Solar System Books

I just recently moved into a solar house, and this book has given me a new understanding and appreciation of solar electricity. Fun to read and easy for a beginner to understand... highly recommended!

If you want a book that talks in generalities and gives NO practical information, then this the book for you. I tried to send it back, but they wouldn't take it. Don't waste your money. Is that clear enough?

This book put into easy to read wording that I could understand. I read it very quickly and enjoyed it. I feel a lot more educated and knowledgable about solar power systems.

I red this book in Germany where I live, and, even though some aspects of this book are based on conditions in the USA, I highly recommend this book to everybody on this planet. One can tell the author's love of the subject and his skill to write just from the heart on a very technical subject. The stories and jokes in the book helped me to understand the subject and, even if I could not follow some technical detail, the point he tried to make still came across. I now know more about the subject of solar energy and - what is equally important - I look at the world and its resources with a different eye. This is truely and "Easy Guide". Keep cracking Adi,
thanks for this wonderful book.
Sonja Baumann, Berlin Germany

This book is silly and that is what helps me past the confusion of amps and watts and volts and cables. This is my most recent education in electrical engineering since fifth grade (and fixing some lamps and switches) and I am so glad I got this book and the installation manual.
Want to avoid mistakes. Some people may not like silly stories and humorous nonfiction. But for some of us, the humor both is illustrative, gives time to digest the technical ideas.
Great beginning book, does not scare me away from solar electric and that's exactly what I hoped for.

First we see that planets sweep out equal areas in equal times, following Newton's easy proof. Now to prove that planets move in ellipses. Cut the orbit into infinitesimal, equiangular pieces (as seen from the sun). Each little piece of the orbit corresponds to the velocity vector at that point. Draw a velocity diagram by moving all of these velocity vectors so that they have a common origin point. Obviously, as we move around the orbit, the velocity vector will make one revolution around the origin. In fact, it will trace out a circle, as we shall now prove. The orbit is cut into infinitesimal triangles with equal angles at the sun, so clearly these triangles are similar with a scaling factor r, i.e. an area scaling factor r^2. But time is the same as area, so time also varies as r^2. The change in velocity in one of these pieces is force*time=(1/r^2)*(r^2)=independent of r, so the dv steps in the velocity diagram are all of equal size, and because of the equiangular division they all make equal angles with each other (dv parallel to PS), so the velocity vector does indeed trace out a circle, and the equiangular division of the orbit as seen from the sun translates to an equiangular division of this circle as seen from its center. Of course, the center of the circle is not the origin of the velocity vectors; in particular, the velocity vector going through the center of the circle is the longest velocity vector, so it corresponds to the position on the orbit closest to the sun (as is obvious by the law of equal areas). If we turn the orbit diagram so that this position is straight to the right of the sun, then the longest arrow in the velocity diagram points straight up, since the velocity vector drawn in the orbit diagram will of course be parallel to the tangent to the orbit. When we have advanced a given angle beyond this starting point on the orbit (as seen from the sun), the corresponding velocity vector (i.e. the tangent to the orbit at this point) is found by advancing the same angle in the velocity diagram (as seen from the center of the circle) and connecting this boundary point with the origin of the velocity vectors, and conversely. So the velocity diagram contains complete information about the tangents of the orbit, so it contains complete information about the orbit up to scaling. So the problem becomes: for any velocity diagram, to recreate the orbit. To do this we turn the velocity diagram 90 degrees to the right. To recreate the orbit we must now find a curve that is always perpendicular to the velocity vectors. This can be done as follows. For any point p on the circumference of the velocity diagram circle, draw the line connecting it to the origin O of the velocity vectors and the line connecting it to the center C of the circle. Mark the point P where the perpendicular bisector of Op cuts Cp as a point on the orbit. Now we prove that the orbit generated in this way, as p moves around the circle, is an ellipse (we assume O to be inside the circle; if it was on the boundary the orbit would be a parabola, etc.). The perpendicular bisector cuts the triangle OPp into congruent halves (SAS), making OP=Pp, so CP+OP=CP+Pp=radius of the circle=independent of p, so P traces out an ellipse with foci C and O, and the perpendicular bisector is tangent to this ellipse (because all its other points are outside of the ellipse because they have greater sum of distances to the foci), as required. QED.

