How Do We Know How Stars Shine (Great Scientific Questions and the Scientists Who Answered Them)

Discusses the scientific research which led to the current theories of how the stars shine, including the contributions of Karl Jansky, Arthur Eddington, Annie Jump Cannon, and Hans Bethe.

Reviewed with Jeremy Roberts' How Do We Know the Laws of Motion?

Gr. 6-9. The Great Scientific Questions and the Scientists Who Answered Them series gets off to a good start with volumes about stars and the laws of motion. In Stars, Cobb begins with ancient observations of the heavens, and proceeds through the history of astronomy and amazing discoveries about stars to a discussion of the sun. This straightforward presentation gives a good sense of the process and sequence of discovery as well as what is known about the nature of stars. Laws of Motion takes a similarly chronological path, from the ancient Greek theories of motion and the structure of the universe to the discoveries of relativity and the "geometry of space," about which Roberts writes with admirable clarity. Although the illustrations--diagrams and black-and-white reproductions of period portraits, prints, and documents--add to readers' understanding of the subjects at hand, the pages, with their gray-shaded borders, look dreary. A glossary, bibliography, and list of related scientific organizations and Web sites round out each book in this informative, accessible series. Carolyn Phelan
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