeda Galaxy which is visible from Earth. Then explore other galactic formations and learn about galactic clusters and superclusters. By the end of the book, you'll have a sense for the structure of the entire Universe as well as some of the big questions we still have as we ponder our place in it.

Picturing Apollo 11: Rare Views and Undiscovered Moments


J.L. Pickering - 2019
    Nearly one million spectators flock to Cape Canaveral to witness the largest rocket ever built send three Americans to the Moon. Four days later, two step onto the lunar surface. The extraordinary achievement is celebrated around the world. Images capturing these incredible moments fill the pages of Picturing Apollo 11, an unprecedented photo�graphic history of the space mission that defined an era. Through a wealth of unpublished and recently discovered images, this book presents new and rarely seen views of the people, places, and events involved in planning, accomplishing, and commemorating the first Moon landing. Starting with the extensive preparations for the mission, these photographs show astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins training for the flight and their spacecraft and stages of the massive Saturn V rocket arriving at the Kennedy Space Center for assembly. They display the media frenzy over the unfolding story and the "Moon fever" that gripped the nation. In addition to both ubiquitous and lesser-known images of the moonwalk itself, the authors present life back on Earth while men explored the lunar surface, as well as the anniversary festivities that paid homage to them in the following decades. Accompanying text details each scene, revealing the enormous scale and scope of the activities that went into planning and executing one of humankind's most historic moments. Presented chronologically, each picture evokes the electric atmosphere of the time. No other book has showcased as many never-before-seen photos connected with Apollo 11 or as many images covering the activities from the months before to the years after the mission. Most of the hundreds of photographs were selected from NASA archives and J. L. Pickering's collection, the world's largest private collection of U.S. human space flight images.

Prehistory Decoded


Martin Sweatman - 2019
    It was more than a thousand years before the climate, and mankind, recovered. The people of Gobekli Tepe in present-day southern Turkey, whose ancestors witnessed this catastrophe, built a megalithic monument formed of many hammer-shaped pillars decorated with symbols as a memorial to this terrible event. Before long, they also invented agriculture, and their new farming culture spread rapidly across the continent, signalling the arrival of civilisation. Before abandoning Gobekli Tepe thousands of years later, they covered it completely with rubble to preserve the greatest and most important story ever told for future generations. Archaeological excavations began at the site in 1994, and we are now able to read their story, more amazing than any Hollywood plot, again for the first time in over 10,000 years. It is a story of survival and resurgence that allows one of the world’s greatest scientific puzzles – the meaning of ancient artworks, from the 40,000 year-old Lion-man figurine of Hohlenstein-Stadel cave in Germany to the Great Sphinx of Giza – to be solved. We now know what happened to these people. It probably had happened many times before and since, and it could happen again, to us. The conventional view of prehistory is a sham; we have been duped by centuries of misguided scholarship. The world is actually a much more dangerous place than we have been led to believe. The old myths and legends, of cataclysm and conflagration, are surprisingly accurate. We know this because, at last, we can read an extremely ancient code assumed by scholars to be nothing more than depictions of wild animals. A code hiding in plain sight that reveals we have hardly changed in 40,000 years. A code that changes everything.

Letters From An Astrophysicist


Neil deGrasse Tyson - 2019
    Now, Tyson invites us to go behind the scenes of his public fame by unveiling his candid correspondence with people across the globe who have sought him out in search of answers. In this hand-picked collection of one hundred letters, Tyson draws upon cosmic perspectives to address a vast array of questions about science, faith, philosophy, life, and of course, Pluto. His succinct, opinionated, passionate, and often funny responses reflect his popularity and standing as a leading educator.Tyson’s 2017 bestseller Astrophysics for People in a Hurry offered more than one million readers an insightful and accessible understanding of the universe. Now, revealing Tyson’s most candid and heartfelt writing yet, Letters from an Astrophysicist introduces us to a newly personal dimension of Tyson’s quest to understand our place in the cosmos.

Super Cool Space Facts: A Fun, Fact-filled Space Book for Kids


Bruce Betts - 2019
     Entertaining information—Fill your outer space adventure with the jokes, big word alerts, and fascinating mysteries of the universe all space books for kids should have. Full-color photos—See how cool space is with incredible pictures of stars, galaxies, planets, constellations, and more. Super Cool Space Facts brings you out-of-this-world fun—and a must have title for anyone interested in space books for kids.

