The Facts on File Space and Astronomy Handbook

Contains a referential glossary of astronomy-related terms, biographies of important astronomers and astronauts, and a chronology of notable events contributing to the science.

Written by the author of several other books on space, this handbook is designed for a general audience. It is organized into four sections: a 1,200-entry glossary, 400 short (one sentence to one paragraph in length) biographies, a 45-page chronology of 8,000 years of discoveries in astronomy and space science, and 17 pages of charts and tables.

The glossary provides brief descriptions or definitions for terms such as Blastoff, Extraterrestrial catastrophe theory, Gemini Project, Galactic cannibalism, Habitable payload, Orion Nebula, Planck's radiation law, and Zenith. Biographies include well-known people such as Galileo Galilei, John Glenn, and Sally Ride as well as some that one would not expect to find in an astronomy resource, for example, Italian artist Giotto, who witnessed the 1301 passage of Halley's comet and depicted it in a fresco. Charts and tables cover topics such as stellar spectral classes, an Apollo Project summary, and physical and dynamic properties of the planets. Appendixes provide a short bibliography and Web sites.

The index to this handbook could use some improvement. Some index entries-- for example, astronauts and stars-- have very long lists of page references. Many users would not have the time or patience to go through this number of undifferentiated references. Topics covered by the charts and tables are not uniformly included in the index. A few black-and-white line drawings and photographs supplement the text. Cross-references link entries to related entries.

The Space and Astronomy Handbook is recommended for libraries in need of a concise, up-to-date reference in this area. RBB
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