The book first walks you through the works of Copernicus, Galileo, Brahe and Kepler. Then it gives a brief account of Feynman's life and his work. Then, through numerous diagrams, the authors clearly explain Feynman's ingenious proof of the law of ellipses. Finally, the book presents Feynman's lecture "The Motion of Planets Around the Sun".

It is amazing how Feynman, starting on the lines of Newton, and then not being able to follow Newton's reasoning, devised a different but elegant proof of the law of ellipses.

This book is a labour of love by Judith and David Goodstein for their friend Richard Feynman. I really enjoyed the revelations of the human side of the great physicist, especially the 20 page reminiscene by David Goodstein (a fellow physicist at cal tech) and Feynman's sometimes gruff answers to questions after the lecture. A different view of the human side of Feynman than what you read in "Surely, you're joking". I found the technical side of the book even more rewarding (see next paragraph) but be warned: this is pretty intense geometry and logic - I have a hard time imagining anyone without at least a couple years of post secondary math or physics or engineering following all the arguments.

But if you have the background and patience, it's some pretty cool stuff. Like many folks, I learned planetary dynamics using calculus, not geometry, and so this was my first exposure to the elegant relationship between velocity diagrams and orbits. While Feynman's lecture is somewhat unorganized and not entirely clear, the book does a great job filling in the blanks. There are certainly some rough spots (way too much time on the initial simple properties of ellipses, the argument connecting Kepler's third law to the law of gravitation is not clear, and more) but anyone with sufficient background willing to invest a few hours will be able to get past these minor problems. I kind of like how the pace accelerates to a ridiculous level by the end, leaving you to pretty much work out all the hard details of Rutherford's law of scattering for yourself.

Listen to the lecture, scratch your head wondering "what the heck was that", then read the book and study the arguments, then listen again and feel enlightened.

This is a lot of fun -- if. If you are pretty good at mathematical games and have a love for all things Feynman. What makes it work is the CD with Feynman giving the lecture. He goes at the speed of light, but he is always amazing, even when you have no idea what he just said! I can't imagine what it was like for the young folks trying to make sense out of what was going on. But, I bet he inspired them for the rest of their careers. He still does that to people today. If you want a sample of the Feynman magic this is a tough place to start. But do find a way to start.

This Review refers to the paperback edition of Feynman's Lost Lecture: The Motion of Planets Around the Sun with audio CD.

The title of Goodstein's book, Feynman's Lost Lecture, may be a bit misleading in terms of the overall content. The book is, in truth, mainly an explanation of the elliptic patterns performed by the planets, among other things, that an unpublished Feynman lecture originally referred to (although the lecture is included in text and on CD, the lecture is only a fraction of the overall book). Goodstein provides a geometrical means of explaining elliptical patterns that even a non-physicist will find easily comprehensible, especially considering the frequency of companion diagrams. The book also includes a rather unique introduction providing a brief biography of Feynman along with the author's personal experiences related to the well-known physicist. An unexpected, but greatly appreciated, addition is Feynman's original notes regarding his lecture contained in the back of the book.

Feynman's Lost Lecture details how to use geometric proofs to find answers to problems such as the speed of a planet when in motion around the sun and how to prove geometrically that an object is an ellipse. The author properly explains and demonstrates these concepts throughout the book via written and visual examples.

Goodstein presents the topics in such a fashion that the reader can easily try for himself\herself the idea portrayed. This is generally due to a generous selection of diagrams and exemplary situations, which properly convey the ideas that Goodstein presents (although it would probably be much more beneficial if more of the diagrams accompanied Feynman's actual lecture). The main text is also of a form easily understood and more than adequately conveys the topic that the author presents. However, the literary style is slightly lacking - in that it often becomes a bit informal in description and detail.

Overall, the literary shortcomings do not interfere with the author's ability to convey the topic and makes for a rather interesting read. Yet another above-par lecture accompanied by a surprisingly above-par explanation, Feynman's Lost Lecture: The Motion of Planets Around the Sun is more than worth it's price and should be a welcome addition to any reader's (both physicists and non-physicists alike) personal library.

Simply put - I purchased this Astronomy book through Amazon because the price was the same as elsewhere but I would save on shipping. I expected a NEW book but received a Used Book in good condition.
The Book itself so far seems well laid out and interesting but the course I am taking has just reached the 1/3 mark toward completion.

The authors of this book say it is for the laymen. Bull. This book is not only exceptionally difficult to comprehend with all the manifold "big terms and measurments" they throw at you, but is also annoying, and does not provide answers. God it's annoying.

