Reviews (2)

Great meteorite reference
This is a fantastic reference to meteorites. Large, beautifully bound and with great colour images and illustrations. Norton certainly knows his subject and takes us on a cosmic jouney, from black rocks found in the desert to a time before the formation of the solar system. There is plenty of technical and scientific details to feed the mind of the most educated reader. He explains concepts like radio-isotope dating with a clarity lacking at many eductional institutions today. Highly recommended for all those with an interest in space or astronomy and the growing number of meteorite collectors out there. My only minor criticism is that the font used in the book could have been a little bolder and easier to read for my aging eyes. Norton deserves a 10/10 for this fine effort.

STUPENDOUS
THERE IS NOT MUCH TO SAY ABOUT THIS EXCEPTIONAL BOOK EXCEPT THIS IS AN EXCELLENT IN-DEPTH LOOK AT METEORITES WITH SUPERB COLOR PICTURES.IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN METEORITES, ESPECIALLY COLLECTING THEM, YOUR LIBRARY SHOLD NOT BE WITHOUT THIS BOOK. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Astronomy - Solar System    2. Cosmology    3. Descriptive Astronomy    4. Meteorites    5. Science    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Earth Sciences    8. Meteors    9. Planets & asteroids    10. Reference works    11. Science / Astronomy   

Reviews (4)

Superb, but...
This is the best work I've read on the solar system, period. The text is wonderful but I dearly wish the author had included the American measuring system along with the metric one. I'm one of those old fogies who has to cogitate in the extreme in order to convert kilometers into miles. Oh, well. An excellent layman's reference to solar system astronomy
Don't buy this book thinking it will be an entertaining reference for your twelve-year-old nephew who enjoys astronomy.This hefty tome is more akin to a college-level textbook than an encyclopedia.If you want to get adetailed, but not overly technical, overview of modern solar systemscience, this is the book for you.

A legacy!
Following a thematic progression, ranging outward from the Sun to other planetary systems, the Encyclopedia of the Solar System details the dynamics of motions and rotations, solar wind, planetary, geologic, andatmospheric conditions, as well as other processes in the formation ofplanets, satellites and the smaller bodies of our planetary environment.The Encyclopedia covers the latest observations employing planetary radar,radio, infrared, and ultraviolet wavelengths.Read more

Subjects:  1. Aeronautics & Astronautics    2. Astronomy - General    3. Astronomy - Solar System    4. Cosmology    5. Earth Sciences - General    6. Encyclopedias    7. Science    8. Science/Mathematics    9. Solar System    10. Reference works    11. Science / Astronomy   

Reviews (5)

Old Style, Few Pictures
This is a rather poor book. Itresembles an enciclopedia from the 80s. Anyone who has used googleearth will find the pictures pretty boring. The design of the ilustrations is boring, nothing like the good maps natgeo is sending in its recent issues. Actually I wonder if it is just a reprint of old material, refurrnished and actualized with a photo of the hubble space telescope.
useful reference
I agree, in part, with what each of the previous reviews. The first half of the book holds information on astronomy and the planets. The information in this half of the book is up to date and holds some interesting facts. It not only holds the entries on the history of astronomy, but entries for dark matter, the accelerating universe and more. The solar system section holds the latest information about the planets. However, it was published before the Cassini mission's close flyby of Saturn and the Huygens probe's visit to Titan.
2 stars only
This book is not really up to date as far as I am concerned!
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Subjects:  1. Aeronautics & Astronautics    2. Astronautics    3. Astronomy    4. Astronomy - General    5. Cosmology    6. Encyclopedias    7. Exploration    8. Outer space    9. Reference    10. Science    11. Popular astronomy    12. Reference works    13. Science / Cosmology   

Subjects:  1. Astronomy - General    2. Science    3. Science/Mathematics    4. Astronomy, Space & Time    5. Astrophysics    6. Science / Astronomy   

Editorial Review

Everything you ever wanted to know about the sun, the powerhouse of our galaxy, sustaining life on earth, driving the weather, providing warmth and light--and, directly or indirectly, almost all the energy that plants and animals use.Read more

Reviews (1)

