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Books > Science & Mathematics > Astronomy, space & time > Popular astronomy

Astrotourism - Star Gazers, Eclipse Chasers, and the Dark Sky Movement (Paperback): Michael Marlin Astrotourism - Star Gazers, Eclipse Chasers, and the Dark Sky Movement (Paperback)
Michael Marlin
R805 R659 Discovery Miles 6 590 Save R146 (18%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

In the span of a single lifetime, light pollution stemming from Artificial Light At Night (ALAN) has severed our connection with the stars that we've had since the dawn of time. With the nocturnal biosphere significantly altered, light's anthropogenic influence has compelled millions of people to seek out the last remaining dark skies. This book explores the burgeoning growth of the astrotourism market, identifies star seeker trends, how the stars have shaped civilizations, and the budding space tourism industry. Discover ways to develop a destination for those who will cater to the astrotourist, share the night with guests, how to find customers, and the 2024 Great North American Eclipse. Meteor storms, eclipses, auroras, and other celestial phenomena have lured travellers for years. Here, the author expands the field of astrotourism with the inclusion of astronomical clocks, megaliths, and sundials, which are used to track the movement of the stars.

Guide to the Night Sky (Other printed item): Robin Scagell, Margaret Penston Guide to the Night Sky (Other printed item)
Robin Scagell, Margaret Penston
R142 Discovery Miles 1 420 Ships in 12 - 17 working days
Travels with Curiosity - Exploring Mars by Rover (Hardcover, 1st ed. 2020): Charles J. Byrne Travels with Curiosity - Exploring Mars by Rover (Hardcover, 1st ed. 2020)
Charles J. Byrne
R1,329 R1,067 Discovery Miles 10 670 Save R262 (20%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

The Mars Curiosity Rover is the most sophisticated mobile laboratory ever deployed on a planet. For over seven years, scores of investigators have planned its daily route and activities, poring over the overwhelming images and data and revising our understanding of planetary surfaces, geology, and potential habitability. This book takes readers right down to the surface of Mars, chronicling Curiosity's physical and scientific journey across the planet's Earth-like, yet strikingly alien vistas. Through dozens of images and descriptive accounts of the surface, you will gain a deeper knowledge of the Martian landscape, from the floor of Gale Crater up to the cliffs of Mount Sharp. Presented at the end of each chapter are the results and revelations from the science team spearheading the mission. Like any cross-country road trip, the rover has hit some unexpected hitches along the way. The book describes the obstacles faced by the rover and its scientists over the years and the difficult decisions and careful experimentation it took to solve them.

The Cambridge Double Star Atlas (Spiral bound, 2nd Revised edition): Bruce MacEvoy The Cambridge Double Star Atlas (Spiral bound, 2nd Revised edition)
Bruce MacEvoy; Illustrated by Wil Tirion
R1,216 Discovery Miles 12 160 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

The Cambridge Double Star Atlas is back! It is the first and only atlas of physical double stars that can be viewed with amateur astronomical instruments. Completely rewritten, this new edition explains the latest research into double stars, and looks at the equipment, techniques and opportunities that will enable you to discover, observe and measure them. The target list has been completely revised and extended to 2500 binary or multiple systems. Each system is described with the most recent and accurate data from the authoritative Washington Double Star Catalog, including the HD and SAO numbers that are most useful in our digital age. Hundreds of remarks explain the attributes of local, rapidly changing, often measured or known orbital systems. The color atlas charts by Wil Tirion have been updated to help you easily find and identify the target systems, as well as other deep-sky objects. This is an essential reference for double star observers.