The diagrams for something you are reading are not even on the page you are reading, so you have to flip two or three pages to find which diagram they are talking about--as paradoxical as that sounds. They (diagrams) are difficult to understand, and sometimes just a damn mess.

I can't even tell you how many times I almost fell asleep reading their (the author's ramblings) piles of excess information--literally mountains and heaps of excess, useless, complex, redundant, information that only professional astronomers or math-adepts could understand.

This book is so not for someone who wants to take a casual astronomy course. After I am done with it, I'm going to set it on fire. Stay away from this thing.

I have had a lifetime love of Astronomy but have lacked the mathmatical background for a thorough understanding. Most popular books on the subject rarely cover the field in the manner that I desire. Astronomy Today is a textbook for a beginning course in astronomy at the college level and does, in fact, cover a great deal of information without the need for mathmatical knowledge. The authors express their ideas and information in clear, concise language and clearly manifest an enthusiasm for their subject. I have enjoyed the book immensely.

This is an excellent textbook, but I deducted one star (from a possible five-star rating) because of the absurd comments made by the authors in the beginning of the book. In this fourth edition of Astronomy Today, a textbook published by Prentice Hall for college students, the authors open the very first chapter with the following statements:

"Of all the scientific insights attained to date, one stands out boldly: Earth is neither central nor special. We inhabit no unique place in the universe. Astronomical research, especially within the past few decades, strongly suggests that we live on what seems to be an ordinary rocky planet called Earth, one of the nine known planets orbiting an average star called the Sun, a star near the edge of a huge collection of stars called the Milky Way Galaxy, which is one galaxy among countless billions of others spread throughout the observable universe."

Huh!? Earth isn't special? Compare the other planets in our Solar System to Earth and tell us it isn't special. And Earth is "...an ordinary rocky planet..."? It's the only planet we know of with vast oceans of liquid water, a breathable atmosphere, lush vegetation, and a spectacular collection of life forms. The authors of this textbook must have been "out to lunch" when they wrote that trite introduction, or... this is just another deliberate attempt by "philosophers of gobbledygook" to strip the Earth of its special place in the universe and to squash any special characteristics that may differentiate it from everything else in the cosmos. I strongly suspect the latter viewpoint is the correct one.

The fact is the Earth is indeed a very special place, and the Sun is a very special star. In fact, the Sun-Earth relationship represents a very special arrangement that permits life to thrive upon our planet. Mercury, Venus and Mars may be nothing more than ordinary rocky planets, but Earth is truly unique from all the other planets in our Solar System, and may be truly unique in all the universe.

I stand by my initial rating of the textbook: 4 stars and an excellent read. I just have a wee bit of a problem with blind astronomers.

This book is designed to be the astronomy book that non-science majors would use to meet their one-year of science requirement as part of their undergraduate degree. As such it is written without the mathematics content that would be normal in a course aimed at astronoly or physics students. In addition, this particular book has several advantages. To identify just a few:

1. Throughout the book there is an emphasis on teaching the scientific method. This area has been strengthened in this edition because (I'm guessing) the current attempts by the un-intelligent design people to disparage scientific theories.

2. Revised to include the latest discoveries being made by the Mars rovers and the down grading of poor Pluto to a minor planet.

3. Updating the current theories regarding dark matter and dark energy.

In summary this is a well written, well illustrated text, ideally suited for the non-scientists.

The book has all the basic knowledge about how the physics of solar energy works but the examples of solar arrays is out of date. There are many new products on the market which are not covered in this book.

This book was valid in its time but it has not been revised in so
many years it is now history not technology. I returned it.

I am learning about solar energy and this book was written in a way that explained every detail clearly. I feel I could get my engineer's degree from reading this book.

I bought this book in 2005, almost 20 years after the first publication of the book. I went through a couple of emotional phases while reading the book. First I thought this was a great book: it has so many practical details and insights. When I got to the part on system controls and routing the power, I realized that this part is probably fairly weak because of the passage of time. Then when I looked at a few other more recent publications such as The Renewable Energy Handbook for Homeowners, by Kemp published in 2003, I realized that the present book is still a solid investment for someone interested in solar-electric. A lot of the basic information is still valid and it is more a case of prices changing and some of the technology being a bit easier to use. I like the fact that the book just concentrates on solar. There are no diversions or philosophical discussions on wind power or similar to confuse the situation. However, if you are a homeowner and want to look at all the alternatives, I suggest the newer book by Kemp, but that book is a bit thin on solar-electric so the present book is still needed. Kemp has many good ideas on insulation and conservation. In any case, the present book is down to earth practical stuff on solar: how it works and how you install. So to make a long story short I recommend the book as a buy.

