Showing titles in Astronomy

How Big Is the Universe? is a poetic journey through space, time, and consciousness. Using Earthly metaphors—a tennis ball for the observable universe and Pluto for the actual one—it translates cosmic immensity into human scale. The book traces humanity’s expanding awareness: from believing Earth was the center to discovering trillions of galaxies held together by unseen forces of dark matter and dark energy. It explores the search for life, the fine-tuning of physical laws, and the idea that consciousness may be the universe knowing itself.

Christopher A. Roosa grew up the eldest son of Apollo 14 astronaut and command module pilot Stuart A. Roosa. As a child of the space program, Christopher had a ringside seat at the dinner table of one of twenty-four Americans who had either entered lunar orbit or landed on the moon. 

Brought to you by Penguin. As a new wave of interplanetary exploration launches in summer 2020, a talented young planetary scientist charts our centuries-old obsession with Mars. 'This elegantly crafted book conveys what it's like to be a young scientist involved in the quest' Lord Martin Rees...

It is now known that we live in a galaxy with more planets than stars. The Milky Way alone encompasses 30 trillion potential home planets. Scientists Trefil and Summers bring listeners on a marvelous experimental voyage through the possibilities of life-unlike anything we have experienced so far - that could exist on planets outside our own solar system. 

Infinity Beckoned illuminates a critical period of space history when humans dared an expansive leap into the inner solar system. Jay Gallentine conveys the trials and triumphs of the people on the ground who conceived and engineered the missions that put robotic spacecraft on the heavenly bodies nearest our own.

In Handprints on Hubble, retired astronaut Kathryn Sullivan describes her work on the NASA team that made all of this possible. Sullivan, the first American woman to walk in space, recounts how she and other astronauts, engineers, and scientists launched, rescued, repaired, and maintained Hubble, the most productive observatory ever built.

The Short Story of the Universe is a new introduction to the subject of the universe. Covering 130 key components that make it up - from dwarf galaxies and spiral arms to red giants and the planets of the solar system - and linking these to the universe's structure and the theories that help us understand it, this book simplifies this riveting yet mind-boggling subject, telling the story of how it came into being and how it will eventually be no more.

Astrophysics for All is a student-led podcast that brings astrophysics down to Earth for curious young people everywhere. Each episode features conversations with professional astronomers and researchers, breaking down big ideas about the universe in a way that’s clear and engaging; no jargon required. At a time when astronomy is often missing from classrooms, this podcast invites young people to ask questions and see their place in the cosmos. HAVE A QUESTION? Visit: astrophysicsforall.com Available on: | Spotify | Apple | Amazon |

The violent birth of the universe was only the first bang of a very bumpy ride. This unfathomably cacophonous beginning has spawned blasts, implosions, cosmic cannibalism, collisions, and countless other fleeting energetic events punctuating the cosmos. Although often brief, these transient phenomena pack a powerful punch. Astronomer and science writer C. Renee James introduces us to her colleagues around the world, who are using pioneering research techniques to explore everything from the very first explosions in the universe to the dark energy that could destroy it all.

A sweeping account of the century of experimentation that confirmed Einstein's general theory of relativity, bringing to life the science and scientists at the origins of relativity, the development of radio telescopes, the discovery of black holes and quasars, and the still unresolved place of gravity in quantum theory.

For millennia, the moon has been associated with many central concerns of human existence: love, passion, fertility, mystery, death and rebirth, and the divine feminine. For Wiccans and other Pagan practitioners, the moon is a vital presence with much to teach us. Wicca Moon Magic by best-selling author Lisa Chamberlain is for anyone wanting to learn more about the connections between the moon and the practice of magic.

According to Barker, who first published the book in the 1960s, Rampa's claim that his body had been taken over by a Tibetan Buddhist monk was in no way disproved. In fact, Barker provides a letter from a Tibetan Buddhist scholar stating that Rampa's writings about the inner workings of Tibetan Buddhism were quite accurate and actually revealed closely guarded secrets of the Himalayan monasteries.

