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.

A brilliant takedown and exposé of the great con job of the twenty-first century—the metaverse, crypto, space travel, transhumanism—being sold by four billionaires (Peter Thiel, Mark Zuckerberg, Marc Andreesen, Elon Musk), leading to the degeneration and bankruptcy of our society.

At a time when the crises of income inequality, climate, and democracy are compounding to create epic wealth disparity and the prospect of a second American civil war, four billionaires are hyping schemes that are designed to divert our attention away from issues that really matter. Each scheme—the metaverse, cryptocurrency, space travel, and transhumanism—is an existential threat in moral, political, and economic terms.

In The End of Reality¸ Jonathan Taplin provides perceptive insight into the personal backgrounds and cultural power of these billionaires—Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Marc Andreesen (“The Four”) —and shows how their tech monopolies have brought middle-class wage stagnation, the hollowing out of many American towns, a radical increase in income inequality, and unbounded public acrimony. Meanwhile, the enormous amount of taxpayer money to be funneled into the dystopian ventures of "The Four," the benefits of which will accrue to billionaires, exacerbate these disturbing trends.

The End of Reality is both scathing critique and reform agenda that replaces the warped worldview of "The Four" with a vision of regenerative economics that seeks to build a sustainable society with healthy growth and full employment.

The essential map for all Moon watchers. The awesome beauty of the Moon is brought to life in this practical map for Moon watchers which locates, describes and indexes more than 500 physical features on the visible side of the moon. Who hasn't marvelled at the lunar landscape whether glancing up from Earth or being gripped by NASA imagery? Ever since the 1960s, when Neil Armstrong walked those first steps on the lunar surface, we have had a particular fascination with the Moon, but that grip goes back to the dawn of humanity. Our nearest neighbour in space, the Moon is hugely important due to its impact on tides and many other natural cycles that surround us, so to be able to look and read its landscape is especially revealing and valuable. With practical information on the best Moon watching techniques and tips, we capture both the magical and the practical aspects of lunar locations. * Superbly detailed map of the Moon's visible surface * 500 Moon features located on the map, with a clear index * Craters, seas, mountains, peaks and valleys * Landing sites of manned and unmanned spacecraft located * Helpful text aids the best effective moon watching * Plus map of the far side of the Moon as revealed by satellites * Maps drawn by lunar expert Dr. John Murray

Featuring more than 200 intriguing images taken by space probes travelling billions of kilometres from Earth, The Solar System is an exhilarating exploration of the mysteries of our local planetary space. Within the span of a human lifetime, our spacecraft have visited all eight planets of the Solar System, together with several dwarf planets, asteroids and comets. We have mapped the surface of Mercury and Venus in exquisite detail, landed rovers on Mars, placed orbiters around Jupiter and Saturn, and parachuted to the surface of Titan. Our emissaries have visited icy worlds five billion kilometres from home and continued onwards to reach interstellar space. The pictures and science returned by these intrepid travellers have transformed our understanding of the Solar System in which we live.

From renowned physicist Fred Alan Wolf comes his enthralling and accessible exploration of parallel universes and the various theories surrounding them.In this "enthralling read" (Publishers Weekly), travel through the frontiers of space as physicist Fred Alan Wolf guides you through the complex yet intruging concept of parallel universes. Challenge your preceptions of the universe and explore ideas as varied as superspace theater and zero-time ghosts and even explore a future where time travel is real and black holes are gateways rather than endings.

