Although transits of planets across the Sun are rare (only Mercury and Venus orbit the Sun closer than us, and so can transit the Sun's disc) amateur astronomers can observe, record and image other kinds of transit, which are very much more frequent. Transit is in two parts, the first telling the fascinating story of the early scientific expeditions to observe transits. The second part is for practical observers, and explains how to observe transits of all sorts - even transits of aircraft as they fly between the observer and the Sun!

In a year that will probably be remembered almost as much for books about the millennium as for the turn of 2000 A.D itself, Patrick Moore's Millennium Yearbook celebrates.....well, the wrong millennium! This thoroughly entertaining book - which is for everyone, not just astronomers - contains articles on King Alfred's chronological work, reviews of the new Star Catalogue by the Arab Al-Sufi and the latest edition of Ptolemy's Almagast. And foreshadowing the change to metric units by 1000 years, the book uses arabic numbers instead of Roman - but there is a conversion table if you have trouble with the idea of "zero" and prefer the older system.

Transient phenomena are short-lived astronomical events, unusual in a science in which time is more often measured in millennia than milliseconds. There is a fascination with transient phenomena, predictable or otherwise, that astronomers of all abilities share. In Meteors, Comets, Supernovae, Neil Bone gives guidelines for observers, including the best possible periods (months or years) to see seasonal but unpredictable phenomena like meteors and sunspots. Recording such outbursts involves visual observing techniques, photography, and even the relatively new field of the video recording of meteors, which are also examined in detail. The book also includes material about phenomena that occur in the lower atmosphere (such as "ozone eaters", nacreous clouds, solar and lunar haloes), which although not strictly astronomical in their nature attract the attention of dedicated sky-watchers.

Discover the celestial myths and cosmic rituals of ancient priests and kings . . .

Drawing on intimate knowledge of the more than 1,300 ancient sites he has visited, E. C. Krupp, acclaimed writer and preeminent researcher, takes you to the world's essential sacred places and celestial shrines. Join him on a rich narrative journey to see where the rulers of old communed with the gods of the sky.

"Highly recommended to everyone interested in the culture of astronomy and those peoples who practiced it in their own ways."—Sky & Telescope

"A lively account of the ways in which our ancestors conceived of and used the heavens."—New Scientist

"There can be no doubt that this imaginative and readable work by a widely read and widely traveled author will strike a chord in the minds of a great many modern readers."—Isis

"The fact that the book is written by an expert in his field comes through on every page, as does his enthusiasm for the subject."—Astronomy Now

"Krupp's indispensable volume is fascinating, well-illustrated, and covers much territory."—Parabola

A total eclipse of the Sun is due in August 1999. It will attract alot of interest because - unusually - it will be visible in much of Europe and the UK. A total Solar Eclipse is always fascinating. This book is for everyone that wants to know 1. What a Solar Eclipse is 2. The phenomena one can expect to see 3. How to photograph an eclipse using a variety of methods 4. How to plan for an eclipse expedition. The book not only covers the 1999 eclipse but also past and future eclipses which we can look forward to. This book is also interesting to "armchair astronomers" as it contains alot of historical and anecdotal information. There's even a final chapter on "Eclipse Mishaps and Oddities" including the American eclipse expedition of 1780 that missed the total eclipse because they went to the wrong location

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.

There are many books on finding your way round the night sky, but the Photo-guide to the Constellations is unique in showing photographs of how the sky really looks under a variety of different seeing conditions, from city outskirts to the almost-perfect skies deep in the countryside. Along with a detailed step-by-step guide to "star hopping" and other useful techniques, these make this an invaluable guide for all newcomers to astronomy.

Updated with a new introduction by the author for the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, For All Mankind is both an extraordinary adventure story and an important historical document. Between December 1968 and December 1972, twenty-four men captured the imagination of the world as they voyaged to the moon. In For All Mankind, Harry Hurt presents a dramatic, engrossing and expansive account of those journeys. Based on extensive research and exclusive interviews with the Apollo astronauts, For All Mankind remains one of the most comprehensive and revealing firsthand accounts of space travel ever assembled. In their own words, the astronauts share the sights, sounds, thoughts, fears, hopes and dreams they experienced during their incredible voyages. In a compelling narrative structured as one trip to the moon, Harry Hurt recounts all the drama and danger of the lunar voyages, from the anxiety of the astronauts' prelaunch procedures through the euphoria of touchdown on the lunar surface.