Constellations: The Story of Space Told Through the 88 Known Star Patterns in the Night Sky


Govert Schilling - 2019
    Much more than just a stargazer's guide, CONSTELLATIONS is complete history of astronomy as told by Schilling through the lens of each constellation. The book is organized alphabetically by constellation. Profiles of each constellation include basic information such as size, visibility, and number of stars, as well as information on the discovery and naming of the constellation and associated lore. Beyond details about the constellation itself is information about every astronomical event that took place or discovery made in the vicinity of the constellation. In the constellation of Cygnus (the Swan) we encounter the location of the first confirmed black hole. A stop at Gemini (the Twins) is a chance to say hello to the dwarf planet Pluto, and in Orion (the hunter) we find the location of the first identified gamma-ray burst. Stunning star maps throughout the book by acclaimed star mapmaker Wil Tirion show us the exact location of every constellation, the details of its structure, as well as its surrounding astronomical neighbors.

The Story of the Cosmos: How the Heavens Declare the Glory of God


Daniel Ray - 2019
    But The Story of the Cosmos provides a different—and fascinating—perspective. It points to a God who makes Himself known in the wonder and beauty of His creation.   This compilation from respected scholars and experts spans topics from “The Mathematical Creation and the Image of God” to “The Glorious Dance of Binary Stars” and “God’s Invisible Attributes—Black Holes.” Contributors include Dr. William Lane Craig, Dr. Guillermo Gonzalez, Dr. Melissa Cain Travis, and Dr. Michael Ward.  Come, take a deeper look at the universe…and explore the traces of God’s glory in the latest discoveries of astronomy, science, literature, and art.

50 Things to See on the Moon: a First-Time Stargazer's Guide


John Read - 2019
    Astronomer John A. Read has selected fifty of the best things to see — organized by the phases of the Moon. As each day passes, an additional slice of the Moon becomes visible. With each slice comes new craters, lunar seas, and jagged mountain ranges. This is the perfect book for a first-time stargazer who is curious about what is up there.

Solar System for Kids (Tinker Toddlers)


Dr. Dhoot - 2019
    Simple concepts about up-and-coming STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) to kick-start your future genius! Solar System for Babies & Toddlers is a great way to introduce basic concepts about space, our solar system, and beyond. With interplanetary travel a real possibility for the next generation, this book will launch your little one an adventure out of this world! The colorful, beautiful, and visually stimulating illustrations encourage the child's sense of wonder and adventure (and might stimulate your senses too)! Look for other books by Tinker Toddlers™: Machine Learning for Babies & Toddlers Artificial Intelligence for Babies & Toddlers ABCs of Machine Learning Neural Networks for Kids

Dr Maggie's Grand Tour of the Solar System


Maggie Aderin-Pocock - 2019
    From spotting solar flares on the Sun to exploring objects at the edge of the icy Oort Cloud, this fun, action-packed title leaves no question unanswered and no meteorite unturned.

The Cosmic Origins of Life (Fundamental Questions Book 2)


John Gribbin - 2019
    Along the way he answers two questions: if living things are comprised of the same basic building blocks as inanimate ones, what is the spark that leads to life? And should we expect to find life elsewhere in the universe? The Cosmic Origins of Life is a journey through astronomy, mathematics, chemistry, genetics, physics and metaphysics – travelling from the smallest of cells to the entire Universe. Perfect for anyone who enjoyed Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson, or The Grand Design by Leonard Mlodinow and Stephen Hawking. Praise for John Gribbin: ‘Precise yet mysterious… as beautiful as a poem and as exciting as a novel’ – The Sunday Times ‘Immensely readable’ – The Times ‘One of the finest and most prolific writers of popular science around’ – The Spectator John Gribbin is an award-winning science writer best known for his book In Search of Schrodinger's Cat. He studied astrophysics under Fred Hoyle in Cambridge, before working as a science journalist for Nature and later the New Scientist, and is now a Visiting Fellow in Astronomy at the University of Sussex.