Stars and Planets (Paperback): Ian Ridpath Stars and Planets (Paperback)
Ian Ridpath
R240 R192 Discovery Miles 1 920 Save R48 (20%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

The clearest, most accessible guide to observing the night sky. Introducing the Handbook of Stars and Planets - the perfect beginner's guide to the night sky! With a highly visual introduction that explains the basic concepts of astronomy and gives advice on the best methods and equipment for observation, including binoculars and telescopes, exploring the cosmos and more has never been easier or more accessible. Each of the planets in the Solar System is described and illustrated in detail, with images taken from space probes as well as from the ground, showing them as you can expect to see them. More than 160 star charts were made especially for this book by the Royal Greenwich Observatory. There is a separate detailed chart for each of the 88 constellations, adding up to a complete atlas of the sky. The text for each constellation reveals its history and mythology and lists notable stars, galaxies, nebulae, and other objects. Alongside the constellation profiles is a month-by-month guide, including a set of charts and a user-friendly text guide that picks out the highlights above your head each month. Soar into the pages of this awe-inspiring astronomy book to explore: - Introduction section provides an accessible primer on the basics of astronomy and sky-watching - Equipment section includes a guide to the main kinds of binoculars, telescopes, and camera equipment - Practical advice also includes observing the sky with the naked eye - Profiles of planets and constellations include colour-coded data tables, delivering fast facts for quick reference -Accessible text explains concepts clearly and guides the reader from beginner to intermediate-level astronomer This newly-updated guide to the Solar System includes new discoveries, revised data, and the latest images from space probes! The revisions to constellation and monthly sky guides include new data on stars and other objects such as galaxies, as well as a refreshed guide to binoculars, telescopes, and cameras. Complete with jargon-free text written by one of the foremost popularisers of astronomy and an authority on the history of constellations, the DK Handbook of Stars and Planets is the perfect introduction to stargazing! So whether you're a budding astronomer or an intermediate space-savvy, this great guide to the night sky is suitable for children aged 12+ and adults alike, and promises something for everyone to explore, discover and love!

The Infinite (Hardcover): Phoebe Greenberg, Marie Brassard The Infinite (Hardcover)
Phoebe Greenberg, Marie Brassard; Text written by Ryoji Ikeda, Ariane Koek, Felix Lajeunesse, …
R861 Discovery Miles 8 610 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

"The Infinite" documents the making of the ground-breaking immersive VR experience shot entirely aboard the International Space Station. Artists and astronauts joined forces to capture life in the cosmos as never before. In this oversize publication, brand-new views of space and stunning production shots reveal the human imagination's limitless potential. In Summer 2021, PHI and EMMY (R) Award-winning digital entertainment pioneers Felix & Paul Studios will launch the public into an infinite universe. A ground-breaking immersive VR exhibition will enable the audience to visit the ISS, where they encounter experiments, zero-gravity living, and breathtaking spacewalks. Beautifully designed, "The Infinite" features interviews with leaders in VR and contemporary art. It perfectly complements the exhibition's role in rendering the innovation, collaboration and humanity's quest for the skies.

Space Hardware: Artifacts, Equipment, and Sites from the American Space Program (Hardcover): John Gourley Space Hardware: Artifacts, Equipment, and Sites from the American Space Program (Hardcover)
John Gourley
R562 Discovery Miles 5 620 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Featuring over 380 color photographs, this illustrated guidebook presents a visual history of the United States' space adventures, from the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, and Space Shuttle programs to the current International Space Station and Space X commercial ventures. A wide-ranging variety of equipment is featured, from rockets and spacecraft to clothing and handheld items. Detailed captions explain the construction and use of these custom-made, exotic items, many actually used on specific short- and long-duration space voyages. Featured museums include the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Dayton, Ohio; Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville, Alabama; Museum of Flight, Seattle, Washington; Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum, Washington, DC, and the nearby Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles Airport; and, in Florida, Cape Canaveral and the adjacent Kennedy Space Center, the Air Force Space Museum, Space History Center and the Astronaut Hall of Fame, the American Space Museum & Walk of Fame in Titusville, and the National Museum of Naval Aviation, Pensacola. This work is intended to enlighten readers as to what kind of space artifacts are on display to the public, and to inform as to where they can be seen in person.