Voted the Best Space Book of 2018 by the Space Hipsters The dramatic inside story of the epic search and recovery operation after the Columbia space shuttle disaster. On February 1, 2003, Columbia disintegrated on reentry before the nation's eyes, and all seven astronauts aboard were lost. Author Mike Leinbach, Launch Director of the space shuttle program at NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center was a key leader in the search and recovery effort as NASA, FEMA, the FBI, the US Forest Service, and dozens more federal, state, and local agencies combed an area of rural east Texas the size of Rhode Island for every piece of the shuttle and her crew they could find. Assisted by hundreds of volunteers, it would become the largest ground search operation in US history. This comprehensive account is told in four parts: Parallel Confusion Courage, Compassion, and Commitment Picking Up the Pieces A Bittersweet Victory For the first time, here is the definitive inside story of the Columbia disaster and recovery and the inspiring message it ultimately holds. In the aftermath of tragedy, people and communities came together to help bring home the remains of the crew and nearly 40 percent of shuttle, an effort that was instrumental in piecing together what happened so the shuttle program could return to flight and complete the International Space Station. Bringing Columbia Home shares the deeply personal stories that emerged as NASA employees looked for lost colleagues and searchers overcame immense physical, logistical, and emotional challenges and worked together to accomplish the impossible. Featuring a foreword and epilogue by astronauts Robert Crippen and Eileen Collins, and dedicated to the astronauts and recovery search persons who lost their lives, this is an incredible, compelling narrative about the best of humanity in the darkest of times and about how a failure at the pinnacle of human achievement became a story of cooperation and hope.

With over 150,000 copies sold since its first publication, this is one of the most popular astronomy books of all time. This unique guidebook to the night sky shows you how to observe a host of celestial wonders. Its distinct format of object-by-object spreads illustrates how deep-sky objects and planets actually look through a small telescope, while its large pages and spiral binding allow for use outside. Along with updated star names and astronomical information, this new edition provides links to a dedicated webpage with up-to-date tables and images, and an improved planets chapter. The many Dobsonian-friendly images and small telescope views have been revised to account for changes in modern telescope technology, such as larger field of view eyepieces. With dedicated chapters on Northern and Southern Hemisphere objects, it's never been easier to explore the night sky, wherever you are. Additional resources are available on the accompanying website: www.cambridge.org/turnleft.

This is the ideal resource for beginners and experienced stargazers in the United States and Canada, and has been updated to include new and practical information covering events occurring in North America's night sky throughout 2021. This practical guide is both an easy introduction to astronomy and a useful reference for seasoned stargazers. Now includes a section on comets and a map of the moon. Designed specifically for North America. Written and illustrated by astronomical experts, Storm Dunlop and Wil Tirion, and approved by the astronomers of the Royal Observatory Greenwich. Content includes: * Advice on where to start looking. * Easy-to-use star maps for each month with descriptions of what to see. * Positions of the moon and visible planets. * Details of objects and events in 2021. * Now in three editions: Britain and Ireland; North America; Southern Hemisphere.

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.

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.

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.

Travelling from the edge of our Solar System, through the Milky Way and to the outer edges of the observable universe, Deep Space is a spectacular photographic guide to galaxies, nebulae, supernova, clusters, black holes and quasars. Learn about the birth of stars in our own galaxy, planets beyond our own solar system, when they were first discovered and how we have managed to photograph these places. Ranging from the Magellanic Clouds within the Milky Way to stellar life cycles, from other spiral galaxies such as the Andromeda Galaxy, to the Sombrero Galaxy, and from nebulae such as the Pillars of Creation to black and white dwarfs, this is accessibly written for the general reader to grasp the science and magnitude of deep space. Featuring 200 outstanding colour photographs and expert captions, Deep Space is most certainly out of this world.

Cosmology is the study of the origin, size, and evolution of the entire universe. Every culture has developed a cosmology, whether it be based on religious, philosophical, or scientific principles. In this book, the evolution of the scientific understanding of the Universe in Western tradition is traced from the early Greek philosophers to the most modern 21st century view. After a brief introduction to the concept of the scientific method, the first part of the book describes the way in which detailed observations of the Universe, first with the naked eye and later with increasingly complex modern instruments, ultimately led to the development of the "Big Bang" theory. The second part of the book traces the evolution of the Big Bang including the very recent observation that the expansion of the Universe is itself accelerating with time.

