Take a look through the lens and discover the beauty and science of the magnificent night sky - and beyond!

This stunningly-illustrated space book is split into eight sections that cover every aspect of astronomy. Learn about the history of discoveries in the field and astronomical phenomena, from the earliest human civilizations to the present day, and then take a lavish visual tour of the Solar System, complete with the most spectacular photographs of the planets.

A magnificent month-by-month guide to the night sky, with profiles of all 88 constellations, over 100 star charts covering both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, and an almanac of astronomical events over the next decade, Astronomy: A Visual Guide will help you to navigate your way around the night sky, and locate stars, galaxies, and other objects.

Soar into the pages of this spectacular space book to reveal:

• All 88 constellations with over 100 star charts and a guide to the latest space-observing equipment.
• Groundbreaking discoveries and the most awe-inspiring images of the universe.
• Written by Ian Ridpath, the editor of Norton's Star Atlas.
• Includes a 10-year calendar of celestial events such as eclipses and comet appearances.

Also featuring no-nonsense advice on how to observe the skies using the naked eye, binoculars, and telescopes, Astronomy: A Visual Guide is the perfect guide for keen amateur astronomers, as well as a great reference book for the whole family.

Award-winning University of Oxford researcher Dr Becky Smethurst charts five hundred years of scientific breakthroughs in astronomy and astrophysics.

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 this cosmic tale of discovery, Dr Becky Smethurst 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.

Despite its apparent unchanging appearance in the daytime sky, the Sun is incredibly dynamic and shrouded in mystery. In this guide, Dr. Ryan French explores history, science, and modern observations to uncover the mysteries of the Sun.

From ancient astronomers who hailed the Sun as a deity, to new age space exploration, the way we observe the Sun has come a long way. Humanity’s scientific journey to understand the Sun has included many intriguing and humorous tales from over the centuries. In today’s age, it is far easier to become a sun observer. Learn about cutting-edge space observations of the Sun and how to access these images from home. Uncover further methods of observing the Sun safely from your own back garden using off-the-shelf solar telescopes, DIY pin-hole cameras and solar projectors.

The perfect gift for anyone wishing to learn more about our local star.

In this volume of essays, the top experts and major players behind the United States's recently renewed push to the moon fuel a growing debate over lunar exploration. The announcement in 2004 that the U.S. would be revamping its moon program inspired both excitement about the possibilities and concern over cost and safety issues. This book takes the controversy out of the realm of pure science and into the mainstream of national debate. Lunar experts Alan Binder, Andy Chaikin, Yoji Kondo, Courtney Stadd, Frank White, and many others weigh in on the case for a return, point out the best way to do it, and speculate on what could be done with this newly obtained real estate. The essays are accompanied by illustrations of what life on the moon might look like. Contributions come from different perspectives and styles, offering a broad take on the very real possibility that humans will again walk-- and work, live, and play-- on the lunar landscape. From telescopes and tourism, to training for Mars, to building a new branch of humanity and saving the Earth, this compendium makes the case for sending people back to the moon.

Every rock has a story tell, and none more so than those which have fallen from the sky: meteorites. Originating in the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter, these rocky fragments offer clues not just to the earliest origins of the Solar System but also to Earth's very survival into the future. Sky at Night presenter, Dr Tim Gregory takes us on a journey through the very earliest days of our Solar System to the spectacular meteorite falls that produced 'fiery rain' in 1792, to the pre-solar grains (literally stardust) that were blown in from other solar systems and are the oldest solid objects ever discovered on earth. Meteorites reveal a story much bigger than ourselves or our planet. As Tim says, 'it is an epic beyond compare'.

