the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Stars

the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Stars

Written for a broad audience by a noted astronomer, this encyclopedia begins with an overview of the stars and constellations and then proceeds to chapters covering the location of stars, magnitudes, cosmic distances, the galaxy in motion, spectra, stellar properties, types of stars, the sun, and stellar evolution. Although equations and technical language geared to subject specialists are employed when appropriate, the encyclopedia is generally written at a level accessible to a dedicated student.

Each chapter contains several entries ranging in length from a paragraph to several pages. Examples of specific entries include Forms , Open clusters Associations , and Globular clusters in the chapter "Star Clusters and Associations," and Supergiants Super novae, The remains and Synergy in the chapter "High-Mass Evolution." Sidebars provide interesting highlights; for example, we learn that an estimate of our galaxy's mass can be found by a simple application of Kepler's third law; life on Earth is likely to be impossible in several billion years as the sun brightens in luminosity; there is sound in space; a burst of gamma rays smacks Earth about once a day. Beautiful color photographs, collected from observatories and photographers worldwide, provide visual interest. Descriptive graphs and tables supplement the text. Surprisingly, there is no large map of the constellations. A 10-page index provides subject access to the contents. Appendixes consist of the Messier Catalogue of star clusters and nebulae, the 51 brightest stars, stars within four parsecs (that is, 13 light years) of Earth, the chemical composition of the sun, and a look at the galactic anticenter.

James. Kaler

Cambridge University

2006

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STE0926

9780521818032