On the Trail of Stardust: The Guide to Finding Micrometeorites: Tools, Techniques, and Identification


Jon Larsen - 2019
    With this handy guide from the author of the international bestseller In Search of Stardust, Jon Larsen, you will learn how to find micrometeorites in your own neighborhood! Stardust—also known as micrometeorites—is the oldest matter anywhere. Nothing has traveled farther to reach Earth. For a century, scientists have searched everywhere for stardust, but only found it in remote areas like Antarctica and, more recently, outer space. Author and citizen scientist extraordinaire Jon Larsen was the first to find them in populated areas. With this book, you too can discover stardust as near as your own rooftop! Following his successful debut, In Search of Stardust, Larsen turns his attention from explaining the formation and various kinds of stardust to revealing his methods and techniques for finding micrometeorites in a compact, durable guide. Larsen covers everything from the origins and formation of micrometeorites to assembling the simple array of gear needed to get out there and find stardust in your own neighborhood, rooftop, or rain gutters. Larsen explains the best places to look and offers step-by-step photo sequences of the techniques he has developed to assemble his collection of 1,500-plus verified micrometeorites (and counting). And you don’t need a multi-million-dollar scanning electron microscope to document your collection; Jon shows how to assemble a serviceable photo setup from easily accessible equipment. The book is capped off with a field guide of sorts that offers a taxonomy of the various types of micrometeorites, along with sample images, as well as the kinds of man-made and terrestrial spherules that stardust hunters are likely to encounter and how to identify them as imposters. Once thought to exist only at the bottoms of oceans and atop polar ice, it turns out that stardust is everywhere…and On the Trail of Stardust is your indispensable tool to finding it for yourself.

At the Edge of Time: Exploring the Mysteries of Our Universe's First Seconds


Dan Hooper - 2019
    But there remains a critical gap in our knowledge: we still know very little about what happened in the first seconds after the Big Bang. At the Edge of Time focuses on what we have recently learned and are still striving to understand about this most essential and mysterious period of time at the beginning of cosmic history.Delving into the remarkable science of cosmology, Dan Hooper describes many of the extraordinary and perplexing questions that scientists are asking about the origin and nature of our world. Hooper examines how we are using the Large Hadron Collider and other experiments to re-create the conditions of the Big Bang and test promising theories for how and why our universe came to contain so much matter and so little antimatter. We may be poised to finally discover how dark matter was formed during our universe's first moments, and, with new telescopes, we are also lifting the veil on the era of cosmic inflation, which led to the creation of our world as we know it.Wrestling with the mysteries surrounding the initial moments that followed the Big Bang, At the Edge of Time presents an accessible investigation of our universe and its origin.

When the Stars Come Out: Exploring the Magic and Mysteries of the Nighttime


Nicola Edwards - 2019
    Experience how different habitats, from the city to the ocean, come alive when the sun sets. Meet animals that make their own elaborate beds and others that sleep while swimming or flying. And explore the history of human sleep across the globe and dive into a world of dreams.

Visual Galaxy: The Ultimate Guide to the Milky Way and Beyond


National Geographic Society - 2019
    In this mind-expanding visual tour through the cosmos, spectacular photographs are converted into interpretive graphics, starting with the sun and moving outward into space where stars are born, black holes lurk, and planets of diverse size and anatomy spin through their orbit. The final chapters locate our galaxy within the known universe and add a scintillating peek of other exoplanets in the cosmos. Detailed maps and fascinating imagery from recent space missions are paired with clear, authoritative scientific information.

Clues to the Cosmos


Shohini Ghose - 2019
    And what a story it is! A tale of explosive beginnings in the big bang, the strange warping of space and time, black holes, quantum uncertainties and elusive particles. How did we come to understand this grand story?This book explains the science and the scientific process that led to the biggest discoveries in physics. Like all great detective stories, it involves careful investigation, surprising discoveries, interesting characters, twists and turns, leaps of imagination and rewarding outcomes.