Meteorites are natural objects that have fallen from space to the Earth's surface. Once considered bad omens, they are now recognised as a unique window onto the processes that forged the formation of the solar system 4,570 million years ago. They reveal how impacts have shaped and modified planets, asteroids and moons; and they even contain evidence of astrophysical phenomena that occurred long before our solar system was born. In Meteorites, leading experts from the Natural History Museum, London provide a compelling and cutting edge introduction to the evolving science of meteoritics. They reveal what meteorites are, where they are most likely to be found, and the type of celestial bodies that they hail from. The book contains all the latest information on key meteorite falls and considers some of the big questions that still remain - such as whether our solar system is unusual in creating a planet that supports life, and if it is likely we will find complex life elsewhere. With a mix of photographs, diagrams and maps, Meteorites is essential reading for all those with an interest in the nature of our solar system.

Every night, above our heads, a drama of epic proportions is playing out. Diamond planets, zombie stars, black holes heavier than a billion Suns. The cast of characters is extraordinary, and each one has its own incredible story to tell. We once thought of our Earth as unique, but we have now discovered thousands of alien planets, and that's barely a fraction of the worlds that are out there. And there are more stars in the Universe than grains of sand on every planet in the Solar System. But amid all this vastness, the Milky Way Galaxy, our Sun and the Earth are home to the only known life in the Universe - at least for now. With a foreword from Professor Brian Cox, and access to all the latest stunning NASA photography, Andrew Cohen takes readers on a voyage of discovery, via the probes and telescopes exploring the outer reaches of our galaxy, revealing how it was formed and how it will inevitably be destroyed by the enigmatic black hole at its heart. And beyond our galaxy, the expanding Universe, which holds clues to the biggest mystery of all - how did it all begin? We now know more about those first moments of existence than we ever thought possible, and hidden in this story of how it all began are the clues to the fate of the Universe itself and everything in it.

No other planet in our Solar System has fascinated humankind more than Mars. What is it about this dusty, dry world that has captured our imaginations and driven us to explore it? Named after the Roman god of war, Mars is one of the most intensely studied planets in our Solar System. Beginning with our earliest studies of the 'red planet', Patricia Skelton embarks on a journey of discovery, encompassing everything from ancient astronomy to contemporary pop culture. Learn about the space missions that have transformed our understanding of Mars, the rovers that call it home today and the challenges facing us as we aim to send humans there in the future.

From myth to Musk, astrology to astronomy, Dr Stuark Clark selects the very best writing about the Red Planet. From its very first sighting, Mars has been a source of fascination for humanity. Named for the Roman god of war, this red planet has been explored more than any other beyond Earth and continues to occupy a distinctive place in our imagination. It's an environment that may even foster life. In The Book of Mars, Dr Stuart Clark selects one hundred pieces of writing about the planet. It is a collection that brings together fact and fiction, dreams and fears, centuries of observation and more recent feats of interstellar exploration. From classic writers of science fiction – Stanley G. Weinbaum, Arthur C. Clarke, H.G. Wells, Ray Bradbury, Pamela Sargent, Roger Zelazny – to distinguished experts in astronomy, astrobiology and aerospace engineering; from Hugo and Nebula Award-winning authors – Kim Stanley Robinson, Mary Robinette Kowal – to trail-blazing journalists and science communicators; from Andy Weir's The Martian to Elon Musk's SpaceX programme, The Book of Mars is an extraordinary overview both of the Red Planet and of the way scientific investigation diffuses into culture.