Visual Astronomy introduces the basics of observational astronomy, a fundamentally limitless opportunity to learn about the universe with your unaided eyes or with tools such as binoculars, telescopes, or cameras.

Structure and Evolution of Single Stars: An introduction is intended for upper-level undergraduates and beginning graduates with a background in physics. Following a brief overview of the background observational material, the basic equations describing the structure and evolution of single stars are derived. The relevant physical processes, which include the equation of state, opacity, nuclear reactions and neutrino losses are then reviewed. Subsequent chapters describe the evolution of low-mass stars from formation to the final white dwarf phase. The final chapter deals with the evolution of massive stars.

Space junkies and armchair astronauts are provided with comprehensive, handy references for a variety of space-related missions, vehicles, and concepts in this pocket-sized series. Compiled with the co-operation of NASA, each topic-specific reference features relevant statistics, photographs, and the stories behind each project. Books on manned missions include crew photographs, information on patches and equipment, and flight statistics such as time in space, distance traveled, and mission objectives. Photographs and statistics for launch vehicles, orbiters, probes, and experimental equipment are featured in each equipment-specific reference. Covering such design elements as propellants, tanks, engines, and payloads, this detailed look at the mechanism that gets it all started describes 259 types of launch vehicles developed by China, the European Space Agency, Japan, Russia, and the United States. Learn how these most complex and awe inspiring machines actually work and why they call anything that is difficult to achieve "Rocket Science".

The author has the distinction of being the only wife of a European astronaut who has also worked in the area of human spaceflight. Her story is told from a unique perspective. Lena De Winne provides a first-hand account of the ins and outs of the complex astronaut spaceflight system. This book captures the individual stories of crewmembers Roman Romanenko, Bob Thirsk, Frank De Winne and their spouses Julia, Brenda and Lena, as they prepare and embark on a unique spaceflight mission. Delivered with raw emotional intensity, it reads like a novel, sharing the aspirations, anguish, surprises and disappointments of its subjects. Yet it is resolutely biographical, offering a vivid recollection of events as they happened. An easy but precise overview of space science and technology is also provided. Readers will not only become familiarised with the human space flight program, they will also be left with an exhilarating sense of having been a part of the adventure. The book is suffused with an intimacy and honesty that renders the lives of the crew and their spouses in an unprecedented light.

A selection of the History, Scientific American, and Quality Paperback Book Clubs For a very brief moment during the 1960s, America was moonstruck. Boys dreamt of being an astronaut; girls dreamed of marrying one. Americans drank Tang, bought "space pens" that wrote upside down, wore clothes made of space age Mylar, and took imaginary rockets to the moon from theme parks scattered around the country. But despite the best efforts of a generation of scientists, the almost foolhardy heroics of the astronauts, and 35 billion dollars, the moon turned out to be a place of "magnificent desolation," to use Buzz Aldrin's words: a sterile rock of no purpose to anyone. In Dark Side of the Moon, Gerard J. DeGroot reveals how NASA cashed in on the Americans' thirst for heroes in an age of discontent and became obsessed with putting men in space. The moon mission was sold as a race which America could not afford to lose. Landing on the moon, it was argued, would be good for the economy, for politics, and for the soul. It could even win the Cold War. The great tragedy is that so much effort and expense was devoted to a small step that did virtually nothing for mankind. Drawing on meticulous archival research, DeGroot cuts through the myths constructed by the Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson administrations and sustained by NASA ever since. He finds a gang of cynics, demagogues, scheming politicians, and corporations who amassed enormous power and profits by exploiting the fear of what the Russians might do in space. Exposing the truth behind one of the most revered fictions of American history, Dark Side of the Moon explains why the American space program has been caught in a state of purposeless wandering ever since Neil Armstrong descended from Apollo 11 and stepped onto the moon. The effort devoted to the space program was indeed magnificent and its cultural impact was profound, but the purpose of the program was as desolate and dry as lunar dust.