Can you spot the Big Dipper in the night sky? Or Orion's Belt? Or Cassiopeia? Even in cities, and without the aid of a telescope, these are a few of the easier constellations to find. In fact, a great deal can be seen in the night sky with the naked eye - if you know what you're looking for. Night Sky presents 200 colour photographs of stunning nocturnal vistas all visible to the naked eye. From the majesty of the Northern Lights (Aurora borealis) as seen from Norway or Canada, and the Southern Lights (Aurora australis) as seen from Australia, to seeing the clarity of the Milky Way over an Italian forest, from witnessing a lunar eclipse in Indonesia to charting the course of the International Space Station across the Indian night, and from seeing a Geminid meteor shower in New Mexico to recognizing the Great Bear (Ursa Major) constellation over New England, the book is a feast of nocturnal delights. Where necessary, additional inset photographs indicate the formation of a constellation. Presented in a landscape format and with 200 outstanding colour photographs supported by fascinating captions, Night Sky is a stunning collection of images.

What does it take to consider a planet potentially habitable? If a planet is suitable for life, could life be present? Is life on other planets inevitable? Searching for Habitable Worlds answers these questions and provides both the general public and astronomy enthusiasts with a richly illustrated discussion of the most current knowledge regarding the search for extrasolar planets. Nearly everyone wants to know if we are alone in the universe. This book might not have the answers, but shows where we should look. This book is a fun and accessible book for everyone from middle schoolers to amateur astronomers of all ages. The use of non-technical language and abundant illustrations make this a quick read to inform everyone about the latest movement in the search for other planets that we might be able to inhabit. After a brief discussion on why humans are hard-wired to be curious, and to explore the unknown, the book describes what extrasolar planets are, how to detect them, and how to pin down potential targets. In addition, a data-driven list of the best candidates for habitability is profiled and the next generation of exoplanet-hunting scientific instruments and probes are identified.

The study of dark matter, in both astrophysics and particle physics, has emerged as one of the most active and exciting topics of research in recent years. This book reviews the history behind the discovery of missing mass (or unseen mass) in the Universe, and ties this into the proposed extensions to the Standard Model of Particle Physics (such as Supersymmetry), which were being proposed within the same time frame. This book is written as an introduction to these problems at the forefront of astrophysics and particle physics, with the goal of conveying the physics of dark matter to beginning undergraduate majors in scientific fields. The book goes onto describe existing and upcoming experiments and techniques, which will be used to detect dark matter either directly on indirectly.

This book argues that while the historiography of the development of scientific ideas has for some time acknowledged the important influences of socio-cultural and material contexts, the significant impact of traumatic events, life threatening illnesses and other psychotropic stimuli on the development of scientific thought may not have been fully recognised. Howard Carlton examines the available primary sources which provide insight into the lives of a number of nineteenth-century astronomers, theologians and physicists to study the complex interactions within their 'biocultural' brain-body systems which drove parallel changes of perspective in theology, metaphysics, and cosmology. In doing so, he also explores three topics of great scientific interest during this period: the question of the possible existence of life on other planets; the deployment of the nebular hypothesis as a theory of cosmogony; and the religiously charged debates about the ages of the earth and sun. From this body of evidence we gain a greater understanding of the underlying phenomena which actuated intellectual developments in the past and which are still relevant to today's knowledge-making processes.

Right now, you are orbiting a black hole. The Earth orbits the Sun, and the Sun orbits the centre of the Milky Way: a supermassive black hole, the strangest and most misunderstood phenomenon in the galaxy. In A Brief History of Black Holes, the award-winning University of Oxford researcher Dr Becky Smethurst charts five hundred years of scientific breakthroughs in astronomy and astrophysics. She takes us from the earliest observations of the universe and the collapse of massive stars, to the iconic first photographs of a black hole and her own published findings. A cosmic tale of discovery, Becky explains why black holes aren't really 'black', that you never ever want to be 'spaghettified', how black holes are more like sofa cushions than hoovers and why, beyond the event horizon, the future is a direction in space rather than in time. Told with humour and wisdom, this captivating book describes the secrets behind the most profound questions about our universe, all hidden inside black holes. 'A jaunt through space history . . . with charming wit and many pop-culture references' - BBC Sky At Night Magazine

At the XXIX IAU General Assembly held in Honolulu from 3-14 August 2015, the meetings known as Special Sessions and Joint Discussions were replaced by new 'Focus Meetings'. Astronomy in Focus XXIXB presents the most relevant contributions from the Focus Meetings together with summaries of all the accepted papers and posters. It covers the following topics: the legacy of Planck; x-ray surveys of the hot and energetic cosmos; stellar physics in galaxies; stellar explosions; gravitational waves and structure formation; the search for water and life's building blocks; red supergiants in the local Universe; advances in stellar physics from asteroseismology; scale-free processes in the Universe; and the frontiers of our understanding of cluster and galaxy evolution. The publications Astronomy in Focus XXIXB (together with its companion, XXIXA), the proceedings of the six main Scientific Symposia and Reports on Astronomy: Commission Legacy Reports, fully cover the XXIX IAU General Assembly.

Reach for the stars

Stargazing is the practice of observing the night sky and its contents - from constellations through to planets and galaxies. Stars and other night sky objects can be seen with the naked eye, or seen in greater numbers and in more detail with binoculars or a telescope.

"Stargazing For Dummies" offers you the chance to explore the night sky, providing a detailed guide to the main constellations and also offering advice on viewing other night sky objects such as planets and nebulae. It's a great introduction to a fun new hobby, and even provides a fun way to get the kids outside while doing something educational Gives you an introduction to looking at the sky with binoculars or a telescopeOffers advice on photographing the night skyWithout needing to get your head around mind-bending theories, you can take part in some practical physics

If you're looking for easy-to-follow guidance on getting to know the night sky, "Stargazing For Dummies" has you covered.

At the XXIX IAU General Assembly held in Honolulu from 3-14 August 2015, the meetings known as Special Sessions and Joint Discussions were replaced by new 'Focus Meetings'. Astronomy in Focus XXIXA presents the most relevant contributions from the Focus Meetings together with summaries of all the accepted papers and posters. It covers the meetings on the following areas: dynamical problems in extrasolar planet science; astronomical heritage; scholarly publishing in astronomy; statistics and exoplanets; the exploration of small worlds; ground and space astrophysics and heliophysics; laboratory astrophysics; brightness variations of the Sun and Sun-like stars; astronomy for development; and mitigating the threats of light pollution and radio frequency interference. The publications Astronomy in Focus XXIXA (together with its companion, XXIXB), the proceedings of the six main Scientific Symposia and Reports on Astronomy: Commission Legacy Reports, fully cover the XXIX IAU General Assembly.