Space Shuttle - Fact Archive (Paperback, Illustrated Ed): Robert Godwin Space Shuttle - Fact Archive (Paperback, Illustrated Ed)
Robert Godwin
R210 R195 Discovery Miles 1 950 Save R15 (7%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

In the 25 years that America has been flying Space Shuttles, they have done more to further mankind's space effort than anyone could have predicted. The accomplishments and discoveries of the Space Shuttles are colorfully presented in this Pocket Space Guide, #10 in the series, which chronicles the events and machines that have made humans at home in the Earth's orbit.

Chasing the Moon - How America Beat Russia in the Space Race (Paperback): Robert Stone, Alan Andres Chasing the Moon - How America Beat Russia in the Space Race (Paperback)
Robert Stone, Alan Andres 1
R237 Discovery Miles 2 370 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

In a world divided by the ideological struggles of the Cold War, the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement, more than one-fifth of the people on the planet paused to watch the live transmission of the Apollo 11 mission. To watch as humanity took a giant leap forward. A companion book to the landmark documentary series on BBC TV. The journey from Cape Canaveral to the Moon was a tremendous achievement of human courage and ingenuity. It was also a long, deadly march, haunted by the possibility of catastrophic failure on the world's stage. In an era when the most advanced portable computer weighed 70 pounds, had a 36-kilobite memory and operated on less power than a 60-watt lightbulb, the sheer audacity of the goal is breath-taking. But the triumph of imagination and the unity of the Earth that day would change the world. Based on eyewitness accounts and newly discovered archival material, Chasing the Moon reveals the unknown stories of the individuals who made the Moon landing a possibility, from inspirational science fiction writer Arthur C. Clark and controversial engineer Wernher von Braun, to pioneers like mathematician Poppy Northcutt and astronaut Edward Dwight. It vividly revisits the dawn of the Space Age, a heady time of scientific innovation, political calculation, media spectacle, visionary impulses and personal drama.

Star Stories - Constellations and People (Hardcover): Anthony Aveni Star Stories - Constellations and People (Hardcover)
Anthony Aveni
R675 Discovery Miles 6 750 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Follow an epic animal race, a quest for a disembodied hand, and an emu egg hunt in constellation stories from diverse cultures "Aveni skillfully guides us around the awesome night sky through the imagination of different peoples around the world, past and present. A wonderful treasury of cultural astronomy."-Jacqueline Mitton, author of Zoo in the Sky We can see love, betrayal, and friendship in the heavens, if we know where to look. A world expert on cultural understandings of cosmology, Anthony Aveni provides an unconventional atlas of the night sky, introducing readers to tales beloved for generations. The constellations included are not only your typical Greek and Roman myths, but star patterns conceived by a host of cultures, non-Western and indigenous, ancient and contemporary. The sky has long served as a template for telling stories about the meaning of life. People have looked for likenesses between the domains of heaven and earth to help marry the unfamiliar above to the quotidian below. Perfect reading for all sky watchers and storytellers, this book is an essential complement to Western mythologies, showing how the confluence of the natural world and culture of heavenly observers can produce a variety of tales about the shapes in the sky.

Pocket Nature Series: Leaf-Peeping (Hardcover): Erin Riley Pocket Nature Series: Leaf-Peeping (Hardcover)
Erin Riley
R231 Discovery Miles 2 310 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Reconnect with nature through the quiet practice of leaf-peeping. Every autumn, we're graced with a breathtaking spectacle as the leaves turn from green to amber and gold. But how often do we stop to appreciate it? In this charming book, discover the fascinating science of leaf-turning, practical tips on where to find foliage, musings on what we can learn from the perennial, cyclical nature of leaves, as well as grounding rituals that encourage mindful observation of this stunning natural phenomenon. 2C line drawings and a textured case add a lovely visual and tactile component, and the petite trim size makes this perfect for taking on an adventure. At once meditative and insightful, LEAF-PEEPING reminds us of the value of slowing down and paying attention to the many wonders that surround us.