What you should know about the nearest star
This is a very nice book that will be of interest both to amateur astronomers and people with good physics background. The author separated descriptive text from text with mathematical content and as a result one can choose to read in a depth appropriate to their background. The book is also very well illustrated with informative captions below each picture. It is clear that the author is enthusiastic about the subject. However, what I did not like was that almost 100 from the 250 pages are devoted to general astronomical concepts and a glossary. This material is good but I would prefer to read more details about the sun. If the introduction explained solar physics (such as magnetism, spectra) in much more detail then subsequent chapters would be understood even better. I recommend the book to all people with a serious interest in the physics of our star. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Astronomy - General    2. Astronomy - Solar System    3. Encyclopedias    4. Reference    5. Science    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Sun    8. Popular astronomy    9. Science / Astrophysics & Space Science    10. Sun--Encyclopedias    11. The Sun   

Editorial Review

The final frontier is conquered in the Read more

Reviews (6)

excellent book
excellent book ., a good one for all kids interested about Space ...

A valuable reference for anyone interested in space
This is a wonderful book, exploring nearly every aspect of space, from the Big Bang to black holes. The book is easy to understand and fun to read whether you're doing a project about space or if you just enjoy reading about it. It's chock-full of hundreds of beautiful photographs and realistic-looking pictures, too. The book is accurate, colorful, and up-to-date, and I enjoy looking through it and reading it in my spare time. Great book
This is not just an ordinary book about the solar system, it is rich with information about all aspects of space from observing the universe, exploring space, the solar system, stars, galaxies and practical stargazing. Like other DK encyclopedias this is a great piece of work. Though kids (ages 8-12) might find the text a bit difficult to understand, the pictures and the way the information is presented can still awaken their interest and capture their full attention. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Astronomy    2. Children's 9-12 - Reference    3. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    4. Children: Grades 4-6    5. Encyclopedias    6. Encyclopedias, Juvenile    7. Juvenile Nonfiction    8. Reference - Atlases    9. Reference - Encyclopedias    10. Science & Nature - Astronomy    11. Science & Technology - Astronomy    12. Space sciences    13. Juvenile Nonfiction / Science & Technology / Astronomy   

Subjects:  1. Astronautics    2. Astronomy    3. Children's 4-8 - Science    4. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Nonfiction    5. Children: Kindergarten    6. Juvenile Nonfiction    7. Juvenile literature    8. Reference - Encyclopedias    9. Science & Nature - Astronomy    10. Science & Technology - Astronomy    11. Technology - Aeronautics, Astronautics & Space Science   

Reviews (1)

Archaeoloastronomy at its best!
Clive Ruggles is professor of archaeoastronomy at the University of Leicester and has published numerous astronomy works in past: his ANCIENT ASTRONOMY: AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF COSMOLOGIES AND MYTH provides over 200 A-Z entries in an updated collection of world case studies revolving around themes ranging from calendars and space/time concepts to key issues of assessing evidence. Jargon-free explanations, discussions of problematic issues, bibliographic references and history and observations make for a reference recommended to a wide audience, from high school through college.
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Subjects:  1. Astrology and mythology    2. Astronomy - General    3. Astronomy, Ancient    4. Cosmology    5. Encyclopedias    6. Environmental Science    7. Folklore & Mythology - Mythology    8. Reference    9. Science    10. Science/Mathematics    11. Cosmology & the universe    12. Popular astronomy    13. Reference works    14. Science / General   

Reviews (5)

I Agree: This is a Wonderful, Amazing Book
I teach astronomy as a volunteer at our high school and at public star parties given by our astronomical society. If this book were just one more "overview" of astronomy (as so many books are), I would warn you away. But it's not - this book is the best I've ever seen. Great fun, comprehensive, exciting illustrations, clear text..It is 4 years old now in this edition, so it won't have the latest on Mars, or the Shuttle problems, extraterrestial planets, dark energy etc, but it is still great for its coverage of history and concepts, most of which have not changed in 4 years. I will buy the next edition the day it comes out.

Simply Amazing!!!
This book is rich with information on the universe in which we live.The text covers just about every major aspect of it...And surpringly offers a great deal of detail on the individual subjects.This detail is something most astronomical books are unfortunately without.A great deal of information plus, overall text structure being wonderful equals Simply Amazing!!

