The Astronomy Bible: The Definitive Guide to the Night Sky and the Universe

by Heather Couper, Nigel Henbest

Overview

Interest in astronomy continues to grow stronger for readers of all ages. Recent astronomy titles, like History of Astronomy, have shown consistently strong sales. The Astronomy Bible is a comprehensive guide to the study of what lies beyond our planet. With this book readers can easily navigate the night sky, identify the constellations, and find planets, comets and galaxies.

Topics include:

• The History of Astronomy
• How to Observe the Sky
• The Solar System
• The Moon
• The Planets
• The Sun and the Stars
• Comets and Meteors
• Galaxies, Black Holes and Quasars
• What Lies Beyond...
• Moon and Planet Maps
• Star Finder Charts
• Constellation Maps.

Well priced, informative and fully illustrated, this is a valuable companion for stargazers of all ages.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781770854826
Publisher:	Firefly Books, Limited
Publication date:	01/22/2015
Series:	Subject Bible
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 6.70(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Heather Couper studied astrophysics at Oxford University. She ran the Greenwich Planetarium and is a past President of both the British Astronomical Association and the Society for Popular Astronomy, as well as a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and the Institute of Physics.

Nigel Henbest was Astronomy Consultant to New Scientist magazine, Editor of the Journal of the British Astronomical Association, and Media Consultant to the Royal Greenwich Observatory.

The team were authors of The History of Astronomy.

Table of Contents

Contents

Introduction

Observing the sky
The Moon
Planets
Cosmic vermin
Sun
Stars
Cosmos
Constellations
Reference
Index
Acknowledgments
Photo credits

Preface

Introduction

What Is Astronomy?

Picture a breathtakingly clear starry, starry night. The heavens are spangled with diamonds, glittering against the black velvet of space . . .

Each of these thousands of stars has a personality; each has its own story to tell.

Our ancestors saw the sky as a starscape, just as we see a landscape on Earth. And, just as we make maps of our world, they joined up the dots in the sky, making them into the constellation patterns we know today. To ensure that farmers and navigators at sea knew the star patterns, they invoked well-known stories to describe them.

Against this tableau of bears, giants, celestial crosses and flying swans, the heavens can give us surprises: an outburst of shooting stars; a comet; the glorious display of the Northern or Southern lights, with their swirling curtains of red and green, or even an exploding star.

Then we have our much-loved Moon, whose face changes from day-to-day as it orbits the Earth. And the planets, from Mercury to Neptune, grace our skies every night of the year. Our local star, the Sun, puts in an appearance every day (weather permitting).

This is astronomy: a celebration of the beauty of the heavens, and a science that now brings in physics, chemistry, mathematics and biology.

But the glory of astronomy is that it's not brain surgery. Anyone can do it.

You can delight in the heavens by lying on your steamer or deck chair and gazing at the stars and planets, or you can bring them closer by using binoculars or a telescope. You could even go the whole way and do an astronomy or astrophysics degree at university. That is what you need to be a pro.

Professional astronomy today is truly awesome. A whole armory of sophisticated and powerful equipment around the world is trained on the sky, as well as massive telescopes in space. Who can forget the "Pillars of Creation" image from the Hubble Space Telescope?

Astronomers launch probes to the planets, and one of them may have found primitive life on Mars. They have discovered objects beyond the imagination of their predecessors: supernovae (exploding stars), white dwarfs, quasars, pulsars (ultra-dense stars whirling around faster than you can blink) and black holes. They have even pinned down the origin of the Universe itself to a Big Bang nearly 14 billion years ago.

Astronomy is an adventure and this book shows how you can be part of it. The sky's the limit!

Editorial Reviews

Featuring striking, full-color photography of stars and planets and throughout, The Astronomy Bible: The Definitive Guide to the Night Sky and the Universe is a compact-sized, comprehensive guide to this ancient science. Chapters discuss the long history of humankind's observation of the sun, the moon, constellations, planets, comets, and more. Reference pages (including a list of forthcoming eclipses for the next five years) and an index round out this fascinating resource, thoroughly accessible to novice and veteran stargazers alike. Highly recommended.

Midwest Book Review

Interest in astronomy continues to grow stronger for readers of all ages. The Astronomy Bible is a comprehensive guide to the study of what lies beyond our planet and covers everything from the basic concepts of how to observe space to the current theories on everything from black holes to red giants. With this book readers can easily navigate the night sky, identify the constellations, and find planets, comets, and galaxies. Topics include the history of astronomy, how to observe the sky, the solar system, what lies beyond, Moon and planet maps, star-finder charts, and constellation maps. Informative and fully illustrated, this is a valuable companion for stargazers of all ages.

Lunar and Planetary Institute

There is no better time to sit back and look at the starry sky than summer. The Astronomy Bible has everything you need to understand just what lies beyond our planet. Learn about the history of astronomy, the sun and the moon, asteroids, comets and meteors, constellations and more as you flip through the pages of this illustrated guide.

Ottawa Life