2023 Guide to the Night Sky Southern Hemisphere - A Month-by-Month Guide to Exploring the Skies Above Australia, New Zealand... 2023 Guide to the Night Sky Southern Hemisphere - A Month-by-Month Guide to Exploring the Skies Above Australia, New Zealand and South Africa (Paperback)
Storm Dunlop, Wil Tirion, Collins Astronomy
R244 R199 Discovery Miles 1 990 Save R45 (18%) Ships in 9 - 15 working days

The ideal gift for all amateur and seasoned astronomers. A comprehensive handbook to the planets, stars and constellations visible from the southern hemisphere. 6 pages for each month covering January-December 2023. Diagrams drawn for the latitude of southern Australia, but including events visible from New Zealand and South Africa. Written and illustrated by astronomical experts, Storm Dunlop and Wil Tirion. Content includes: Advice on where to start looking Easy-to-use star maps for each month with descriptions of what to see Special, detailed charts for positions of planets, minor planets and comets in 2023 Seasonal charts Details of dark sky sites Details of objects and events you might see in 2023 Diagrams of notable events visible from Australia, and some for New Zealand and South Africa Also available: A month-by-month guide to exploring the skies above Britain and Ireland and A month-by-month guide to exploring the skies above North America.

interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas - Desk Edition (Spiral bound, Desk ed): Ronald Stoyan, Stephan Schurig interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas - Desk Edition (Spiral bound, Desk ed)
Ronald Stoyan, Stephan Schurig
R2,402 Discovery Miles 24 020 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

The interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas heralds a new era of celestial cartography. It is an innovative, practical tool to choose and find stars, star clusters, nebulae and galaxies. Usually, deep sky objects are shown with just a standard symbol in the star charts. This atlas is different: all objects are shown according to their actual visibility. Four main visibility classes separate out objects that can be seen through 4-, 8- and 12-inch telescopes. Within each visibility class, the objects are labeled in different type weights and using graduated shades and colors for the symbols - the bolder the label or the darker the symbol, the easier it is to see the object. Spiral-bound and printed in red-light friendly colors on dew-resistant paper, this full-sky atlas has a limiting magnitude of 9.5, plotting over 200,000 stars. It is the ideal companion for amateur observers of all levels.

What's Eating the Universe? - And Other Cosmic Questions (Paperback): Paul Davies What's Eating the Universe? - And Other Cosmic Questions (Paperback)
Paul Davies
R265 R212 Discovery Miles 2 120 Save R53 (20%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

'Brilliant. You won't find a clearer, more engaging guide to what we know (or would like to know) about the universe and how it is put together' Bill Bryson Celebrated physicist and global bestselling author Paul Davies tells the story of the universe in thirty cosmological conundrums In the constellation of Eridanus there lurks a cosmic mystery. It's as if something has taken a huge bite out of the universe, leaving a super-void. What could be the culprit? A super massive black hole? Another, bigger universe? Or an expanding vacuum bubble, destined to envelop and annihilate everything in existence? Scientists now understand the history of our universe better than the history of our own planet, but they continue to uncover startling new riddles-the hole in the universe being just one. In this electrifying book, award-winning physicist Paul Davies walks us through the puzzles and paradoxes that have preoccupied cosmologists from ancient Greece to the present day. Laying bare the audacious research that has led us to mind-bending solutions, Davies reveals how we might begin to approach the greatest outstanding enigmas of all.