Awesome and Awe inspiring
This book is not intimidating but it is still very worthwhile, and if you are interested in this subject it would make a wonderful addition to your own library, and for this price it is hard to make a case against owning it.
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Subjects:  1. Astronomy    2. Astronomy - General    3. Astronomy - Universe    4. Cosmology    5. Encyclopedias    6. Reference    7. Science    8. Science/Mathematics    9. Space sciences    10. Universe   

Reviews (3)

Very Comprehensive Book
A great reference book for anyone's home library. Beautifully illustrated and well indexed subject matter. Found only a few less than obvious errors and understandably a little out-of-date but given its broadly covered topical nature and huge page content it is a magnificent collaborative production. A very handy reference for teachers or anyone with an interest in astronomy.

Beautiful book, but full of errors
Oxford University Press has published a visually spectacular and comprehensive astronomy encyclopedia for the lay-person.They have made liberal use of recent Hubble Space Telescope images to produce a truly beautiful book.However, the number of errors ranging from mistaken numbers, to misattributed photographs, to confused sentences is surprising.Perhaps a second edition will clean up these problems.

This book has everything you would want to know.
This book is state of the art in information.It can answer any possible question you can ask about astronomy. It is a thick heavy hard covered book.I spent two hours just reading the captions of over 500 pictures and learned things I never thought about. Get it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Astronomy    2. Astronomy (General)    3. Astronomy - General    4. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    5. Encyclopedias    6. Juvenile Nonfiction    7. Science    8. Science & Nature - Astronomy    9. Star Observation    10. Reference / Encyclopedias   

Reviews (2)

photo-filled intro to amateur astronomy
1,750 entries, 350 color photos and 35 essays written by experts

Great Astronomy Resource
A wonderful astronomy resource.Has informative articles written by amateurs smattered throughout -- in just the right amounts and at just the right places.Similar to my "The Universal Book of Astronomy : From the Andromeda Galaxy to the Zone of Avoidance" book, but with more depth to most definitions.Many full color illustrations and photos.The only thing I don't like in the Firefly one better than the "The Universal Book of Astronomy : From the Andromeda Galaxy to the Zone of Avoidance" book is that this book doesn't list out the stars of each constellations with distances like the UniversalBook does.The only solution -- buy both!:) ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Astronomy    2. Astronomy - General    3. Encyclopedias    4. Reference    5. Science    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Science / Astronomy   

Reviews (2)

A serious reference work, not for browsers
This book raises space encyclopedias to a new level.Many previous books of this typehave been collections of images interspersed with some lightweight text.Not this one.The French authors of this work go into considerable technical detail about the many topics they cover, including the celestial mechanics of artificial satellites, their orbits and ground tracks, and the trajectories of interplanetary probes.The authors focus primarily on scientific and applications missions, with relatively little attention to manned space programs.The world's launch vehicles and launch sites are covered thoroughly, as are earth observation satellites. The excellent charts and diagrams are detailed and comprehensive; the photographic images are well chosen and well reproduced. Mysteries of science and the workings of national politics
The collaborative work of Fernand Verger (Professor Emeritus of Geography at L'Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris), Isabelle Sourbes-Verger (National Center for Scientific Research and the Foundation for Strategic Research, Paris), and Raymond Ghirardi (Cartographic Engineer, CNRS), and Xavier Pasco (Associate Professor, Universite de Marne la Vallee, Pasco), The Cambridge Encyclopedia Of Space is a globally-themed, wonderfully illustrated resource compendium of man's perspective and occupation of space. Ranging from the vast variety of satellites (including telecommunication, navigation, and military ones), to the workings of the space shuttle, to budgets and space activity around the world, The Cambridge Encyclopedia Of Space superbly covers both the mysteries of science and the workings of national politics to present a combined wealth of information for ideal for nonspecialist general readers of all backgrounds. Simply put, no school or community library Astronomy & Space Science collection can be considered complete without the inclusion of The Cambridge Encyclopedia Of Space. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Aeronautics & Astronautics    2. Astronautics    3. Astronomy - General    4. Astrophysics & Space Science    5. Encyclopedias    6. Exploration    7. Outer space    8. Reference    9. Rocketry    10. Science    11. Science/Mathematics    12. Astronomy, Space & Time    13. Science / Astrophysics & Space Science    14. Science: General Issues   