Eyes on the Universe is an illustrated history of the telescope, beginning with pre-telescopic observatories and the refractors of Galileo, Lippershey and Digges, and ending with the most modern instruments including - of course - the Hubble Space Telescope. Written by Dr Patrick Moore CBE, to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the world's longest-running television programme, the BBC's The Sky at Night, the book takes an enthusiastic look at the development of astronomical telescopes. It provides its readers with a fascinating overview of the way astronomical telescopes have evolved with technology during the past 450 years. Amateur and professional astronomers alike will find this book both entertaining and instructive.

FROM THE REVIEWS:

OPTIK
"...the book takes an enthusiastic look at the development of astronomical telescopes. It provides its readers with a fascinating overview of the way astronomical telescopes have evolved with technology during the past 450 years. The text is written in a very understandable style, for scientists as well as for amateurs. Many color photographs will illustrate the fantastic world of astronomical observation. Amateur and professional astronomers alike will find this book entertaining and instructive."

THE JOURNAL OF THE BRITISH ASTRONOMICAL ASSOCIATION
"...provides a first-class summary of the history of the telescope from Leonard Digges to Hubble. Patrick's unique style ensures readability, and numerous anecdotes spice the pages...Springer-Verlag are particularly to be congratulated on the production quality of this little book, which is beautifully illustrated with 64 spectacular color photographs of every major telescope and observatory in the world."

ASTRONOMY NOW
"...packed with interesting facts and anecdotes about the evolution of telescopes, and records the successes as well as the failures along the path to achieving the biggest and best...I thought that each chapter was extremely well thought out and that there was a pleasant flow from one topic to the next, each a major milestone in its own right. Superb color photographs of telescopes past and present and observatories around the world appear on almost every page...A worthwhile addition to your bookshelf."

In September 1969, several months after the Apollo 11 lunar landing, President Richard M. Nixon established the Space Task Force to chart NASA's path for the decades to come. This imaginative vision was shattered less than six months later when, on January 13, 1970, NASA Administrator Dr. Thomas Paine announced that, owing to funding cuts, only the reusable Space Shuttle could be afforded -- there would be no space station, no return to the Moon, and no missions to Mars. This is a story never before told about the missions and technologies that NASA had begun to plan but never fully realized. The book is a companion to the author's previous two works on the Space Shuttle. Whereas the first two books showed how the Space Shuttle flew in space and what the program accomplished, this book explains what more the Space Shuttle could have achieved and how the space transportation system could have further matured if circumstances had been otherwise. A final chapter also discusses how some of these plans might be resurrected in future programs.

Charge-coupled Devices (CCDs) have revolutionised astronomy. Even affordable CCD cameras can be ten times a sensitive as photographic film, and they deliver a digitised image that is easy to enhance using a personal computer. David Ratledge has brought together contributions from twelve leading amateurs from around the world, people who are routinely producing astronomical images of a quality that rivals those of professional observatories only of 10 years ago. These experts describe their techniques and solutions, and offer essential tips and advice for anyone who is choosing or using a CCD camera. Now glance through the Colour Gallery at the back of this book to see just what they have done!

The earliest investigations that can be called scientific are concerned with the sky: they are the beginnings of astronomy. Many early civilizations produced astronomical texts, and several cultures that left no written records left monuments and artifacts-ranging from rock paintings to Stonehenge-that show a clear interest in astronomy. Civilizations in China, Mesopotamia, India and Greece had highly developed astronomies, and the astronomy of the Mayas was by no means negligible. Greek astronomy, as developed by the medieval Arab philosophers, evolved into the astronomy of Copernicus. This displaced the earth from the central stationary position that almost all earlier astronomies had assumed. Soon thereafter, in the first decades of the seventeenth century, Kepler found the true shape of the planetary orbits and Galileo introduced the telescope for astronomical observations.