The Telescopic Tourist's Guide to the Moon (Paperback, 1st ed. 2017): Andrew May The Telescopic Tourist's Guide to the Moon (Paperback, 1st ed. 2017)
Andrew May
R1,254 R992 Discovery Miles 9 920 Save R262 (21%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Whether you're interested in visiting Apollo landing sites or the locations of classic sci-fi movies, this is the tourist guide for you! This tourist guide has a twist - it is a guide to a whole different world, which you can visit from the comfort of your backyard with the aid of nothing more sophisticated than an inexpensive telescope. It tells you the best times to view the Moon, the most exciting sights to look out for, and the best equipment to use, allowing you to snap stunning photographs as well as view the sights with your own eyes. Have you ever been inspired by stunning images from the Hubble telescope, or the magic of sci-fi special effects, only to look through a small backyard telescope at the disappointing white dot of a planet or faint blur of a galaxy? Yet the Moon is different. Seen through even a relatively cheap 'scope, it springs into life like a real place, with mountains and valleys and rugged craters. With a bit of imagination, you can even picture yourself as a sightseeing visitor there - which in a sense you are.

A Cloud a Day - (Cloud Appreciation Society Book, Uplifting Positive Gift, Cloud Art Book, Daydreamers Book) (Hardcover): Gavin... A Cloud a Day - (Cloud Appreciation Society Book, Uplifting Positive Gift, Cloud Art Book, Daydreamers Book) (Hardcover)
Gavin Pretor-Pinney
R758 R656 Discovery Miles 6 560 Save R102 (13%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days
Make: High-Power Rockets (Paperback): Mike Westerfield Make: High-Power Rockets (Paperback)
Mike Westerfield
R858 R639 Discovery Miles 6 390 Save R219 (26%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Make: High-Power Rockets is for all the science geeks who look at the moon and try to figure out where Neil Armstrong walked, watch in awe as rockets lift off, and want to fly their own model rockets. Starting with an overview of mid- and high-power rocketry, readers will start out making rockets with F and G engines, and move on up to H engines.

Near-Earth Objects - Finding Them Before They Find Us (Paperback, Revised edition): Donald K. Yeomans Near-Earth Objects - Finding Them Before They Find Us (Paperback, Revised edition)
Donald K. Yeomans; Preface by Donald K. Yeomans
R429 Discovery Miles 4 290 Ships in 7 - 13 working days

Of all the natural disasters that could befall us, only an Earth impact by a large comet or asteroid has the potential to end civilization in a single blow. Yet these near-Earth objects also offer tantalizing clues to our solar system's origins, and someday could even serve as stepping-stones for space exploration. In this book, Donald Yeomans introduces readers to the science of near-Earth objects--its history, applications, and ongoing quest to find near-Earth objects before they find us. In its course around the sun, the Earth passes through a veritable shooting gallery of millions of nearby comets and asteroids. One such asteroid is thought to have plunged into our planet sixty-five million years ago, triggering a global catastrophe that killed off the dinosaurs. Yeomans provides an up-to-date and accessible guide for understanding the threats posed by near-Earth objects, and also explains how early collisions with them delivered the ingredients that made life on Earth possible. He shows how later impacts spurred evolution, allowing only the most adaptable species to thrive--in fact, we humans may owe our very existence to objects that struck our planet. Yeomans takes readers behind the scenes of today's efforts to find, track, and study near-Earth objects. He shows how the same comets and asteroids most likely to collide with us could also be mined for precious natural resources like water and oxygen, and used as watering holes and fueling stations for expeditions to Mars and the outermost reaches of our solar system.

Journeys to the Ends of the Universe - A guided tour of the beginnings and endings of planets, stars, galaxies and the universe... Journeys to the Ends of the Universe - A guided tour of the beginnings and endings of planets, stars, galaxies and the universe (Paperback)
C.R. Kitchin
R1,849 Discovery Miles 18 490 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Journeys to the Ends of the Universe presents a tour through the universe from the big bang onward. The book explores the limits of knowledge where scientific fact overtakes and merges with the wilder speculations of science fiction. The beginnings of galaxies, stars, planets, and even life itself are related back to the raveled turmoil of the first few seconds and years of life in the cosmos. The journey continues past the ultimate fate of the solar system to probe the nature of supernovae. The future of galaxies, clusters of galaxies, super-clusters of clusters of galaxies, and so on leads toward the finale, where the author provides some bizarre musings of physicists and astronomers, suggesting possible destinies for the universe stretching its present age billions of times into the future.