In the Beginning: A Catholic Scientist Explains How God Made Earth Our Home


Dr. Gerard Verschuuren - 2019
     Most modern scientists dismiss this notion as romantic nonsense, arguing instead that Earth and, indeed, the entire universe is actually a cosmic accident, the mystifying result of billions of years of random events. Here in this work of basic science written for nonspecialists, scientist Gerard Verschuuren confronts those men and women on their own territory force for force, atom for atom, cell for cell, and even planet for planet. With clear, well-documented explanations, he shows that the latest findings of modern cosmology, physics, chemistry, geology, and other sciences tell a remarkably different story. Instead of the vaunted randomness of our immense universe, scientists have recently discovered indisputable patterns in the structures of matter and energy. Over the eons, these distinctive patterns drove the universe inexorably toward formation of the Earth as what we experience it to be: our secure, exceptional, and singularly welcoming home. In these pages, you'll learn, among other things: • Why the universe is so old . . . and so vast! • Earth's unique chemical and geological characteristics that make it a hospitable place for mankind • How the moon became critical to life on Earth • How volcanism, mass extinctions, and even changes in the Earth's orbit prepared the way for mankind • Evidence that evolutionary changes are not, as the atheists claim, random • Why the Catholic Church has always distinguished the Book of Scripture from the Book of Nature • How science presupposes the existence of God without even realizing it! • The limitations of the scientific method and how those limitations trip up scientists • The many hidden, unscientific dogmas of science • The errors of Stephen Hawking and other popular cosmologists • Why science wrongly denies that the universe was made for mankind • Evidence that we live in a purpose-driven world (and why science is blind to it) • And much more!

50 Things to See in the Sky: (illustrated beginner's guide to stargazing with step by step instructions and diagrams, glow in the dark cover)


Sarah Barker - 2019
    Fifty celestial phenomena come to life with expert tips from astrophysicist Sarah Barker and stylish illustrations by Maria Nilsson. Any explorer can become an adept observer with their guidance, and more ambitious stargazers will be able to discover more distant sights with the help of binoculars, a telescope, or a local astronomy group. With a glow-in-the-dark cover, 50 Things to See in the Sky is a perfect complement to your next camping expedition and a wonderful gift for anyone who marvels at what lies in our celestial sphere.

Mars for Kids (Tinker Toddlers)


Dr. Dhoot - 2019
    Learn how Earth and Mars are similar, why we want to go to Mars, and how it will be like when we get there. This book will help familiarize your little one with interplanetary travel and help grow their vocabulary. The colorful, beautiful, and visually stimulating illustrations and two levels of learning encourage the child's sense of wonder, adventure, and curiosity (and might stimulate your senses too)! Great for homeschooling, preschools, or primary education: Glossary: Key vocabulary words are bolded in the text and defined in the back.  Inviting Font: Large, clear, and color-coordinated font for easy digestion of material.  2 Levels of Learning: Level 1 baby basics in black text and Level 2 in the purple text to build on. Look for other books by Tinker Toddlers: Solar System for Babies & Toddlers ABCs of the Solar System & Beyond Machine Learning for Babies & Toddlers Artificial Intelligence for Babies & Toddlers ABCs of Machine Learning Neural Networks for Kids

Dark Skies: A Practical Guide to Astrotourism


Lonely Planet - 2019
    Lonely Planet's Dark Skies , the first world's guide to astrotourism, can help you experience all of this and more first-hand.Meticulously researched by dark sky expert Valerie Stimac, this comprehensive companion includes guides to 35 dark-sky sites and national parks, where to see the aurora, the next decade of total solar eclipses and how to view rocket launches, plus the lowdown on commercial space flight, observatories and meteor showers. Dark Skies is divided into sections to help you plan your dark sky tour: Stargazing focuses on the basics of appreciating the dark sky, with an overview on how to stargaze and what types of objects to look for, as well as tips for the urban stargazer. Dark Places is devoted to 35 of the best places around the globe for stargazing and experiencing the night sky, including sites designated by the Dark Sky Association. Astronomy in Action features some of the world's top research facilities and observatories,where you can get a closer look at space science. Meteor Showers has everything you need to know about the most consistent and impressive meteor showers that happen annually. Aurora is divided into two parts, one focusing on the aurora borealis in the northern hemisphere and the other on the aurora australis in the southern hemisphere. Eclipses follows the schedule of total solar eclipses over the next decade. If you've never experienced totality, here is your definitive guide to planning your trip. Launches helps you experience a different side of astrotourism: rocket launches and the countries that allow you to travel to see them. Space Tourism discusses the future of humans in space - including you! The major players in the evolving space tourism market are detailed, plus the world's most common destinations and experiences.About Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet is a leading travel media company and the world's number one travel guidebook brand, providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveller since 1973. Over the past four decades, we've printed over 145 million guidebooks and grown a dedicated, passionate global community of travellers. You'll also find our content online, on mobile, video and in 14 languages, 12 international magazines, armchair and lifestyle books, ebooks, and more.