What would it have been like to be an eyewitness to the Big Bang? In 2014, astronomers wielding BICEP2, the most powerful cosmology telescope ever made, revealed that they'd glimpsed the spark that ignited the Big Bang. Millions around the world tuned in to the announcement broadcast live from Harvard University, immediately igniting rumors of an imminent Nobel Prize. But had these cosmologists truly read the cosmic prologue or, swept up in Nobel dreams, had they been deceived by a galactic mirage?

An “intriguing and accessible” (Publishers Weekly) interpretation of the life of Galileo Galilei, one of history’s greatest and most fascinating scientists, that sheds new light on his discoveries and how he was challenged by science deniers. “We really need this story now, because...

Project Gemini is a neglected part of the US space program. Sandwiched between the excitement of Project Mercury and the sending of the first American astronauts to space and the euphoria of the Apollo Moon landings, Gemini was a step forward rather than a dramatic leap. However, this project achieved many important firsts, including the first spacewalk, the first rendezvous and docking between two spacecraft, the first flights of more than one week’s duration, and many more.

Ralph Pendrel of New York City is bequested an 18th century house in London. He travels back in time and meets an ancestor of the same name. A triangle then follows, with new-Ralph engaged to old-Ralph's fiance, Molly Midmore, but in love with her sister Nan. James wrote the novel in fits and starts, and never finished, but fortunately for us readers, he left extensive notes. - Summary by Mark Leder

Temptations and infatuations abound in this sparklingly linguistic early comedy from Shakespeare, where cerebral pursuits and ascetic intentions prove no match for the nobles of Navarre’s royal court when the Princess of France and her attendants arrive on a political mission and find themselves enmeshed in a mission of far more amorous ambitions. An entertaining battle of sexes, wits and classes ensues as the great master of the English language concocts a roundelay of semantic gamesmanship, mixing high lyricism, bawdy wordplay and a fair degree of scholarly satire together with elastic ...

The play features three interlocking plots, connected by a celebration of the wedding of Theseus of Athens and the Amazon queen, Hippolyta, which is set simultaneously in the woodland and in the realm of Fairyland, under the light of the moon. (Summary by Wikipedia) Theseus: Dave NicolEgeus: James SilversteinLysander: Peter ParshallDemetrius: Alex LauPhilostrate/Puck: ElleyKatPeter Quince/Prologue: Libby GohnSnug/Lion: Monika M.C.Nick Bottom/Pyramus: Alan MapstoneFrancis Flute/Thisby: Chuck WilliamsonTom Snout/ Wall: gloriousjobNarrator/Stage Directions/Robin Starling/Moonshine: Algy ...

Magic, fairies, young lovers chasing each other through a forest, a man with a donkey's head, and impish Puck wreaking havoc right and left. What's going on here? It's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare at his most fanciful. The play opens with Theseus, Duke of Athens, preparing for his wedding. Egeus complains to Theseus that his daughter Hermia refuses to marry Demetrius. When Hermia is given the choice between marriage to Demetrius or life as a nun, she and her true love Lysander flee into the forest. Demetrius follows them; and Helena, who loves Demetrius, follows him. Also in the ...

Shakespeare's festive comedy combines classical Athenian characters (Duke Theseus and his conquered Amazonian bride Hippolyta) with four contentious lovers, a forest full of quarreling and mischievous fairies and adds a dose of amateur theatre for good measure. (Summary by Elizabeth Klett) Cast Theseus/Oberon: Algy Pug Hippolyta/Titania: Elizabeth Klett Philostrate/Puck: Amy Gramour Egeus: Bruce Pirie Hermia: Elizabeth Barr Lysander: Dan Raynham Demetrius: Bear Schacht Helena: Kristingj Peter Quince/Prologue: Arielle Lipshaw Francis Flute/Thisby: Jeff Schwab Nick Bottom/Pyramus: Bob Gonzalez ...