NASA Saturn V Owners' Workshop Manual - 1967-1973 (Apollo 4 to Apollo 17 & Skylab) (Hardcover): David Woods NASA Saturn V Owners' Workshop Manual - 1967-1973 (Apollo 4 to Apollo 17 & Skylab) (Hardcover)
David Woods 1
R781 R641 Discovery Miles 6 410 Save R140 (18%) Ships in 9 - 15 working days

Few launch vehicles are as iconic and distinctive as NASA's behemoth rocket, the Saturn V, and none left such a lasting impression on those who watched it ascend. Developed with the specific brief to send humans to the Moon, it pushed rocketry to new scales. Its greatest triumph is that it achieved its goal repeatedly with an enviable record of mission success. Haynes' Saturn V Manual tells the story of this magnificent and hugely powerful machine. It explains how each of the vehicle's three stages worked; Boeing's S-IC first stage with a power output as great as the UK's peak electricity consumption, North American Aviation's S-II troubled second stage, Douglas's workhorse S-IVB third stage with its instrument unit brain - as much a spacecraft as a rocket. From the decision to build it to the operation of its engines' valves and pumps, this lavishly illustrated and deeply informative book offers a deeper appreciation of the amazing Saturn V.

Star Settlers - The Billionaires, Geniuses, and Crazed Visionaries Out to Conquer the Universe (Hardcover): Fred Nadis Star Settlers - The Billionaires, Geniuses, and Crazed Visionaries Out to Conquer the Universe (Hardcover)
Fred Nadis
R612 R396 Discovery Miles 3 960 Save R216 (35%) Ships in 9 - 15 working days

The story behind the elite scientists, technologists, SF enthusiasts, and billionaires who believe that humanity's destiny is to populate the stars . . . Does humanity have a destiny "in the stars?" Should a species triggering massive extinctions on its own planet instead stay put? This new book traces the waxing and waning of interest in space settlement through the decades, and offers a journalistic tour through the influential subculture attempting to shape a multiplanetary future. What motivates figures such as billionaires Elon Musk and Yuri Milner? How important have science fiction authors and filmmakers been in stirring enthusiasm for actual space exploration and settlement? Is there a coherent motivating philosophy and ethic behind the spacefaring dream? Star Settlers offers both a historical perspective and a journalistic window into a peculiar subculture packed with members of the scientific, intellectual, and economic elite. This timely work captures the extra-scientific zeal for space travel and settlement, places it in its historical context, and tackles the somewhat surreal conceptions underlying the enterprise and prognoses for its future.

Cosmic Queries - StarTalk's Guide to Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We're Going (Hardcover): Neil De Grasse... Cosmic Queries - StarTalk's Guide to Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We're Going (Hardcover)
Neil De Grasse Tyson, James Trefil
R655 R511 Discovery Miles 5 110 Save R144 (22%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

In this thought-provoking follow-up to his acclaimed StarTalk book, uber astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson tackles the world's most important philosophical questions about the universe with wit, wisdom, and cutting-edge science. For science geeks, space and physics nerds, and all who want to understand their place in the universe, this enlightening new book from Neil deGrasse Tyson offers a unique take on the mysteries and curiosities of the cosmos, building on rich material from his beloved StarTalk podcast. In these illuminating pages, illustrated with dazzling photos and revealing graphics, Tyson and co-author James Trefil, a renowned physicist and science popularizer, take on the big questions that humanity has been posing for millennia--How did life begin? What is our place in the universe? Are we alone?--and provide answers based on the most current data, observations, and theories. Populated with paradigm-shifting discoveries that help explain the building blocks of astrophysics, this relatable and entertaining book will engage and inspire readers of all ages, bring sophisticated concepts within reach, and offer a window into the complexities of the cosmos.