In The Smallest Lights in the Universe, MIT astrophysicist Sara Seager interweaves the story of her search for meaning and solace after losing her first husband to cancer, her unflagging search for an Earth-like exoplanet and her unexpected discovery of new love. Sara Seager has made it her life's work to peer into the spaces around stars – looking for exoplanets outside our solar system, hoping to find the one-in-a-billion world enough like ours to sustain life. But with the unexpected death of her husband, her life became an empty, lightless space. Suddenly, she was the single mother of two young boys, a widow at forty, clinging to three crumpled pages of instructions her husband had written for things like grocery shopping – things he had done while she did pioneering work as a planetary scientist at MIT. She became painfully conscious of her Asperger's, which before losing her husband had felt more like background noise. She felt, for the first time, alone in the universe. In this probing, invigoratingly honest memoir, Seager tells the story of how, as she stumblingly navigated the world of grief, she also kept looking for other worlds. She continues to develop ground-breaking projects, such as the Starshade, a sunflower-shaped instrument that, when launched into space, unfurls itself so as to block planet-obscuring starlight, and she takes solace in the alien beauty of exoplanets. At the same time, she discovers what feels every bit as wondrous: other people, reaching out across the space of her grief. Among them are the Widows of Concord, a group of women offering consolation and advice, and her beloved sons, Max and Alex. Most unexpected of all, there is another kind of one-in-a-billion match with an amateur astronomer. Equally attuned to the wonders of deep space and human connection, The Smallest Lights in the Universe is its own light in the dark.

This text expounds in a logical and scientific manner the idea that life did not originate on earth, but was added to it from the comets. When Fred Hoyle and Chandra Wickramasinghe first made this proposal in the 1970s, they had few takers - because the theory flew in the face of established beliefs. This text argues that in recent years, evidence to support this theory has accumulated from many different directions and grown to the point of being compelling. This work should be of value to readers interested in general science, the origin of man and the meaning of life.

This concise and systematic account of the current state of this new branch of astrophysics presents the theoretical foundations of plasma astrophysics, magneto-hydrodynamics and coronal magnetic structures, taking into account the full range of available observation techniques -- from radio to gamma. The book discusses stellar loops during flare energy releases, MHD waves and oscillations, plasma instabilities and heating and charged particle acceleration. Current trends and developments in MHD seismology of solar and stellar coronal plasma systems are also covered, while recent progress is presented in the observational study of quasi-periodic pulsations in solar and stellar flares with radio, optical, X and gamma rays. In addition, the authors investigate the origin of coherent radio emission from stellar loops, paying special attention to their fine structure. For advanced students and specialists in astronomy, as well as theoretical and plasma physics.

Influenced by astronomy education research, 21st Century Astronomy offers a complete pedagogical and media package that facilitates learning by doing, while the new one-column design makes the Fifth Edition the most accessible introductory text available today.

Moons come, quite literally, in all shapes and sizes. Our Moon is just one of more than 200 moons in the Solar System that we've identified so far. Scientists have discovered moons made of rock, others of ice. There are moons with atmospheres or with oceans hidden beneath their surfaces, and even some with active volcanoes. Others could perhaps be suitable for life! Astronomer Anna Gammon-Ross of Royal Observatory Greenwich travels through the Solar System, hopping from one moon to the next, to discover not only what these natural satellites have in common, but also what makes each one unique. Learn about the moons that can be found in and around Saturn's rings (and the many others we suspect there could be), the objects orbiting the distant dwarf planets and the curious theory of moon-moons.

The Sunday Times Bestseller In Wonders of the Solar System - the book of the acclaimed BBC TV series - Professor Brian Cox will take us on a journey of discovery where alien worlds from your imagination become places we can see, feel and visit. The Wonders of the Solar System - from the giant ice fountains of Enceladus to the liquid methane seas of Titan and from storms twice the size of the Earth to the tortured moon of Io with its giant super-volcanoes - is the Solar System as you have never seen it before. In this series, Professor Brian Cox will introduce us to the planets and moons beyond our world, finding the biggest, most bizarre, most powerful natural phenomena. Using the latest scientific imagery along with cutting edge CGI and some of the most spectacular and extreme locations on Earth, Brian will show us Wonders never thought possible. Employing his trademark clear, authoritative, yet down-to-earth approach, Brian will explore how these previously unseen phenomena have dramatically expanded our horizons with new discoveries about the planets, their moons and how they came to be the way they are.

