Helmut Abt opted for astronomy as a vocation because... well, it was fun. Dr. Abt will delight readers with this light-hearted memoir of a career in 20th century astrophysics, its challenges, its participants, and the fascinating places in the world he visited. With humor and insight he takes readers on the journey of a lifetime filled with stars and exciting adventures. Among other stories, he tells how he located the site of the first national observatory...

Following the letters of the alphabet and using rhymes, this book provides an introduction to the beauty of astronomy, and items of interest in the night sky.A delightful, full-color illustrated, fact-filled introduction to thewonders of space.

Did you know that new planets are discovered almost every day? Or that you can use a telescope to see millions of years into the past? From the planets and moons of our solar system to the farthest reaches of the universe, this book is an essential guide to the weird wonders of space.

"An award-winning science writer traces our millennia-long effort to understand the phenomenon of gravity--the greatest mystery in physics, and a force that has shaped our universe and our minds in ways we have never fully understood until now"--

"Celestial navigation, in all its forms, is nearly as old as mankind. Anyone who can master its intricacies stands at the end of a long line of master navigators that is centuries oldan expert among many who would be lost with electronics. David Berson offers here an approach that is refreshing, unique, and sure to attract a new generation of readers looking to demystify this essential art for sailors.Through his hands-on coursework Berson has developed...

"THE SKY ATLAS assembles some of the most beautiful maps and charts ever created to understand the skies above us. This richly illustrated treasury showcases the finest examples of celestial cartography-a glorious art often overlooked by modern map books-as well as medieval manuscripts, masterpiece paintings, ancient star catalogues, antique instruments, and other curiosities. This is the sky as it has never been presented before: the realm of stars...

For more than half a century, physicists and astronomers engaged in heated dispute over the possibility of black holes in the universe. The strange notion of a space-time abyss from which not even light escapes seemed to confound all logic. Now Marcia Bartusiak, author of Einstein's Unfinished Symphony and The Day We Found the Universe, recounts the frustrating, exhilarating, and at times humorous battles over one of history's most dazzling ideas. Bartusiak...

The first popular book to explain the dramatic theory behind the Moon's genesis. This lively science history relates one of the great recent breakthroughs in planetary astronomy-a successful theory of the birth of the Moon. Science journalist Dana Mackenzie traces the evolution of this theory, one little known outside the scientific community: a Mars-sized object collided with Earth some four billion years ago, and the remains of this colossal explosion-the...