Subjects:  1. Astronomy - General    2. Astronomy - Universe    3. Reference    4. Science    5. Science/Mathematics    6. Astronomy, Space & Time    7. Science / Astronomy   

Reviews (1)

Scholastic Encyclopedia of Space
This book is an excellent resource for information about space. It has many stunning pictures that capture the readers interest. It also has a great deal of factual information that is presented in an easy to readformat. It is a great resource for anyone wishing to learn more aboutspace, or just an interesting book to wander through. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Astronomy    2. Children's 9-12 - Science    3. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Science    4. Children: Grades 2-3    5. Exploration    6. Juvenile Nonfiction    7. Juvenile literature    8. Outer space    9. Reference - Encyclopedias    10. Science & Nature - Astronomy    11. Science & Technology - Astronomy   

Reviews (1)

Good Book on Mediocre Paper
An excellent book that takes a unique approach to explaining the world of amateur astronomy.I use this book more as a reference than a door to beginning to understand the huge world of astronomy (Terence Dickinson in Nightwatch does that best).Has an excellent Equipment section (especially the filters area), great planetary info in the Solar System section, and very handy reference charts in the back of the book.Read more

Subjects:  1. Astronomy    2. Astronomy (General)    3. Astronomy - General    4. Encyclopedias    5. General    6. Handbooks, manuals, etc    7. Observers' manuals    8. Planets    9. Science    10. Science/Mathematics    11. Astronomical observation: observatories, equipment & methods    12. Popular astronomy    13. Reference works    14. Science / Astronomy   

Reviews (1)

All About Space (Dictionary)
This book was a great source of information on, well, everything. It taught me all the words I didn't understand such as: RCS, and MMU.You look them up. I read a lot of space books and most of them, well, are just to confusing. This book gives all the definitions in plain english. In endingI have to say...Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 4-8 - Science    2. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Nonfiction    3. Children: Kindergarten    4. Juvenile Nonfiction    5. Juvenile literature    6. Science & Nature - Astronomy    7. Science & Technology - Aeronautics, Astronautics & Space Sci    8. Science & Technology - Astronomy    9. Space sciences    10. Technology - Aeronautics, Astronautics & Space Science    11. Juvenile Nonfiction / Reference / Encyclopedias   

Subjects:  1. Dictionaries    2. Science   

Subjects:  1. Astronomy    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Science    3. Children: Grades 4-6    4. Encyclopedias    5. Encyclopedias, Juvenile    6. Juvenile Nonfiction    7. Outer space    8. Reference - Encyclopedias    9. Science & Nature - Astronomy    10. Science & Technology - Aeronautics, Astronautics & Space Sci    11. Technology - Aeronautics, Astronautics & Space Science    12. Juvenile Nonfiction / Science & Technology / Aeronautics, Astronautics & Space Science   

Subjects:  1. Astronomy    2. Astronomy (General)    3. Astrophysics    4. Encyclopedias    5. Science    6. Science/Mathematics   

Reviews (1)

Up to date, Complete, and Fascinating
This is a huge, up to date, single volume encyclopedia. It is not a text, but an alphabetical listing of just about everything there is to know about the subject. More than most astronomy books, this one contains a lot more information about the various space oriented NASA projects. I can't say that every mission is documented, but in looking several up I couldn't find any that were missing. Likewise other aspects of space technology aren't left out. You don't find discussions for instance on the de Laval nozzle in most other books.
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Subjects:  1. Astronomy    2. Astronomy - General    3. Children's 12-Up - Science    4. Children's Books/Young Adult Misc. Nonfiction    5. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    6. Encyclopedias    7. Juvenile Nonfiction    8. Reference - Encyclopedias    9. Science (General) (Young Adult)    10. Science/Mathematics    11. Space astronomy    12. Technology - Aeronautics, Astronautics & Space Science    13. Astronomy, Space & Time    14. Reference works