Vargic’s Curious Cosmic Compendium: Space, the Universe and Everything Within It


Martin Vargic - 2019
    Be taken on an unforgettable journey through space with chapters on . . .· Exploring the Cosmos· The Night Sky· Maps of the Inner Solar System· Timeline of the Universe· Cosmologies throughout History· Journey Into Outer Space· Scale of the UniverseThis is a book that celebrates the scale and spectacle of the universe on every page, and one which you'll treasure forever._______ '5***** In more than one hundred pages filled with facts and illustrations he takes the reader on a journey through the history of the cosmos' BBC Sky at Night 'Packs in so much of our astronomical knowledge, so many tidbits about the history of astronomy and space exploration that I felt wonderfully enriched by it all. It is visually striking and beautifully illustrated' Dr. Alfredo Carpineti

ABCs of The Solar System and Beyond (Tinker Toddlers)


Dr. Dhoot - 2019
     The book includes two levels of learning! Level 1 baby basics in black text and Level 2 in purple text to build on. Also in the series: Mars for Kids The Solar System for Babies & Toddlers Machine Learning for Babies & Toddlers Artificial Intelligence for Babies & Toddlers Neural Networks for Kids ABCs of Machine Learning

Zwicky: The Outcast Genius Who Unmasked the Universe


John Johnson Jr. - 2019
    He predicted the existence of neutron stars, and his research pointed the way toward the discovery of pulsars and black holes. He was the first to conceive of the existence of dark matter, the first to make a detailed catalog of thousands of galaxies, and the first to correctly suggest that cosmic rays originate from supernovas.Not content to confine his discoveries to the heavens, Zwicky contributed to the US war against Japan with inventions in jet propulsion that enabled aircraft to launch from carriers in the Pacific. After the war, he was the first Western scientist to interview Wernher von Braun, the Nazi engineer who developed the V-2 rocket. Later he became an outspoken advocate for space exploration, but also tangled with almost every leading scientist of the time, from Edwin Hubble and Richard Feynman to J. Robert Oppenheimer and Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar.In Zwicky, John Johnson Jr. brings this tempestuous maverick to life. Zwicky not only made groundbreaking contributions to science and engineering; he rose to fame as one of the most imaginative science popularizers of his day. Yet he became a pariah in the scientific community, denouncing his enemies, real and imagined, as "spherical bastards" and "horses' asses." Largely forgotten today, Zwicky deserves rediscovery for unleashing some of the most destructive forces in the universe, and as a reminder that genius obeys no rules and has no friends.

The Atlas of Mars: Mapping Its Geography and Geology


Kenneth S Coles - 2019
    Each of the thirty standard charts includes: a full-page color topographic map at 1:10,000,000 scale, a THEMIS daytime infrared map at the same scale with features labeled, a simplified geologic map of the corresponding area, and a section describing prominent features of interest. The Atlas is rounded out with extensive material on Mars' global characteristics, regional geography and geology, a glossary of terms, and an indexed gazetteer of up-to-date Martian feature names and nomenclature. This is an essential guide for a broad readership of academics, students, amateur astronomers, and space enthusiasts, replacing the NASA atlas from the 1970s.

Sun and Moon: A Story of Astronomy, Photography and Cartography


Mark Holborn - 2019
    Published to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the first moon landing, Sun and Moon tells the story of that burning human need to comprehend the universe, from Neolithic observatories that mark the solstice to the latest space telescopes. It shows, for the first time, how the development of photography and cartography – the means of documenting other worlds – is linked indelibly to the charting of the heavens, from the first image on a glass plate to the Hubble Space Telescope.

