How to Read the Solar System
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
What exactly is the solar system? We've all learned the basics at school but do we really understand what we are seeing in the night sky? Expert astronomers Chris North and Paul Abel, provide a fascinating guided tour of our Solar System and explain its many wonders.They look at all the major players, including our more familiar cosmic neighbors—the Sun, the planets and their moons—as well as the occasional visitors to our planet—asteroids, meteors and comets—in addition to distant stars and what might lie beyond our Solar System, including the mysterious Earth Mark II? North and Abel recount the history of how our Solar System came to be, and the myths that once shaped astronomy. Through their cogent explanations of the latest scientific discoveries, they reveal how any amateur astronomer can view and interpret the Solar System and enrich their understanding of our universe.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
North and Abel, hosts of the BBC's popular astronomy TV series, The Sky at Night, step into print with this highly accessible introduction to basic astronomy. The authors open with a romp through the history of the field, from the earliest recorded celestial observations, made in Bronze Age China, through the discoveries of the ancient Greeks, to the work of Renaissance scientists such as Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo. The sun and planets of our solar system each receive individual attention (though Uranus and Neptune share a chapter), and subsequent sections offer brief introductions to asteroids, the Kuiper Belt, comets, and the ongoing search for exoplanets. The authors comprehensively cover all the basics, making this book a great primer for readers who are just getting started in their reading on the subject, and it includes a foreword by astronomer (and Queen guitarist) Dr. Brian May. Like The Sky at Night, this chatty, non-technical discussion is perfect for the armchair or budding astronomer who wants a bit of background and history spread widely across the field.