Why start at 1890? That year marked one of the most significant dates in the history of the multidimensional story that is the history of astronomy. It was the year in which the Draper Memorial Catalogue of Stellar spectra was published - a publication that provided essential data for an understanding of stellar spectra well into the twentieth century. It's also slightly over a hundred years ago. This is a long enough span of time for any one book on this subject to cover, but sufficient to chart the progress of astronomy from a time when Newtonian physics reigned supreme, photography was in its infancy, and radio astronomy was decades in the future. Paradoxically, the theories of Einstein, Planck and Heisenberg, along with modern radio, X-ray, and space-borne telescopes mean that the cosmos seems to hold more mysteries today than it did a hundred years ago. Any reader with a basic knowledge of astronomy will find this book quite fascinating. Academics, historians, and others who need a definitive history of the major events and characters that influenced the growth of astronomy.

Man kann ohne Obertreibung sagen, daE es die Astronomie seit tiber fUnftausend J ahren als exakte Wissenschaft gibt. In dieser ganzen Zeit beriihrte sie die letzten Fragen der Mensch- heit. Ihre Geschichte niederzuschreiben stellt uns vor zahlIose Probleme. Wir beginnen mit einer Zeit, die wir weitgehend durch Schlu&folgerungen kennen; wir gehen dann zu Zeiten tiber, von denen wir wissen, da& das meiste Indizienmaterial verlorengegangen ist; und wir enden bei den letzten Dekaden eines Jahrhunderts, das den Astronomen Beachtung und wirtschaftliche Mittel in nie dagewesenem Umfang beschert hat. Aus einem typischen Jahrhundert der hellenistischen Ara, einem goldenen Zeitalter der Astronomie, mogen wir eine Handvoll Texte haben. 1m Gegensatz dazu werden heute jedes Jahr mehr als zwanzig- tausend astronomische Artikel veroffentlicht, und, tiber fUnfJahre genommen, ist die Zahl der Astronomen, unter deren Namen diese erscheinen, von der Ordnung vierzigtausend. Wenn diese Geschichte also am Anfang wie eine Skizze anmutet, ist sie notwendiger- weise am Schlu& eine Silhouette, die den Gegenstand ebenso durch das definiert, was sie ausla&t, als dadurch, was sie enthalt. Sie schreitet in einem solchen Ma& immer schneller voran, daE der Raum, der einem Dutzend hochstwichtiger neuer Bticher gewidmet wird, ein kleiner Bruchteil davon ist, was am Anfang einer heute ganz trivial erscheinenden Aussage eingeraumt wird. Das ist kein Zufall.

Here is a comprehensive guide for every amateur astronomer who hopes to do more than just star-gaze. If you already own an astronomical telescope and want to know how to use it to the best effect, or if you are thinking about buying one and are wondering where to start, then this is the book for you. Each chapter deals with a different topic, and each has been written by a professional or amateur astronomer who has been chosen by Patrick Moore as an expert in his speciality. Topics range from buying a telescope (or making your own), through electronic equipment and accessories, to more technical aspects such as spectroscopy and astrophotography. A companion book, "The Observational Amateur Astronomer," explains how to use a modest astronomical telescope for serious observing of the Moon, planets, stars and extragalactic objects.

Patrick Moore has pulled together a group of professional and amateur astronomers, each an expert in a particular field, to describe how to observe every category of object that is within reach of an astronomical telescope of modest size. Each chapter deals with a different class of object, covering the whole range of possibilities from the Moon, planets and stars to more specialised observations of comets, novae, and meteors. If you own - or are thinking of buying - an astronomical telescope, here is the book that will help you get the most enjoyment out of it. It also explains how best to use your telescope for proper scientific observations, for astronomy is one of the few remaining areas of science where a lot of useful work can be carried out by non-professionals. A companion book, "The " "Modern Amateur Astronomer," deals with the non-observational aspects of astronomy, from buying a telescope (or making your own), through electronic equipment and accessories, to more technical aspects such as spectroscopy and astrophotography.

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.

It is a pleasure to present this work, which has been well received in Gennan-speaking countries through four editions, to the English-speaking reader. We feel that this is a unique publication in that it contains valuable material that cannot easily-if at all-be found elsewhere. We are grateful to the authors for reading through the English version of the text, and for responding promptly (for the most part) to our queries. Several authors have supplied us, on their own initiative or at our suggestion, with revised and updated manuscripts and with supplementary English references. We have striven to achieve a translation of H andbuch flir Sternfreunde which accurately presents the qualitative and quantitative scientific principles con tained within each chapter while maintaining the flavor of the original Ger man text. Where appropriate, we have inserted footnotes to clarify material which may have a different meaning and/or application in English-speaking countries from that in Gennany. When the first English edition of this work, Astronomy: A Handbook (translated by the late A. Beer), appeared in 1975, it contained 21 chapters. This new edition is over twice the length and contains 28 authored chap ters in three volumes. At Springer's request, we have devised a new title, Compendium of Practical Astronomy, to more accurately reflect the broad spectrum of topics and the vast body of infonnation contained within these pages.