Divided into two parts, the first four chapters of Comets and their Origin refer to comets and their formation in general, describing cometary missions, comet remote observations, astrochemistry, artificial comets, and the chirality phenomenon. The second part covers the cometary ROSETTA mission, its launch, journey, scientific objectives, and instrumentations, as well as the landing scenario on a cometary nucleus. Along the way, the author presents general questions concerning the origin of terrestrial water and the molecular beginnings of life on Earth, as well as how the instruments used on a space mission like ROSETTA can help answer them. The text concludes with a chapter on what scientists expect from the ROSETTA mission and how its data will influence our life on Earth. As a result, the author elucidates highly topical and fascinating knowledge to scientists and students of various scientific backgrounds, allowing them to work with ROSETTA's data.

While presenting current knowledge as well as unsolved problems in our understanding of the sun, this book also shows the fascinating interplay between particle physics and astrophysics -- culminating in the discovery of neutrino oscillations. The text begins with an overview of how the model of the sun and thus of stars in general evolved over time, a development accompanied and maintained by some of the greatest discoveries in physics, ranging from the evolution of quantum mechanics, via nuclear physics right up to modern questions in particle physics. Special emphasis is placed on the current generation of solar neutrino observatories, and although neutrino oscillations form the central subject of the book, open questions and problems as well as possible solutions are also discussed.

Comet presents the amazing story of the Rosetta space probe and its interstellar voyage to the comet Tchoury. Its mission - to find clues to the origins of our solar system and the emergence of life on Earth. Following a ten-year voyage and a journey spanning millions of kilometres through our Solar System, the Rosetta entered the comet's orbit. Its lander, Philae - a miniature science laboratory - landed directly on Tchoury's surface and was able to take the photographs presented here. This triumph of scientific endeavour brought back a raft of incredible new photographs, the best of which are featured here. The book is built around the various phases in Rosetta's journey: leaving Earth, breaching its atmosphere and watching the lights of home recede; skirting the Moon and coming close to Mars; plunging into the cosmos' starry void and approaching the comet; and, finally, landing on Tchoury. The photographs are accompanied by a text that reflects on the objectives of the mission and the accomplishment of such a technological feat for humanity. Detailed captions provide the reader with accessible scientific information, enabling them to get to the heart of the subject.

Sir George Darwin (1845-1912) was the second son and fifth child of Charles Darwin. After studying mathematics at Cambridge he read for the Bar, but soon returned to science and to Cambridge, where in 1883 he was appointed Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy. His family home is now the location of Darwin College. His work was concerned primarily with the effect of the sun and moon on tidal forces on Earth, and with the theoretical cosmogony which evolved from practical observation: he formulated the fission theory of the formation of the moon (that the moon was formed from still-molten matter pulled away from the Earth by solar tides). He also developed a theory of evolution for the Sun-Earth-Moon system based on mathematical analysis in geophysical theory. This volume of his collected papers covers oceanic tides and lunar disturbances of gravity.

Sir George Darwin (1845-1912) was the second son and fifth child of Charles Darwin. After studying mathematics at Cambridge he read for the Bar, but soon returned to science and to Cambridge, where in 1883 he was appointed Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy. His family home is now the location of Darwin College. His work was concerned primarily with the effect of the sun and moon on tidal forces on Earth, and with the theoretical cosmogony which evolved from practical observation: he formulated the fission theory of the formation of the moon (that the moon was formed from still-molten matter pulled away from the Earth by solar tides). He also developed a theory of evolution for the Sun-Earth-Moon system based on mathematical analysis in geophysical theory. This volume of his collected papers covers tidal friction and cosmogony.

Sir George Darwin (1845-1912) was the second son and fifth child of Charles Darwin. After studying mathematics at Cambridge he read for the Bar, but soon returned to science and to Cambridge, where in 1883 he was appointed Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy. His family home is now the location of Darwin College. His work was concerned primarily with the effect of the sun and moon on tidal forces on Earth, and with the theoretical cosmogony which evolved from practical observation: he formulated the fission theory of the formation of the moon (that the moon was formed from still-molten matter pulled away from the Earth by solar tides). He also developed a theory of evolution for the Sun-Earth-Moon system based on mathematical analysis in geophysical theory. This volume of his collected papers covers figures of equilibrium of rotating liquid and geophysical investigations.