The book is written by Steven J. Strong an MA from Harvard and someone who has worked as a solar energy consultant before writing the book. He describes a number of his projects and they are scattered thoughout the book.

The book has 10 chapters and it starts with how photovoltaic (PV) cells were developed and how they are manufactured. He explains how the atmosphere itself absorbs some light energy. He explains the eficiency of the PV cells, and how to position the cells to maximize power. Then he goes on to explain the manufacturing processes in detail.

Chapter 2 covers the design of the system of cells, controls, and storage of the energy. Storage itself can be a simple idea such as pumping water into a holding tank from a well during the sunny hours, but usually it is more complicated and uses a battery system or returns the power to the grid for credit, if the house can be connected to the conventional supply system. He explains a lot of these details with references to geographic location, be it in Arizona, or New england, or on a mountain in Colorado.

Chapeter 3 is a lesson on how to wire the modules and arrays together so you can get the right voltage and power combination.

Chapter 4 covers batteries and power regulation. He has many pictures and tables showing availbale products. These of course must be updated with current products but it gives a starting point for the reader.

Chapter 5 is very short and covers power inverters and attachment to the grid. An inverter converts DC voltage from the PV cells into AC for the appliances as in a conventional home. Also it is needed for connection to the grid to get power credits. Finally, he presents some options for power back up generation.

Chapter 6 explains how to conserve energy and then how to match your requirements with the size of the solar system, i.e.: how to determine how much power you need.

Chapter 7 and 8 describe how to design a system connected to the grid, or to design a system completely standing on its own. He gives examples with photographs of existing installations and this includes seasonal variations in power generation.

The last two chapter 9 and 10 are on the actual installion of the components along with maintenance tips.

The book contains many photographs, charts, lists of suppliers for parts, and it has many example calculations on how the power is produced, stored, and what it costs. A lot of this information can be updated by the reader using the web.

This book is now a bit dated and the reader will have to update the information when buying parts, but overall it is still surprisingly good. 5 stars.

Ive had this book 4 years it was out of date then. I recently bought The Renewable Energy Handbook by kemp which is far more up todate. 8 years in Solar Electrics is a lifetime, the equipment shown and discussed is fit for a museum,sure its solar electricy for the indepedant home, as a model t ford is for cruising the motorway,save your money!

I was hoping this book would be a technical discussion about robotic interstellar travel. I was disappointed to discover that it was largely a non-technical series of interviews of people working in the fields of interstellar space flight. I was hoping to get a real understanding of the energy required to attain relativistic velocities but I was disappointed. I also wanted to learn a lot more about ion propulsion but this was only lightly touched on. There was not a single illustration or graph in this book. I also did not follow the logic of the topics covered; it was as if the author just assembled chapters based on the people he was able to get interviews with.

Centauri Dreams was a fun book for the futurist some time ago. The book enables the reader to let go into the future and think about interstellar space travel. The book is well structured and enlightening to the non-scientist and non-engineer. The technologies the author discusses are being researched but the practical applications will be years, decades, perhaps centuries, into the future for travel outside of the solar system --- even if we do now have a structured human effort to find an Earth-like planets outside of our solar system. The book has an associated blog that is fun too and has caused me to reflect upon the book from time-to-time. I recommend the book if you want to sit back and think about how your great-great grand children will cross the Milky Way Galaxy with a dash of realism and a dash of science fiction. Every great adventure begins with a map. This book is a creative map into the future of space travel.

I like that I have finally found a book that discusses interstellar travel in serious, but very readable way. It isn't too heavy on jargon, but gives you just enough to not make you feel like the book was dumbed down. I highly recommend this book as a purchase. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is I have some quibbles on the pacing and structure of the book. Chapters sometimes seem to end abruptly with no warning, and he occassionally gets a bit too chatty, but these are minor quibbles.

NASA has a plan to send an unmarked craft (a possible robotic probe) to the Centari triple-star system. Because of the distance and inability to transmit back and forth messages, if the craft reaches its destination, which will take 40 years, the 4 yr. wait between messages is a long time to wait. Yet, those working on this project are optimistic about the importance and eventual success of their work. So far, it is only in the imagining and planning stages.

