- Ancient Light
- In the most comprehensive, up-to-date, and lucid exploration of cosmology available today, MIT astrophysicist and science writer Alan Lightman takes the reader on a grand tour of the universe. In this slim volume he explores the history of cosmology, the theories and the evidence, the new discoveries, the outstanding questions, and the controversies.
- Hardcover 1991 / Paperback
- Cosmic Rays
- Day in and day out, cosmic rays from the far reaches of space pass through our bodies, yet modern astrophysics has still to unlock all their secrets. Friedlander's engaging tale of this peculiar rain of charged particles begins with their discovery early in this century and goes on to describe impressive attempts by a special breed of scientists--sometimes engaging in swashbuckling science at its most adventurous--to fill in the gaps in our knowledge.
- Hardcover 1989 / Paperback 1990
- Darkness at Night
- In tracing this story of discovery--one of the most intriguing in the history of science--the astronomer and physicist Edward Harrison explores the concept of infinite space, the structure and age of the universe, the nature of light, and other subjects that once were so perplexing. Harrison's style is engaging, incisive yet poetic, and his strong grasp of history--from the Greeks to the twentieth century--adds perspective, depth, and scope to the narrative.
- Hardcover 1987 / Paperback
- Earth, Moon, and Planets
- This third edition of Mr. Whipple's popular and authoritative book is thoroughly revised in light of this new knowledge. The book is written in nontechnical language and with a lucid, witty style that is readily understandable to the interested layman. Mathematics has been avoided, and scientific methods and processes are described in simple terms. In presenting the latest information about the planets and their moons, Mr. Whipple discusses their origin and evolution, motions, atmospheres, temperatures, surface conditions, the environment essential for life as we know it, and the possibilities of life outside the Earth. He concludes with a discussion of current theories about the origin of the solar system.
- Hardcover 1968
- Galaxies
- Galaxies are among nature's most aweinspiring and beautifully formed objects. In this highly informative and lucidly written book, Paul Hodge seeks to demystify galaxies and to examine closely our present-day knowledge of these magnificent star systems.
- Hardcover 1986
- Galaxies and the Cosmic Frontier
- Orienting us with an insider's tour of our cosmic home, the Milky Way, William Waller and Paul Hodge then take us on a spectacular journey, inviting us to probe the exquisite structures and dynamics of the giant spiral and elliptical galaxies, to witness colliding and erupting galaxies, and to pay our respects to the most powerful galaxies of all--the quasars. A basic guide to the latest news from the cosmic frontier--about the black holes in the centers of galaxies, about the way in which some galaxies cannibalize each other, about the vast distances between galaxies, and about the remarkable new evidence regarding dark energy and the cosmic expansion--this book gives us a firm foundation for exploring the more speculative fringes of our current understanding.
- Hardcover 2003
- Galileo's Glassworks
- Galileo and the Dutch telescope have long enjoyed a durable connection in the popular mind, transforming a rather modest middle-aged scholar into the icon of the Copernican Revolution. And yet the speed with which the telescope changed the course of Galileo's life and early modern astronomy obscures his actual delayed encounter with the instrument. This book considers the lapse between the telescope's 1608 creation in The Hague and Galileo's acquaintance with such news ten months later. Along the way, Reeves offers a revised chronology of Galileo's life in this critical period.
- Hardcover 2008
- Giant Telescopes
- By focusing on the history of the Gemini Observatory--twin 8-meter telescopes located on mountain peaks in Hawaii and Chile--Giant Telescopes tells the story behind the planning and construction of modern scientific tools, offering a detailed view of the technological and political transformation of astronomy in the postwar era.
- Hardcover 2004 / Paperback 2006
- Life in Space
A truly interdisciplinary endeavor, astrobiology looks at the evidence of astronomy, biology, physics, chemistry, and a host of other fields. A grand narrative emerges, beginning from the smallest, most common particles yet producing amazing complexity and order. Lucas Mix is a congenial guide through the depths of astrobiology, exploring how the presence of planets around other stars affects our knowledge of our own planet; how water, carbon, and electrons interact to form life as we know it; and how the processes of evolution and entropy act upon every living thing.
- Hardcover 2009
- The Milky Way, 5th ed
- Hardcover
- Nearest Star
- In this richly illustrated book, two of the world's leading solar scientists unfold all that history and science--from the first cursory observations to the measurements obtained by the latest state-of-the-art instruments--have revealed about the Sun.
- Hardcover 2001 / Paperback 2002
- Orbiting the Sun
- In a dazzling combination of text and illustrations, Orbiting the Sun offers vistas that rival science fiction. Every step of the way, Fred Whipple provides the basic foundation in astronomy that enables the reader to be not merely awed and entranced but thoroughly informed, with a solid and satisfying understanding of the workings of our solar system.
- Hardcover 1981 / Paperback
- Origins
- Origins reveals the human being within the scientist in a study of the philosophical, personal, and social factors that enter into the scientific process.
- Hardcover 1990 / Paperback
- The Orion Nebula
- The glowing cloud in Orion's sword, the Orion Nebula is a thing of beauty in the night sky; it is also the closest center of massive star formation--a stellar nursery that reproduces the conditions in which our own Sun formed some 4.5 billion years ago.C. Robert O'Dell has spent a lifetime studying Orion, and in this book he explains what the Nebula is, how it shines, its role in giving birth to stars, and the insights it affords into how common (or rare) planet formation might be. An account of astronomy's extended engagement with one remarkable celestial object, this book also tells the story of astronomy over the last four centuries.
- Hardcover 2003
- Planet Earth
- Hardcover 1990 / Paperback 1993
- Revealing the Universe
- From the first proposal for a large X-ray telescope in 1970 to the deployment of Chandra by the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1999, this book chronicles the technical feats, political struggles, and personal dramas that transformed an inspired vision into the world's supreme X-ray observatory.
- Hardcover 2001
- Rockets into Space
- In Rockets into Space, Frank Winter tells the fascinating story of the modern launch vehicle, from the mythological musings of the Babylonians and Greeks to the present-day reality of manned and unmanned space flight. In concise yet comprehensive chapters dense with anecdotal detail, Winter tracks the theoretical formulations and technological breakthroughs that have charted the evolution of rocket propulsion and vehicle design. Rockets into Space is an authoritative, entertaining guidebook for all who are interested in the history of space travel.
- Hardcover 1990 / Paperback
- Source Book in Astronomy and Astrophysics, 1900-1975
- Hardcover 1979
- A Source Book in Astronomy, 1900-1950
- Hardcover 1960
- Space Commerce
- Space Commerce relates the story of private enterprise's unsteady rise to prominence as a major influence on world space policy and research. In this book John McLucas covers the broad sweep of space commerce, both the vision and the reality.
- Hardcover 1991
- The Sun in the Church
- Between 1650 and 1750, four Catholic churches were the best solar observatories in the world. Built to fix an unquestionable date for Easter, they also housed instruments that threw light on the disputed geometry of the solar system, and so, within sight of the altar, subverted Church doctrine about the order of the universe. A tale of politically canny astronomers and cardinals with a taste for mathematics, The Sun in the Church tells how these observatories came to be, how they worked, and what they accomplished, providing a magnificent corrective to long-standing oversimplified accounts of the hostility between science and religion.
- Hardcover 1999 / Paperback 2001
- Thunderstones and Shooting Stars
- Meteorites have been called "the poor man's space probe," for they are the only extraterrestrial rocks that we can collect without benefit of spacecraft. This lively and accessible book both illuminates the complex science of meteoritics and conveys a sense of its excitement.
- Paperback 1988