Cosmic Chronicles: A user's guide to the Universe


Fred Watson - 2019
    

Finding Our Place in the Universe: How We Discovered Laniakea—the Milky Way's Home


Hélène Courtois - 2019
    And how can we pinpoint our location so precisely? For twenty years, astrophysicist Hélène Courtois surfed the cosmos with international teams of researchers, working to map our local universe. In this book, Courtois describes this quest and the discovery of our home supercluster.Courtois explains that Laniakea (which means “immense heaven” in Hawaiian) is the largest galaxy structure known to which we belong; it is huge, almost too large to comprehend—about five million light-years in diameter. It contains about 100,000 large galaxies like our own, and a million smaller ones. Writing accessibly for nonspecialists, Courtois describes the visualization and analysis that allowed her team to map such large structures of the universe. She highlights the work of individual researchers, including portraits of several exceptional women astrophysicists—presenting another side of astronomy. Key ideas are highlighted in text insets; illustrations accompany the main text.The French edition of this book was named the Best Astronomy Book of 2017 by the astronomy magazine Ciel et espace. For this MIT Press English-language edition, Courtois has added descriptions of discoveries made after Laniakea: the cosmic velocity web and the Dipole and Cold Spot repellers. An engaging account of one of the most important discoveries in astrophysics in recent years, her story is a tribute to teamwork and international collaboration.

Planetary Geoscience


Harry Y. McSween Jr. - 2019
    Over the past decades, however, spacecraft exploration and related laboratory research on extraterrestrial materials have given us a new understanding of planets and how they are shaped by geological processes. Based on a course taught at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, this is the first textbook to focus on geologic processes, adopting a comparative approach that demonstrates the similarities and differences between planets, and the reasons for these. Profusely illustrated, and with a wealth of pedagogical features, this book provides an ideal capstone course for geoscience majors - bringing together aspects of mineralogy, petrology, geochemistry, volcanology, sedimentology, geomorphology, tectonics, geophysics and remote sensing.

Galaxies: Birth and Destiny of Our Universe


Govert Schilling - 2019
    From Earth's mountaintops enormous telescopes peer deep beyond the Milky Way, while space telescopes locate majestic images, and through seemingly miraculous technology, capture them for us to look at and learn with amazement.Featuring the most recent, best, and even startling images with detailed captions highlighting accessible text, Galaxies shows the restless universe beyond our atmosphere. Photographs are from more than 30 of the world's largest ground-based telescopes, including the largest to date, the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile. It will not be until 2025 that an even larger telescope, the Giant Magellan Telescope, will join its neighbor in the mountains of Chile and open a wider window into the dark Universe. Images are also featured from the Hubble Space Telescope, which has continued to operate long past its expected life and to astound and astonish stargazers worldwide.Here is the glory of the galaxies:The Milky Way, our Galaxy -- Stellar Nurseries, Stars and Planets, When Stars Die; In the Heart of the Milky Way; Mapping the Milky Way Our Galactic Neighborhood -- The Magellanic Clouds; the Andromeda Galaxy; The Triangulum Galaxy; Satellite Galaxies How far away are the stars? The Gallery of Galaxies -- Spiral Galaxies; Barred Spiral Galaxies; Elliptical, Lenticular and Dwarf Galaxies; Dark Matter; The Expanding Universe Monsters and Black Holes -- Twisting Galaxies; Colliding Galaxies; Active Galactic Nuclei and Quasars; Supermassive Black Holes; Giant Eyes for the Sky Clusters of Galaxies -- Cosmic Clusters; Gravitational Lensing; Dark Forces; The Large-scale Structure of the Universe; Looking Back in Time Birth and Evolution -- At the Edge of Space and Time; The First Galaxies; The Beginning of the Universe; Dark Energy; Cosmology.

Eclipse Chaser: Science in the Moon's Shadow


Ilima Loomis - 2019
    Even in areas outside the path of totality, people watched in awe as the moon cast its shadow on the sun. For most, this was simply a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Not so for Shadia Habbal, who travels the world in search of solar eclipses in order to study the sun’s corona. Solar wind and storms originating in the corona can have big effects on our planet. They can disrupt technology, expose aircraft to radiation, and even influence global climate change. In the months leading up to the 2017 eclipse, Shadia assembles a team of scientists to set up camp with her in Mitchell, Oregon. Years earlier, a long, expensive trip to Indonesia to study an eclipse failed when the skies remained too cloudy to see it. Shadia is determined to have the 2017 eclipse be a success. Will the computers fail? Will smoke from nearby fires change direction? Will the cloudy skies clear in time? Readers will be on the edge of their seats as they count down the months, days, hours, and finally minutes until totality.