You can see these stars in the morning sky at the autumn equinox. Centuri A comes the closest to appearing like our sun, more than three times brighter than B, which is loosely connected to A. Alpha Centuri C (Proxima) is a small red dwarf which has periodic flares; it could very easily be just a passing star, not bound to the other two.

Astronomers have yet to make a valid claim that it is 'triple.' Recent studies show that Prosima is younger and independent -- a star just passing near A & B. The installation of a new device in March, 2002, called ACS (Advanced Camera for Surveys) aboard the Hubble Space Telescope can perhaps show whether Alpha Centuri has planets.

What we are searching for is to find another Earth-like planet 'somewhere out there' in space. Will we ever stop wondering "Is anyone intelligent (besides ET) out there for us to communicate with?" If so, they will be so far ahead of us intellectually that they won't be able to understand us, and vice versa. A new James E. Webb Space Telescope will be launched in 2011 to replace the Hubble which wasn't exactly what they had expected it to be even after the correction of the lens.

What we have here is a reporter that is surveying what many scientist and engineers are planning for a spaceship to the closest stars based on current technology.

If your interested in this subject, don't want any mathematics or diagrams and don't want to get much into theory but have the reassurance that this is at least theoretical real and not fiction then this book is for you.

This book traces the history of the Venus transit, which is when Venus transits between the sun and earth, thus casting the planet's shadow on the sun. Happening only every 121 years, Maor explores the lives of the many scientists that studied the Venus transit in order to come up with an estimation of the astral unit (the distance between the sun and earth...about 93 million miles), including Galileo, Hell, Copernicus, Kepler, Brahe, and more. The book is very good, and one is left marveling at astronomy and eager to the coming of the transit, but Maor is very extensive in his history at times.

I have read a few of Eli Maor's books. They are not great masterpieces, but they fill a niche, providing all the information I wanted and more. This one was less satisfying. This became clear on page 58, where he states that Venus crosses the ecliptic on December 8 and June 7, and transits can occur only when Earth reaches the same node at the same time. Perhaps he is using the Venusian calendar, but in our calendar Earth will be there in December and June while the location of Venus will vary.

I bought this book because the transit of Venus in 1874 was significant in the history of Campbell Island (French expedition)and Auckland Island (German expedition) in the sub-Antarctic region. There were also Americans on Kerguelen and French on St. Paul Island, and probably others. Maor mentions only the British and German expeditions to Kerguelen, where the Brits released rabbits that devastated the native vegetation. The scale of the effort is not apparent from his tale.

My second objective was to learn what other mmethods were used to measure the astronomical unit when the transit of Venus proved inadequate. Maor mentions only that a measurement of the parallaz of Mars was used, but gives no hint how. Apparently there were other methods before WWII, but they are not in this book. Too much space is devoted to failures and speculations, pleasant stories properly used as side dishes, too little to the main course.

A transit of Venus is a kind of solar eclipse in which the planet Venus, rather than our moon, crosses in front of the Sun. A century-long interval between transits makes the normal kind of solar eclipse seem like a frequent event. The transits occur in pairs separated by eight years, with over one hundred-year separations between the pairs. The last transit of Venus was in 1882. However, we can look forward to the transits of 2004 and 2012.

By traveling thousands of miles, I have been able to place myself in the path of the shadow for six total and two annular solar eclipses. With careful planning, and some last minute scurrying to avoid clouds, my success rate for viewing of the critical event is seven of eight. How ironic that today I was able to walk into my own back yard to view a partial solar eclipse under a clear cloudless sky.

By contrast with total solar eclipses, which may be viewed only within a narrow corridor, a transit of Venus may be viewed from any place on the Earth that faces the Sun during the event. Thus, simultaneous observations may be made from distant locations.

The author tells the story of the pursuit of transits of Venus by scientists whose aim was to establish a precision measurement of the distance between the Earth and the Sun. It is a great adventure story. There are the usual disasters: there are wars; ships are intercepted; natives run off with the instruments; and there are clouds. Finally, an unexpected optical effect, the "black drop", appears. In the end science triumphs, although not as expected.

We no longer need to measure the transits of Venus to establish the astronomical unit. However, our ability to calculate and predict precise locations and times for the occurrence of such events as eclipses and transits is a confirmation of the success of our formulation of mechanics and an affirmation of the scientific method.