Sir George Darwin (1845-1912) was the second son and fifth child of Charles Darwin. After studying mathematics at Cambridge he read for the Bar, but soon returned to science and to Cambridge, where in 1883 he was appointed Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy. His family home is now the location of Darwin College. His work was concerned primarily with the effect of the sun and moon on tidal forces on Earth, and with the theoretical cosmogony which evolved from practical observation: he formulated the fission theory of the formation of the moon (that the moon was formed from still-molten matter pulled away from the Earth by solar tides). This volume of his collected papers covers periodic orbits and some miscellaneous papers, including two investigating the health statistics of the marriage of first cousins - of interest to a member of a dynasty in which such marriages were common.

Sir George Darwin (1845-1912) was the second son of Charles Darwin. After studying mathematics at Cambridge he read for the Bar, but soon returned to science and to Cambridge, where in 1883 he was appointed Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy. His work was concerned primarily with the effect of the sun and moon on tidal forces on Earth, and with the theoretical cosmogony which evolved from practical observation: he formulated the fission theory of the formation of the moon (that the moon was formed from still-molten matter pulled away from the Earth by solar tides). He also developed a theory of evolution for the Sun-Earth-Moon system based on mathematical analysis in geophysical theory. This volume, published in 1916 after the author's death, includes a biographical memoir by his brother Sir Francis Darwin, his inaugural lecture and his lectures on George W. Hill's lunar theory.

"How do alien, faraway worlds reveal their existence to Earthlings? Let Donald Goldsmith count the ways. As an experienced astronomer and a gifted storyteller, he is the perfect person to chronicle the ongoing hunt for planets of other stars." -Dava Sobel Astronomers have recently discovered thousands of planets that orbit stars throughout our Milky Way galaxy. With his characteristic wit and style, Donald Goldsmith presents the science of exoplanets and the search for extraterrestrial life in a way that Earthlings with little background in astronomy or astrophysics can understand and enjoy. Much of what has captured the imagination of planetary scientists and the public is the unexpected strangeness of these distant worlds, which bear little resemblance to the planets in our solar system. The sizes, masses, and orbits of exoplanets detected so far raise new questions about how planets form and evolve. Still more tantalizing are the efforts to determine which exoplanets might support life. Astronomers are steadily improving their means of examining these planets' atmospheres and surfaces, with the help of advanced spacecraft sent into orbits a million miles from Earth. These instruments will provide better observations of planetary systems in orbit around the dim red stars that throng the Milky Way. Previously spurned as too faint to support life, these cool stars turn out to possess myriad planets nestled close enough to maintain Earthlike temperatures. The quest to find other worlds brims with possibility. Exoplanets shows how astronomers have broadened our planetary horizons, and suggests what may come next, including the ultimate discovery: life beyond our home planet.

The full story of how our relationship with light shapes our health, productivity and mood.

'A sparkling and illuminating study, one of those rare books that could genuinely improve your life' Sunday Times

Since the dawn of time, humans have worshipped the sun. And with good reason. Our biology is set up to work in partnership with it. From our sleep cycles to our immune systems and our mental health, access to sunlight is crucial for living a happy and fulfilling life. New research suggests that our sun exposure over a lifetime - even before we were born - may shape our risk of developing a range of different illnesses, from depression to diabetes.

Bursting with cutting-edge science and eye-opening advice, Chasing the Sun explores the extraordinary significance of sunlight, from ancient solstice celebrations to modern sleep labs, and from the unexpected health benefits of sun exposure to what the Amish know about sleep that the rest of us don't.

As more of us move into light-polluted cities, spending our days in dim offices and our evenings watching brightly lit screens, we are in danger of losing something vital: our connection to the star that gave us life. It's a loss that could have far-reaching consequences that we're only just beginning to grasp.