Overview
An extensive astronomy reference, beautifully illustrated and expertly written.
The Firefly Encyclopedia of Astronomy is organized A-Z with concise details on each topic. The pages are profusely illustrated with vivid computer graphics, photography and archival images. Included are accessible contributions by 650 world-leading astronomers covering:
- History from the Big Bang to present
- Famous astronomer bios
- Key space missions since the launch of Sputnik
- The work of observatories worldwide.
"Backyard stargazing is a lot more fun when you understand what you're looking at. The Orion Nebula is pretty in any telescope, but the view is all the more inspiring when you know that the light you're seeing left the nebula as the Roman Empire fell and that new stars are continually forming from the glowing gas.
"It's appropriate that professionals and amateurs should come together to produce such a work, because at the dawn of the twenty-first century the line between the two communities is becoming blurred. Technology is putting state-of-the-art capabilities into the hands of backyard observers, many of whom are now collaborating with professionals to study phenomena as diverse as Martian dust storms and bursts of energetic radiation from distant galaxies.
"Wherever your astronomical interests take you, this encyclopedia will be a welcome and valuable companion."
Rick Fienberg Editor-in-Chief of Sky and Telescope magazine
Synopsis
A comprehensive reference to the whole of modern astronomy, including contributions by 650 world-leading astronomers covering 1750 entries in an A-Z encyclopedia format.
Library Journal
Much of the material in this book derives from the four-volume Encyclopedia of Astronomy and Astrophysics, edited by Murdin (Cambridge Inst. of Astronomy); here, Murdin is joined by Penston (president, Society for Popular Astronomy, U.K.). Like other single-volume astronomy encyclopedias (e.g., Patrick Moore & Leif J. Robinson's Astronomy Encyclopedia and The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Universe, edited by Ian Ridpath), this book covers astronomical objects and phenomena, space missions, observatories, and astronomers and their organizations, among other topics. It focuses slightly more on current astronomy research and less on physics and the cultural aspects of astronomy. The 1750 entries, arranged alphabetically, range from one-sentence definitions to 2000-word essays. There are also more than 30 features on practical astronomy, from observing the Moon to do-it-yourself radio astronomy; brief and technical, these will appeal to experienced, dedicated, and well-equipped amateur astronomers but are less appropriate for novices. Unfortunately, the cross-referencing is not extensive, and there is no compensating index; in addition, a comprehensive bibliography in not included, though some entries do include suggested further readings. Although most pages are illustrated with color diagrams and photographs, this book is not as visually appealing as other Firefly science encyclopedias, e.g., Christopher O'Toole's Insects and Spiders. Bottom Line This useful update in a rapidly changing field complements other single-volume astronomy works but does not replace them owing to differences in the topics covered. For academic and larger public libraries.-Nancy R. Curtis, Univ. of Maine Lib., Orono Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.