This work is primarily a history with the basic information on the details of the transit of 2004 and very little on the transit of 2012. The reader will have to go to the web for more. However, the eastern Mediterranean looks promising for 2004, while the transit of 2012 should provide an excuse for a trip to Hawaii.

I read e: The Story of a Number and Trigonometric Delights from Eli Maor and found both to be well written and enjoyable. With the transit of Venus approaching, the previous experience with Eli Maor brought me to his latest book. The writing style is the same, clear, fluent, but Venus in Transit is at a different level, more superficial than any of the other two books. And a couple of statements make you wonder. On page 58 "...Venus reaches its ascending node around December 8, and its descending node around June 7, so a transit can happen only around these dates. But for a transit actually to occur, Earth, too, must cross the line of the nodes on these dates." There is an inversion here, for Earth reaches the line of nodes at the given dates, while Venus is usually elsewhere in its orbit at these dates as already pointed by another reviewer. And then on page 20 when describing Galileo's observations of the phases of Venus as the first solid proof for the heliocentric system, the author states: " Venus showed phases like the moon - a narrow crescent at the time, a gibbous shape at another, and occasionally a nearly full disk. Here was solid proof that Venus moved around the sun; for had it moved around d the earth instead, it would have shown a full disk at each opposition, when it was directly opposite to the sun [sic]." This is surprising. Venus is never at opposition with the Sun as the ancients new very well by observation. The epicycles and deferents in the geocentric system of Ptolemy had their sizes and speeds carefully adjusted to account for the maximum elongation of 47 degrees or so along the ecliptic between the Sun and Venus. And although the geocentric system could not account for a full disk because in that system Venus was always between the Earth and the Sun, the alternative system proposed by Tycho Brahe could. These two inconsistencies suggest that Eli Maor is not exactly at home when discussing planetary astronomy and perhaps this is the source of the different levels between this book and the other two dealing with mathematics.

Whether you are interested in astronomy or not, you will find this book to be a rewarding expansion of your understanding of that important, awe-inspiring part of the scientific pantheon.

The phrase, transit of Venus, describes the process whereby Venus appears to cross the Sun during daylight hours from earth. For most of recorded history, few probably paid attention. And for good reason. You would have been blinded by looking directly into the sun except very near sunrise and sunset. And you had to know when and where to be looking because transits of Venus are rare. Besides, you could see Venus on most nights anyway.

In this delightful background preparation for the next transit of Venus on June 8, 2004, Professor Maor provides all the background you could hope for to help you understand how celestial events (especially this one) are forecast so accurately, their scientific implications, and how to enjoy them yourself.

Many famous astronomers were encouraged to enter the field by first observing an eclipse. The ability to accurately predict the timing and the nature of the event left them with awe. Perhaps this transit of Venus will be our most productive ever for generating scholars for the 21st century. Oh, by the way, if you miss this one, there's another one coming along 8 years later in 2012.

Although ostensibly focused on a type of celestial event, the book has a broader theme: How humankind can use reason to deduce new understanding of the physical world.

The book begins with the origins of modern astronomy, by describing the observations of Galileo, the conclusions about the solar system by Copernicus, careful measurements of Brahe, Kepler's deductions from those observations, and Newton's application of these lessons into his Principia. All of that work made it possible to predict transits of Venus.

Since we all can see Venus with the unaided eye (unless blind or very near-sighted), why did anyone care? The main reason was that astronomers wanted to establish the distance between the earth and the Sun. They obviously could not pace it off. How could Venus help? By measuring the duration of the transit from far apart locations of known distance, one could construct a triangle and use standard trigonometry to calculate the distance to the Sun. This point is clearly and simply described in the book. The illustrations are wonderfully done to help.

Then the author gets down to the reality of executing on that simple concept. Many problems occur. At first, not enough observers are involved. Bad weather at the time of the transit can always obscure observations. The combination of our atmosphere and that of Venus also combine to create a black dot effect that makes it uncertain when the transit begins and ends. Some observers are accused of making mistakes. Other observers notice things that are not planetary transits. Thus, the realities and challenges of experimental science are well documented.

Astronomers have better ways to measure the distance to the Sun now. As a result, the transit of Venus takes on for us a combined role of aesthetic experience and honoring of the astronomical history associated with it. Professor Maor makes a nice transition in making this point clear.

