Overview
Questions about the heavens are as old as civilization, perhaps as old as language itself. Is this universe infinite? What are the lights we see in the sky? In the millennia since our distant ancestors first looked up, these basic questions have been answered in countless ways while other, more difficult questions have arisen and been answered in turn. This insatiable curiosity is fundamental to our nature, and as we learn more about our universe, we better understand our place in it. Astronomer Mark Kidger has spent his career helping the general public understand the nature of the universe and what astronomy can tell us about its composition, history, and future. In Astronomical Enigmas, he presents the questions he is asked most frequently and offers answers that are at once clear, succinct, and stimulating. Kidger begins by exploring the heavens from the perspective of our forebears, moving from Stonehenge and the earliest theories about the planets and stars to one of the great historical mysteries in astronomy: the identity of the star of Bethlehem. He then answers questions that provoke some of the most passionate and heated arguments between astronomers: Is there life on Mars? Is Pluto a planet? What did we learn by going to the moon? And he uses these questions to look at how astronomers deduce information about objects they have never - and will never - visit. Finally, Kidger looks to the future by examining two urgent questions - the possibility that an asteroid might devastate life on Earth and the impact of climate change as witnessed on other planets - before coming full circle to look at our own origins, answering the question ""Are we stardust?"" The answer is as astonishing as it is unexpected. Witty, engaging, and accessible, Astronomical Enigmas is a terrific way for anyone with an insatiable curiosity about the skies to find out how much we know about our solar system - and how much there still is to learn.
Full Product Details
Author: Mark Kidger (European Space Astronomy Centre and Avenida de los Menceys 69)
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Imprint: Johns Hopkins University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 17.80cm
, Height: 3.30cm
, Length: 23.50cm
Weight: 0.907kg
ISBN: 9780801880261
ISBN 10: 0801880262
Pages: 368
Publication Date: 02 September 2005
Recommended Age: From 18
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Awaiting stock
The supplier is currently out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you and placed on backorder. Once it does come back in stock, we will ship it out for you.
Reviews
<p>Fascinating read.--Alvin K. Benson Magill Book Reviews (01/01/2006)
Mark Kidger, having looked into interesting nooks and crannies of astronomy, has brought a dozen topics he found there to the general public... I will look forward to his sequel. -- Key Reporter
Author Information
Mark Kidger is an astronomer at the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias who works at the observatories in La Palma and Tenerife.