A Scheme of Heaven - The History and Science of Astrology, from Ptolemy to the Victorians and Beyond (Hardcover, Main):... A Scheme of Heaven - The History and Science of Astrology, from Ptolemy to the Victorians and Beyond (Hardcover, Main)
Alexander Boxer 1
R289 Discovery Miles 2 890 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

'A delightful and utterly fascinating work of intellectual history.' Joshua Foer author of Moonwalking with Einstein

Despite a resurgence in popularity, horoscopes are generally considered to be pseudoscience today - but they were once a cutting-edge scientific tool. In this ingenious work of history, data scientist Alexander Boxer examines a treasure trove of esoteric classical sources to expose the deep imaginative framework by which - for millennia - we made sense of our fates. Astrology, he argues, was the ancient world's most ambitious applied mathematics problem, a grand data-analysis enterprise sustained by some of history's most brilliant minds, from Ptolemy to al-Kindi to Kepler.

A Scheme of Heaven explores the wonderful subtleties of astrological ideas. Telling the stories of their inventors and most influential exponents, Boxer puts them through their paces using modern data sets - finding that the methods of today's scientists are often uncomfortably close to those of astrology's ancient sages.

A History of the Universe in 100 Stars (Paperback): Florian Freistetter A History of the Universe in 100 Stars (Paperback)
Florian Freistetter
R262 Discovery Miles 2 620 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

From the Big Bang to the Gaia Mission, this is a very personal history of the universe through the author's favourite 100 stars. Astronomer Florian Freistetter has chosen 100 stars that have almost nothing in common. Some are bright and famous, some shine so feebly you need a huge telescope. There are big stars, small stars, nearby stars and faraway stars. Some died a while ago, others have not even yet come into being. Collectively they tell the story of the whole world, according to Freistetter. There is Algol, for example, the Demon Star, whose strange behaviour has long caused people sleepless nights. And Gamma Draconis, from which we know that the earth rotates around its own axis. There is also the star sequence 61 Cygni, which revealed the size of the cosmos to us. Then there are certain stars used by astronomers to search for extra-terrestrial life, to explore interstellar space travel, or to explain why the dinosaurs became extinct. In 100 short, fascinating and entertaining chapters, Freistetter not only reveals the past and future of the cosmos, but also the story of the people who have tried to understand the world in which we live.

The Right Stuff (Paperback, New ed): Tom Wolfe The Right Stuff (Paperback, New ed)
Tom Wolfe
R340 R200 Discovery Miles 2 000 Save R140 (41%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Tom Wolfe began The Right Stuff at a time when it was unfashionable to contemplate American heroism. Nixon had left the White House in disgrace, the nation was reeling from the catastrophe of Vietnam, and in 1979--the year the book appeared--Americans were being held hostage by Iranian militants. Yet it was exactly the anachronistic courage of his subjects that captivated Wolfe. In his foreword, he notes that as late as 1970, almost one in four career Navy pilots died in accidents. The Right Stuff, he explains, became a story of why men were willing--willing?--delighted --to take on such odds in this, an era literary people had long since characterized as the age of the anti-hero. After an opening chapter on the terror of being a test pilot's wife, the story cuts back to the late 1940s, when Americans were first attempting to break the sound barrier. Test pilots, we discover, are people who live fast lives with dangerous machines, not all of them airborne. Chuck Yeager was certainly among the fastest, and his determination to push through Mach 1 - a feat that some had predicted would cause the destruction of any aircraft--makes him the book's guiding spirit. Shepard's suborbital flight and Gus Grissom's embarrassing panic on the high seas (making the controversial claim that Grissom flooded his Liberty capsule by blowing the escape hatch too soon). The author also produces an admiring portrait of John Glenn's apple-pie heroism and selfless dedication. By the time Wolfe concludes with a return to Yeager and his late-career exploits, the narrative's epic proportions and literary merits are secure. Certainly The Right Stuff is the best, the funniest, and the most vivid book ever written about America's manned space program.

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