He provides many tips for watching, including where to go, and how to watch safely. He describes a potential viewing from Jerusalem. That could be combined with a very nice religious pilgrimage, if you are so inclined, for those who have not been to Jerusalem before.

I especially liked his commentaries about seeing Earth transits from Mars, and transits of the inner planets from the outer ones as our ability to pursue space travel improves.

I think the most important question that this book raises is who to have with you when you observe the transit. A young person somewhere between the ages of 6 and 16 would probably be ideal. You could probably change a life with the experience that this event provides. I suggest that you provide that young person with a copy of this book (if old enough to appreciate it on their own) or read it to them and explain its meaning (if they are not advanced enough to appreciate it unaided). Then make a date to see the following transit 8 years later with the same person.

Acquire inspiration from the heavens . . . and closeness with a young person you care about!

Arty the part-time astronaut is a great package for my son to learn about the space above our heads. When you buy the book you gain a pass to a special member website. This is a great place for my kid to find new space related facts and play new games and activities. The CD-ROM was a great thing about the package, plenty of engaging interactive stuff for a kid to do. We really enjoyed finding out how much he weighed, and how old we would be on other planets. I found the story of the book to be average, but the computer generated 3d artwork was full of color and space imagination.

I bought this book for my 8-yr-old nephew and he really loves it! The book is filled with fun computer graphics and a cute story. It really got him thinking about our solar system and asking lots of questions. The best part is the CD-ROM that comes with it. There's lots of fun games and learning activities and you get a special pass into bonus areas on the excellent companion web site.

He was raving about all he learned to his parents and made me look like a terrific aunt!

I was very disappointed with this book, and found it below the standards of most books bought for children. How hard can it be to write a children's book? Parents know that there are definitely special qualities that go into great children's books, but this lacks them--primarily, there's very little that's imaginative about it. It feels like a rehash of many generic children's stories and themes, and the artwork doesn't do an especially inspired job of bringing children into a special world.

I notice the children in my care just seemed uninterested in it...

In Arty The Part-Time Astronaut, Arty and his new-found alienfriend, Guplo, quest through the solar system to find Gupio'sfamily. Along the way kids will learn from this delightful book andits accompanying CD-ROM facts about our solar system and its planets . . .

What a fun way to learn about our solar system through beautiful graphics and a charming storyline. The accompanying CD-ROM is packed with interactive games and activities that make "learning" an addictive and exciting experience.

The perfect book for all of those children who say, "I wanna grow up to become an astronaut!"

After eagerly waiting for this book for a couple weeks (needed for a college class), I received notice that for some reason the sender couldn't ship to my area (I've never had that problem before). Seems sketchy & was simply a waste of time. I did get the full refund.

i found this book to be very helpful for my intro to astronomy class..the pictures were very helpful

As stated in the title, bought this book for a college course and found it to be a good read and a pleasure to learn from. Lots of great color pictures other artwork.

This book is an excellent introductory to astronomy. However, it seems as if the authors are afraid of scaring away students with a few equations and math. They spend pages trying to describe an astrophysical situation when they could list an equation or a graph that would be more succinct and easier to comprehend.

The best astronomy book I've ever read. Even more than that, this is the best science book I've ever read. The writing style combined with the excellent illustrations make even fairly complex subject simple and understandable. Even their descriptions of things like relativity are so simple that anyone can understand them.

Now the book is in its fourth edition, bringing it up to date with:

the discovery of an object larger than Pluto in our own solar system
the latest results from the rovers and orbiters studying Mars
the latest Cassini results from Saturn and Huygens results from Titan
the Deep Impact mission to Comet Tempel 1
supernovae observations providing stronger evidence for dark energy
recent results from the Spitzer Space Telescope
Mastering Astronomy -- the book includes a one-year subscription to this web based interactive media that has been used by over 100,000 students.

Note that this book comes in several editions. This one covers everything. The other two are extracted from this book.

I think most people remotely interested in astronomy will find Kluger's book a worthwhile and informative read. Unmanned space flight is the poor cousin to human exploration of space but the story behind JPL's many probes sent into space is fascinating. Those not interested in space may find the book hard going. The end result however, is a greater understanding of the planetary bodies in our solar system and some of the men behind our greatest astronomical discoveries. The book would have merited five stars had Mr Klugar included more photographs and diagrams.

