Bad Astronomy Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from Astrology to the Moon Landing "Hoax"

by Plait, Philip C.

• ISBN13: 9780471409762
• ISBN10: 0471409766
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-03-05
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

In the first volume in Wiley?s exciting new Bad Science series, Plait sets the scientific record straight, clearing up the misconceptions relating to our Earth, Moon and night sky. Bad Astronomy explains the real science behind the various space hoaxes and frauds that have become the hallmark of bad astronomy in the media. Not only does Plait reveal the principles that actually make the universe work, he takes the reader down the commonsense path of understanding such basics as the flow of water down a drain to how starlight moves through the vacuum of space. Here is a fascinating and enlightening exploration for amateurs and experts alike.

Author Biography

PHILIP PLAIT, Ph.D., works in the physics and astronomy department at Sonoma State University in California. He maintains the Web site badastronomy.com and writes monthly articles on astronomy for the German newspaper Die Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. His work has appeared in the Encyclopedia Britannica Yearbook of Science and the Future and Astronomy magazine. He also writes a monthly column for astronomy.com.

Table of Contents

Introduction.

PART I: Bad Astronomy Begins at Home.

1. The Yolk's on You: Egg Balancing and the Equinox.

2. Flushed with Embarrassment: The Coriolis Effect and Your Bathroom.

3. Idiom's Delight: Bad Astronomy in Everyday Language.

PART II: From the Earth to the Moon.

4. Blue Skies Smiling at Me: Why the Sky Is Blue.

5. A Dash of Seasons: Why Summer Turns to Fall.

6. Phase the Nation: The Moon's Changing Face.

7. The Gravity of the Situation: The Moon and the Tides.

8. The Moon Hits Your Eye Like a Big Pizza Pie: The Big Moon Illusion.

PART III: Skies at Night Are Big and Bright.

9. Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star: Why Stars Appear to Twinkle.

10. Star Light, Star White: Stars of Many Colors.

11. Well, Well: The Difficulty of Daylight Star Sighting.

12. The Brightest Star: Polaris-Just Another Face in the Crowd.

13. Shadows in the Sky: Eclipses and Sun-Watching.

14. The Disaster that Wasn't: The Great Planetary Alignment of 2000.

15. Meteors, Meteoroids, and Meteorites, Oh My!: The Impact of Meteors and Asteroids.

16. When the Universe Throws You a Curve: Misunderstanding the Beginning of It All.

PART IV: Artificial Intelligence.

17. Appalled at Apollo: Uncovering the Moon-Landing Hoax.

18. Worlds in Derision: Velikovsky vs. Modern Science.

19. In the Beginning: Creationism and Astronomy.

20. Misidentified Flying Objects: UFOs and Illusions of the Mind and Eye.

21. Mars Is in the Seventh House, But Venus Has Left the Building: Why Astrology Doesn't Work.

PARTV: Beam Me Up.

22. Hubble Trouble: Hubble Space Telescope Misconceptions.

23. Star Hustlers: Star Naming for Dummies.

24. Bad Astronomy Goes Hollywood: The Top-Ten Examples of Bad Astronomy in Major Motion Pictures.

Recommended Reading.

Acknowledgments.

Index