The Facts on File Dictionary of Astronomy

by Illingworth, Valerie; Clark, John Owen Edward; Facts on File, Inc.

• ISBN13: 9780816042845
• ISBN10: 0816042845
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-10-01
• Publisher: Checkmark Books

Summary

How are miles converted into kilometers? When did Joseph Priestley discover oxygen? What is an isomer? What are the longest rivers and the largest lakes?

Now readers have fast, easy access to information that will satisfy the curiosities of even the most avid science buffs. Each Facts On File Science Dictionary defines all the terms that most people will ever need to know in language that's clear and concise.

Numerous line drawings illustrate complex concepts, and extensive cross-references make searching for the right definition quick and easy.

Written by prominent researchers, educators, and science writers, each dictionary is an ideal resource for students and general readers alike.

Revised and updated, this edition contains 3,700 entries on the most current terms in the field. Recent discoveries and advances in astronomy, such as new observational techniques and instrumentation on the ground and in space, have been included.

Excerpts

The Facts On File Dictionary of Astronomy's clear descriptions of different celestial bodies, observational techniques and instruments, and scientific and mathematical theories have made it a standard by which other dictionaries in this discipline have been measured. Now in its fourth edition, the book has been thoroughly updated and expanded with more than 3,700 entries—200 more than the previous edition—that reflect all aspects of astronomy, together with associated terms in spectroscopy, photometry, and particle physics.
Among the topics covered are:
•