The Astronomy Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained (DK Big Ideas) Kindle Edition

Amazing Book.

Looking for a gift book for a curious 7th-grader? A high-schooler who likes science? An adult who likes to look at the sky? Someone (maybe yourself) who has never understood why Pluto got 'demoted', how we know there was a Big Bang, or what the heck gravity waves are? This latest fact-filled, picture-rich, and accessible to most everyone volume from Dorling Kindersley Ltd. (Great Britain) is a sure-fire winner in every respect.Having taught science for 38 years at levels from middle school through college, I can tell when a science-related volume hits the mark with both its content's "reach" and its presentation. As with DK's 2014 Science Book, the on-point text is augmented with simple flow charts, full-color illustrations, links to related topics, and lots of brief bios about the people who spent years discovering what is presented.Also noteworthy... this volume contains several longish biographies of women astronomers like: Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Annie Jump Cannon, Margaret Geller, Henrietta Swan Leavitt, Cecilia Payne-Gaposchin, Vera Rubin, and Beatrice Tinsley.The contributors are experienced in science book writing and in astronomy to the degree necessary in order to pull off the task of communicating both simple and challenging ideas to a wide variety of potential readers.

I wonder often about the universe, but not as a number cruncher does, because they believe something can come from nothing. I am much more sensible in knowing that it was created by an all knowing and powerful God. The book is a general knowledge book that even a novice can see that the universe has order, and I chose to believe that order comes not by physics laws, but intelligence. You do know that the moon is not the correct size and weight to act as it does? The dogma that tv physicists would want you believe is bunk, as Archie Bunker would say.NASA wants to go to Mars costing 1 Trillion, yet we have so many disease's than still ravage man, but NASA knows, and this book is not to full of Scientific Dogma, but just facts your teenager needs to know about the Heavens, and "This book is Approved by Bill." You see that stamp you can be sure it does not clash with the truth.

I bought 2 of these for each of my boys that are very much into the stars.My 30 year old is becoming a Astrophysics and loves it , my other son, loves the stars as well, could not put it down, both were gifts, my husband is reading over his shoulder and says I WANT ONE!!!! SoI will be getting a 3rd one!!

Jacqueline Mitton, the consultant editor of this marvelous book must be commended for gathering a team of writers who have achieved what Nigel deGrasse Tyson failed to achieve in his slightly misleading book title, ‘Astrophysics for People in a Hurry’. Here is a line from deGrasse: ‘Although we haven’t reached the finish line, we know exactly where the high hurdles are. One of them is during the “Planck era” of the early universe. That’s the interval of time from t = 0 up to t = 10-43 seconds (one ten-million-trillion-trillion-trillionths of a second) after the beginning, and before the universe grew to 10-35 meters (one hundred billion trillion-trillionths of a meter) across.’ In contrast, ‘The Astronomy Book’ produces writing like: ‘In 1900, German physicist Max Planck worked out the precise mathematics to describe how the mix of wavelengths of light given off by hot objects, and hence their color, varies according to their temperature. Thus star colors are related to surface temperature – red stars have the coolest surfaces, and blue stars the hottest.’ The Astronomy Book has a much wider range of topics than deGrasse’s book (but that is because deGrasse spends a great deal more time and detail on astrophysics). The Astronomy Book covers asteroids and meteorites, as it does the fascinating subject of the (possible) life on other planets. Would we be put off by words like ‘quasars and pulsars’? In the chapter, ‘It has to be some new kind of Star’, a quasar is clearly and fully explained in one short paragraph. And ‘Dark Matter’? No matter. In the entertaining chapter, ‘Most of the Universe is Missing’, we find out why we cannot see most of the universe – thanks to Vera Rubin. She showed that stars in ‘nearby galaxies seemed not to move in a way consistent with Newton’s law of gravity: their outer regions moved too quickly.’ The writer goes on to explain this phenomenon simply and clearly. As in all DK books in this series, there are lovely photographs, not just of space and planets, but earthly luminaries such as Vera Rubin, Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, Edwin Hubble, and Bertil Lindblad. For those who find deGrasse too daunting, they will find this book illuminating.

this series is awesome 💕 hope to have them all someday. Lots of interesting info!

A very good book to catch up on Astronomy.Wel organized and covers the subject historically. Does justice to Chinese, Arab, Indian achievements.

I like the book!It is straight forward and helps me deliver answers to folks attending the astronomy park here.I am not a trivia guy or a story teller and I tend to get too into the weeds. This book helps a lot!

Fue un regalo para mi hijo y está súper encantando. Ha aprendido muchísimas cosas gracias a este libro, es su favorito!!!

Nicely written

Excellent quality book in which it shows the history of astronomy over time and several curiosities. I recommend it for beginner astronomy and those who want to know a little about various subjects explained in a lay and intuitive way.

Ma fille l’a choisi et l’a aimé

I had bought The Astronomy Book, The Ecology Book & The Science Book for my 12 year old son and haven't seen him without one of it in his hands since then! It does speak volumes about all three books. Separately I had also bought Heads Up Money by DK for my 16 year old daughter. It is also a gem.