Whitaker's Almanack Little Book of Astronomy

by Flynn, Michael

• ISBN13: 9780713682373
• ISBN10: 071368237X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-03-01
• Publisher: A&C Black

Summary

Ever find yourself marvelling at the mysterious world beyond our skies? Packed with facts, photos and figures, this captivating reference book is all you need to explore the furthest reaches of the Universe. From the origins of the Milky Way to the ingenuity of the space shuttle Whitaker's Almanack Little Book of Astronomy is an intergalactic tour for all the family.

Author Biography

Mike Flynn is a science and maths expert who works as a freelance writer for the Science Museum. He was a consultant on the Illustrated Oxford Dictionary and is also the author of Whitaker's Almanack Little Book of Infinity.

Table of Contents

Origins	p. 5
The size of the universe	p. 6
A brief history of the universe	p. 8
Heliocentric universe	p. 11
The expanding universe	p. 11
Big bangs and steady states	p. 12
Other universes	p. 13
How it may end	p. 14
Studying space	p. 15
Optical telescopes	p. 16
Electromagnetic spectrum	p. 17
Measuring distances in space	p. 18
Worlds beyond - planets of other suns	p. 22
SETI	p. 24
The solar system	p. 25
A solar system	p. 26
Birth of a solar system	p. 28
Orbits	p. 30
Types of orbiting bodies	p. 32
What are stars made of?	p. 35
What are planets made of?	p. 35
What are moons made of?	p. 36
The sun	p. 37
The moon	p. 42
The surface of the moon	p. 44
Eclipses	p. 44
Comets	p. 46
The planets of our solar system	p. 48
How much would I weigh on ... ?	p. 62
Stars and constellations	p. 63
What is a star?	p. 64
Life cycle of a star	p. 66
Element factories	p. 70
Distances to the stars	p. 71
The constellations	p. 72
Star magnitudes	p. 78
Star companions	p. 82
Nebulae	p. 85
Death of a star	p. 87
Going supernova	p. 88
The stuff of the universe	p. 89
What is the universe made of?	p. 92
Antimatter	p. 93
The forces of nature	p. 94
The search for dark matter	p. 98
Looking at galaxies	p. 99
What is a galaxy?	p. 100
The milky way	p. 101
Our intergalactic neighbours	p. 105
Types of galaxies	p. 109
When galaxies collide	p. 112
Space exploration	p. 115
How rockets work	p. 116
Von Braun and the V2	p. 118
Korolyov and the Soviets	p. 119
Timeline of rocketry and space exploration	p. 120
The space race	p. 123
Vostok	p. 124
Mercury	p. 125
Project Gemini	p. 127
The Apollo program	p. 129
Space stations	p. 133
The space shuttle	p. 135
Satellites	p. 136
Probes	p. 138
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.