Stargazing: Photographs of the Night Sky from the Archives of NASA (Astronomy Photography Book, Astronomy Gift for Outer Space Lovers)


Nirmala Nataraj - 2019
    Devorkin and Robert W. Smith

50 Things To See In The Sky


Sarah Barker - 2019
    Explained with easy-to-understand commentary from astrophysicist and science communicator, Sarah Barker, and illustrated throughout with captivating drawings by Maria Nilsson, each guide helps you locate incredible sights. A beautifully presented, practical gift guide to 50 sights in the skies above us – complete with a glow-in-the dark front cover. Explained with fascinating, easy-to-understand commentary from astrophysicist and science communicator, Sarah Barker, and illustrated throughout with captivating drawings by Maria Nilsson, each guide helps you locate an incredible sight.The book is divided into three main sections – and whether you use the naked eye, a telescope, or fall into a black hole of online research, you’ll discover the limitless wonder of the skies – from otherworldly phenomena on Earth like sun dogs, to planets, moons, stars, lunar craters and galaxy clusters.Naked Eye: Learn how navigators travelled in the past by finding the North Star; say hello to our astronauts and learn how to spot the International Space Station; see a red supergiant star (Betelgeuse); and find out more about solar eclipses.Further Afield: Find out more about the next closest galaxy, Andromeda; learn about the discovery of Saturn’s ‘ears’ (or rings!); spot an alien storm that’s as big as the Earth; and track ‘Little Green Men’ and ice volcanoes.Far, Far Away: Learn how baby stars are created by the Pillars of Creation; marvel at the Hubble Deep Field; and unearth the brightest things in our universe, quasars.The book also includes advice on ideal conditions for observing the stars, telescopes and binoculars, and navigating the skies. With extra tips and a rundown of useful tools, you’ll find everything you need to get out there and look up!

Smithsonian: Super Space Encyclopedia


D.K. Publishing - 2019
    Super Space Encyclopedia travels to the farthest reaches of the universe to reveal the most awe-inspiring and mind-boggling cosmic wonders.Lift off on the fastest rocket, visit the hottest stars, and witness the most massive supernova ever seen as you tour the comets, planets, and galaxies of infinite space.

No Shadow of a Doubt: The 1919 Eclipse That Confirmed Einstein's Theory of Relativity


Daniel Kennefick - 2019
    The result ushered in a new era and made Einstein a global celebrity by confirming his dramatic prediction that the path of light rays would be bent by gravity. Today, Einstein's theory is scientific fact. Yet the effort to "weigh light" by measuring the gravitational deflection of starlight during the May 29, 1919, solar eclipse has become clouded by myth and skepticism. Could Arthur Eddington and Frank Dyson have gotten the results they claimed? Did the pacifist Eddington falsify evidence to foster peace after a horrific war by validating the theory of a German antiwar campaigner? In No Shadow of a Doubt, Daniel Kennefick provides definitive answers by offering the most comprehensive and authoritative account of how expedition scientists overcame war, bad weather, and equipment problems to make the experiment a triumphant success.The reader follows Eddington on his voyage to Africa through his letters home, and delves with Dyson into how the complex experiment was accomplished, through his notes. Other characters include Howard Grubb, the brilliant Irishman who made the instruments; William Campbell, the American astronomer who confirmed the result; and Erwin Findlay-Freundlich, the German whose attempts to perform the test in Crimea were foiled by clouds and his arrest.By chronicling the expeditions and their enormous impact in greater detail than ever before, No Shadow of a Doubt reveals a story that is even richer and more exciting than previously known.

2020 Stargazing: Month-by-Month Guide to the Night Sky


Heather Couper - 2019
    It will help starwatchers to see all the year's most fascinating events, whether observing with the naked eye or with a large telescope.