I agree with the other positive reviews placed here as of this date; I disagree completely with the Pittsburgh reviewer who panned the book. As a huge fan of Kluger's "Apollo 13" and other, less known writings, I found "Journey Beyond Selene" to be a fascinating and informative read. Although it certainly helps to be interested in space exploration and the space program to begin with, one can enjoy the book without having that orientation. That's because the personal stories behind the purely scientific stories also are so darned interesting. Kudos to Jeffrey Kluger for writing another informative and readable book.

This is a lively, often anecdotal account of many of the lunar and planetary missions developed by NASA/Cal Tech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The prologue in particular is overdramatic, but fortunately it settles down after that. The focus is on two projects: JPL's first program, the Ranger lunar missions, and the spectacular Voyager missions to the outer planets. The latter in particular is covered with great thoroughness from program conception to the final flyby, and beyond. It provides some interesting insight into the politics and pragmatism behind these great adventures.

If I have a criticism of this book, it's a simple one: there aren't enough pictures. There are only eight pages worth of color pictures, which isn't enough to do justice even to the Voyager missions. I can only think it was a misguided attempt to save costs.

Overall, though, it's an easy (for this space buff, anyway) and fascinating read about some of the most significant unmanned projects of the space age so far.

This book focuses entirely on unmanned missions and all the human participants are entirely earth-based, so you might imagine that the story could be quite dry and clinical but Jeffrey Kluger brings the story to life in a most engaging and entertaining way. This book is a real page-turner -- you'll feel compelled to read it from cover-to-cover in one sitting! He brings the characters to life and the long cast involved on some of these amazingly longlived missions. It's a fascinating story with lots of amazing facts that I never knew before the read. And, it's an even better read than "The Race" which has garnered a lot of praise and also a very good book in its own right.

A wonderful book on the history of space exploration. Kluger concentrates mainly on the initial efforts to reach the moon with unmanned craft, but has good sections on one of the Apollo missions, as well as Pioneer and Voyager. For a breathtaking look at the inner workings of a space mission, read this book!

The title is disparaging but the contents are excellent! Anyone considering attempting to learn about Solar Power should read this book. It has an excellent chart for determining what you should consider before you start your project. It is written in easy to understand language that a lay person can easily understand. I highly recommend it.

The future is here. Solar Power is the answer. The book is plain and simple.

Very generic and almost all of the information is in this book can be found for free doing web searches. For example, the chapter on installations is nine pages long and has no specifics. It merely repeats to consult a qualified electrician and I already knew that!

The plus side is that it is well organized and concise.

I did not get all the info that i wanted but it did teach me several things that i needed to know. Mostly an interesting read.

To be fair, I have not read this book. Why 5 stars? The book is a for-profit venture by the author, so recovery of time, effort, & energy is important for revenue reasons. So why write this review? After spending nearly 12-18 hours perusing AMAZON's book list on solar energy and photovoltaic systems, I was frustrated! None of the reviews on any single book seemed to be convincing enough to make me want to buy. For instance, none of the reviews mention how the books address the National Electric Code, specific wiring and disconnect installation information, electrical and other safety hazards, inspection issues, etc. For a DIY'er, these books seemed a waste of time, never mind the fact that some reviewers insisted they actually DIY'ed just from the book. It then occurred to me that dozens of resources that I had used over the past 10 years - with the exception of 2007 due to extenuating circumstances - many resources are available for free from our fantastic .GOV, .ORG, and .EDU sites like Sandia Nat'l Labs, NREL, NMSU, and CA.GOV. Folks, before you start buying books on PV left & right, be smart and leverage what your fine tax dollars paid for! I have to admit - I believe it's just stupid searching for good PV technical, installation, and detailed literature on a For-Profit Bookstore when so much is already available online for Free. Folks, use your head - our government and academic labs pioneered this from federal tax dollars. Hence, much of it is public domain! (REPLACE all "?" with "." in the following website links.) nabcep?org nmsu?edu/~tdi/index?html photovoltaics?sandia?gov and energy?ca?gov - just to name a few! Of course, if you're just not Internet savvy, not an engineer/analytical A-type personality, and highly resourceful, plus you'd rather prefer to kill trees buying a book instead of leveraging online resources that are 100 times more than what's on AMAZON, and most likely don't have the wherewithal to DIY, go ahead. It will be amazing to see how many are simply duped by the thousands of new "get rich quick" companies and businessmen entering the renewable energy markets.