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The Complete Idiot's Guide to Astronomy, 4th Edition (Complete Idiot's Guide to)
Product Description Look to the stars. Although Astronomy has been around for more than 5,500 years, astronomers say that we’ve learned more than 90% of what we know about the universe in just the last 50—and much of that in the last decade! The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to Astronomy, Fourth Edition, continues to be the most comprehensive introduction to the topic, covering all the latest advances and discoveries, including: • The demotion of Pluto and promotion of Ceres as planetary objects • Breakthrough evidence of recent water flow on Mars • New developments in asteroid-tracking programs • New information on the nature and shape of our universe • Mind-bending theories concerning multiple universes • Information on the latest telescopes As a bonus, this book includes a fascinating CDROM with more than 200 of the most spectacular images from NASA, star maps, and other tools for backyard astronomers. About The Author Christopher DePree, Ph.D., is an assistant professor at Agnes Scott College, where he teaches physics and astronomy. He received his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and is the Director of Bradley Observatory. Alan Axelrod, Ph.D., is the author of more than twenty books, including three Complete Idiot’s Guides®. Reader Reviews Keeping up in astronomy as a general reader is not a trivial task. As the editorial matter for this excellent summary indicates "astronomers say that we've learned more than 90% of what we know about the universe in just the last 50 [years] -- and much of that in the last decade!" Here's my solution: Subscribe to Astronomy; the magazine has recently improved its wonderful website, which is filled with tons of information based on your own location on the surface of the earth. Subscribe to NASA's free "Astronomy Picture of the Day" for a constant flow of fascinating pictures, news and features. Buy Astronomy For Dummies and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Astronomy, 4th Edition when they are released. The last "Dummies" was in 2005; the newest "Idiot's" was just released. Both do a perfectly competent job of reviewing new developments and the editors are excellent, well trained and heavily published astronomers. Christopher DePree maintains an outstanding website with lots of astronomical information. Alan Axelrod doesn't seem to have a personal website, but his books are always excellent. Buy the "Idiot's" now, then wait for a year or two, and buy the newest "Dummies". This plan of action will keep you up to date in this fast moving field. Robert C. Ross 2008 PS: On April 23, 2008, "The New York Times" carried an interesting ten question quiz designed to let you know how up to date you are in the field of astronomy. The questions were written by Christopher De Pree, and there are three additional extra credit questions sure to evoke heavy debate. On May 13, the "Times" also ran a fascinating story on the Microsoft WorldWide Telescope project and the Google Sky project. Both sound like resources to worth exploring further. B. Comments (7) | | (Report this)
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