Origins of 21st-Century Space Travel


Glen R. Asner - 2019
    Bush announced at NASA Headquarters that the Agency would embark on a new Vision for Space Exploration as it resumed Shuttle flights and worked toward completion of the International Space Station. The President’s ambitious agenda included lunar and Martian exploration with robotic precursors followed by human missions. The conceptual foundations of the President’s plan had their origins in 1999, when NASA Administrator Dan Goldin initiated a Decadal Planning Team to generate viable plans for humans and robots to explore space beyond low-Earth orbit. This book provides a detailed historical account of the ideas, debates, and decisions that opened the way for a new generation of spaceflight at the start of the 21st Century.

More Things in the Heavens: How Infrared Astronomy Is Expanding Our View of the Universe


Michael Werner - 2019
    Launched in 2003, the Spitzer Space Telescope has brought the infrared universe into focus as never before. Michael Werner and Peter Eisenhardt are among the scientists who worked for decades to bring this historic mission to life. Here is their inside story of how Spitzer continues to carry out cutting-edge infrared astronomy to help answer fundamental questions that have intrigued humankind since time immemorial: Where did we come from? How did the universe evolve? Are we alone?In this panoramic book, Werner and Eisenhardt take readers on a breathtaking guided tour of the cosmos in the infrared, beginning in our solar system and venturing ever outward toward the distant origins of the expanding universe. They explain how astronomers use the infrared to observe celestial bodies that are too cold or too far away for their light to be seen by the eye, to conduct deep surveys of galaxies as they appeared at the dawn of time, and to peer through dense cosmic clouds that obscure major events in the life cycles of planets, stars, and galaxies.Featuring many of Spitzer's spectacular images, More Things in the Heavens provides a thrilling look at how infrared astronomy is aiding the search for exoplanets and extraterrestrial life, and transforming our understanding of the history and evolution of our universe.

The Lost Planets: Peter Van de Kamp and the Vanishing Exoplanets Around Barnard's Star


John Wenz - 2019
    Between 2009 and 2018, NASA's Kepler space telescope discovered thousands of them. But exoplanets—planets outside the solar system—appeared in science fiction before they appeared in telescopes. Astronomers in the early decades of the twentieth century spent entire careers searching for planets in other stellar systems. In The Lost Planets, John Wenz offers an account of the pioneering astronomer Peter van de Kamp, who was one of the first to claim discovery of exoplanets.Van de Kamp, working at Swarthmore College's observatory, announced in 1963 that he had identified a planet around Barnard's star, the second-closest star system to the Sun. He cited the deviations in Barnard's star's path—“wobbles” that suggested a large object was lurching around the star. Van de Kamp became something of a celebrity (appearing on a television show with “Mr. Wizard,” Don Henry), but subsequent research did not support his claims. Wenz describes van de Kamp's stubborn refusal to accept that he was wrong, discusses the evidence found by other researchers, and explains recent advances in exoplanet detection, including transit, radial velocity, direct imaging, and microlensing.Van de Kamp retired from Swarthmore in 1972, and died in 1995 at 93. In 2009, Swarthmore named its new observatory the Peter van de Kamp Observatory. In the 1990s, astronomers discovered and confirmed the first planet outside our solar system. In 2018, an exoplanet was detected around Barnard's star—not, however, the one van de Kamp thought he had discovered in 1963.

Falling Flat: A Refutation of Flat Earth Claims


Danny M. Faulkner - 2019
    Now, be prepared when faced with these untruths and misleading agendas and get the facts regarding the flat earth fallacy. - Powerful answers to refute misleading and false flat earth claims - Important, thoroughly researched, historical and scientific evidences disproving a flat earth - Vital context of biblical truths and effective apologetics for Christians Enjoy a fascinating look at discoveries, science, and the Church throughout history as it faces down and disproves over and over again flat earth fallacies.

Let's Go: Into Space


Timothy Knapman - 2019
    Each turn of the fact-filled pages launches readers deeper into outer space on a colorful and fascinating tour of the stars.

Degree in a Book: Cosmology: Everything You Need to Know to Master the Subject - In One Book!


Sten Odenwald - 2019
    Learning cosmology has never been easier.By the time you have finished this book you will be able to answer questions like:How do we know the universe is expanding?What is the theory of relativity?How does the Higgs mechanism work?What is dark matter?

Spaceflight: The Complete Story from Sputnik to Curiosity


Giles Sparrow - 2019