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Review Thumbnails:
Science of Astronomy
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Here are a number of book reviews from
the Astronomical League's Reflector. If you find
these books interesting, you may want to order some
of these books through the Book Service. We also invite
you to submit book reviews to the e-mail address below
of any currently available book you have read. We will
include them where possible.
Science of Astronomy
Binary Stars: A
Pictorial Atlas by D. Terrell, J. D. Mukherjee and
R.E. Wilson.
In short...
The book illustrates through computer
generated images how complex and diversified close binary
systems can be. Over 300 such systems are displayed
through different phases of their orbital revolutions
They are shown as they would appear at a distance of
approximately one Astronomical Unit. Variable star observers
should find this book fascinating, especially if the
binaries they are following are included. At last the
amateur or astronomy student can get a good idea of
what those variable points of light in the night sky
really look like. (Reviewed May 1999 by Paul R. Castle)
Dark Matter, Missing
Planets & New Comets by Tom Van Flandern.
In short...
There is a lot about the book Dark
Matter, Missing Planets & New Comets that I like,
yet so much of it presents theories and perspectives
which are very different from the main stream. You may
not agree with all of the conclusions offered, but you
will find your perspectives broadened by a different
way of viewing the universe. (Reviewed Feb. 1994 by
Paul R. Castle)
Jupiter Chronicle:
The Crash of 1994 by Phillip W. Budine.
In short...
The booklet treats all possible ways
amateurs can observe Jupiter, from the simple visual
through the more complex: photometric and even radio.
In the visual arena, they not only include drawings,
strip sketches and central meridian transits with their
standard forms included, but suggest a whole gamut of
things to look for, both directly and with instruments.
Join the excitement! (Reviewed May 1994 by Rolling P.
Van Zandt)
Looking for Earths:
The Race to Find New Solar Systems by Alan Boss.
In short...
The 1995 announcement by Michel Mayor
and Didier Queloz of the Geneva Observatory, of the
discovery of a planet around 51 Pegasi, achieved something
that had eluded astronomers for 50 years: the magnificent
discovery of an extra-solar Jupiter. Looking for Earths:
The Race to Find New Solar Systems, is a detailed
account of that 50-year search in diary form, starting
with the efforts of Swarthmore College’s Peter van de
Kamp in 1963, and ending with the “Planet of the Week”
discoveries of 1998. (Reviewed May 2000 by Edward Flasphoeler)
Meteors by Neil
Bone.
In short...
This is a book about doing serious
amateur astronomy. Casual, concise, illustrated simply
with line drawings and black-and-white photos, Meteors
is offered as the not-so-neophyte amateur's observing
primer. But a source book it's not. But in its defense,
I would add that an encyclopedic work could not be produced
for such a reasonable price. (Reviewed Aug. 1995 by
Mark Gingrich)
The
New Solar System, Fourth Edition edited by J. Kelley
Beatty, Carolyn Collins Petersen, and Andrew Chaikin.
In short...
The explosion of information in the
field of planetary science in recent years has made
it very difficult for the lay person to keep up with
the latest knowledge and theories about the part of
the universe in which we live. This book is neither
a text book nor a coffee table took. It lies somewhere
in between. Its 28 chapters cover every aspect of Solar
System research, from the Sun to Pluto, and all the
planets, satellites, comets, atmospheres, and asteroids
in between. The final chapter gives a census of the
rapidly growing number of known worlds around other
stars. If you are interested in the current state of
knowledge about planetary science, this book will be
a welcome addition to your library. (Reviewed Aug. 1999
by Edward Flaspoehler)
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