Universe: The Definitive Visual Guide - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1405316403 ISBN 13: 9781405316408

Publisher: DK Publishing (Dorling Kindersley), 2007

Synopsis

The definitive guide to the universe, from the Solar System to the farthest limits of space, for the whole family is now available in paperback.

Martin J. Rees, well-known cosmologist, is the author of Just Six Numbers: The Deep Forces that Shape the Universe (2001, pb) and Our Final Hour: A scientist's warning: How terror, error, and environmental disaster threaten humankind's future in this century (2004, pb), as well as other books for the trade and academic audiences.

About this title

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Notable for its outstanding color illustrations, this work was written by a team of astronomers and science writers in language accessible to high-school students and the general reader. The topically arranged entries range in length from a short paragraph to several pages. This book should be of interest to anyone who appreciates the wonders of the universe and would enjoy a beautifully illustrated guided tour by experts.

The volume is divided into three sections. The first, called "Introduction," presents an overview of basic concepts, organized under the broad topics "What Is the Universe?" "The Beginning and End of the Universe," "The View from Earth," and "Exploring Space." The next section, "Guide to the Universe," focuses on the features of the solar system, the Milky Way, and the regions beyond. Among the topics that are covered here are the planets; asteroids, comets, and meteors; the stars; and galaxy clusters. Treatment is quite detailed; for example, more than 15 pages are devoted to Mars. Finally, the book has a section called "The Night Sky," with entries on each of the 88 constellations, including maps. Seventy pages of sky guides, which provide both background information and double-page monthly sky guides for both the northern and southern latitudes for 2005-2012, should prove highly useful to sky gazers. Throughout the text, sidebars offer brief profiles of astronomers and others, highlight discoveries and investigations, or describe space-related stories and myths. An eight-page glossary offers succinct definitions of key terms. A well-constructed index provides subject access to the contents.

Stunning color photographs and illustrations, abundant on every page, supplement the text. Images from space probes and telescopes are interspersed with digital artworks. The illustrations alone make this volume well worth the modest cost. The four-volume Encyclopedia of Astronomy and Astrophysics (Institute of Physics, 2001), written for an academic and professional audience, is a far more comprehensive (and therefore more expensive) set and is particularly suited for academic and special libraries. Universe, written for a general audience, is highly recommended for high-school, academic, and public libraries. Nancy Cannon
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: DK Publishing (Dorling Kindersley)
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1405316403
• ISBN 13: 9781405316408
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 512
• Editor: Martin Rees