It is a pleasure to present this work, which has been well received in German-speaking countries through four editions, to the English-speaking reader. We feel that this is a unique publication in that it contains valuable material that cannot easily-if at all-be found elsewhere. We are grateful to the authors for reading through the English version of the text, and for responding promptly (for the most part) to our queries. Several authors have supplied us, on their own initiative or at our suggestion, with revised and updated manuscripts and with supplementary English references. We have striven to achieve a translation of Handbuch fUr Sternfreunde which accurately presents the qualitative and quantitative scientific principles con tained within each chapter while maintaining the flavor of the original Ger man text. Where appropriate, we have inserted footnotes to clarify material which may have a different meaning and/or application in English-speaking countries from that in Germany. When the first English edition of this work, Astronomy: A Handbook (translated by the late A. Beer), appeared in 1975, it contained 21 chapters. This new edition is over twice the length and contains 28 authored chap ters in three volumes. At Springer's request, we have devised a new title, Compendium of Practical Astronomy, to more accurately reflect the broad spectrum of topics and the vast body of information contained within these pages."

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.

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.

What We See in the Stars Kelsey Oseid is a richly illustrated guide to the myths, histories, and science of the celestial bodies of our solar system, with stories and information about constellations, planets, comets, the northern lights, and more. Combining art, mythology, and science, What We See in the Stars is a tour of the night sky through more than a hundred magical pieces of original art, all accompanied by text that weaves related legends and lore with scientific facts. This beautifully packaged book covers the night sky's most brilliant features such as constellations, the moon, the bright stars, and the visible planets, as well as less familiar celestial phenomena like the outer planets, nebulae, and deep space. Adults seeking to recapture the magic of youthful stargazing, younger readers interested in learning about natural history and outer space, and those who appreciate beautiful, hand-painted art will all delight in this charming book.

Twenty years ago, the search for planets outside the Solar System was a job restricted to science-fiction writers. Now it's one of the fastest-growing fields in astronomy with thousands of exoplanets discovered to date, and the number is rising fast.

These new-found worlds are more alien than anything in fiction. Planets larger than Jupiter with years lasting a week; others with two suns lighting their skies, or with no sun at all. Planets with diamond mantles supporting oceans of tar; possible Earth-sized worlds with split hemispheres of perpetual day and night; waterworlds drowning under global oceans and volcanic lava planets awash with seas of magma. The discovery of this diversity is just the beginning. There is a whole galaxy of possibilities.

The Planet Factory tells the story of these exoplanets. Each planetary system is different, but in the beginning most if not all young stars are circled by clouds of dust, specks that come together in a violent building project that can form colossal worlds hundreds of times the size of the Earth. The changing orbits of young planets risk dooming any life evolving on neighbouring worlds or, alternatively, can deliver the key ingredients needed to seed its beginnings. Planet formation is one of the greatest construction schemes in the Universe, and it occurred around nearly every star you see. Each results in an alien landscape, but is it possible that one of these could be like our own home world?

For most of human history, we have led not just an earthly existence but a cosmic one. Celestial cycles drove every aspect of our daily lives. Our innate relationship with the stars shaped who we are - our religious beliefs, power structures, scientific advances and even our biology. But over the last few centuries we have separated ourselves from the universe that surrounds us. And that disconnect comes at a cost. In The Human Cosmos Jo Marchant takes us on a tour through the history of humanity's relationship with the heavens. We travel to the Hall of the Bulls in Lascaux and witness the winter solstice at a 5,000-year-old tomb at Newgrange. We visit Medieval monks grappling with the nature of time and Tahitian sailors navigating by the stars. We discover how light reveals the chemical composition of the sun, and we are with Einstein as he works out that space and time are one and the same. A four-billion-year-old meteor inspires a search for extraterrestrial life. And we discover why stargazing can be really, really good for us. It is time for us to rediscover the full potential of the universe we inhabit, its wonder, its effect on our health, and its potential for inspiration and revelation.