Bookpedia : Library : Genre : [Global:Letter]

ISBN:

ListPrice: 65.00

Edition: Collector's Edition

Summary: This is a republication of an old translation. If you haven't read Kepler's own words, then this book will be both more and less than you expected. It is both a mathematical and philosophically speculative text, which in some sections can get quite technical.(Warning: the title is a bit deceiving. Only part of the Epitome is included.) I would only give 3 stars to this book, except that english translations of Kepler's works are very few, and this book is the most financially accessible of those currently on the market. I therefore recommend it as a good first exposure. There's no substitute to reading the original words of great thinkers, especially in gaining insight into their way of approaching the world.

ISBN:

ListPrice: 68.00

Edition: Collector's Edition

Summary: The best-selling science book ever published in the English language, COSMOS is a magnificent overview of the past, present, and future of science. Brilliant and provocative, it traces today's knowledge and scientific methods to their historical roots, blending science and philosophy in a wholly energetic and irresistible way.

ISBN:

ListPrice: $63.00

Edition: Collector's Edition

Summary: This latest installment in our "On the Shoulders of Giants" series presents the provocative essay by Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) in its entirety. Famed for its unapologetic support of Copernicus's theory and subsequent proof that the earth did indeed revolve around the sun (and not vice versa), Galileo's essay engendered great controversy when it was published, as well as heated opposition from the Church. The first work to outwardly challenge the established authority of religion, "Dialogues Concerning Two New Sciences" set the standard for all future scientists faced with the conflict of science and religion. In this text, readers will also find an illuminating biography of the father of modern physics, and an introduction by modern-day physics superstar Stephen Hawking. The first book in this series sold more than 75,000 copies. Black-and-white illustrations.

ISBN: 0691123489

ListPrice: $27.95

Edition: First Edition

Summary: A Note from the Author On August 24, 2006, at the 26th General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in Prague, by a majority vote of only the 424 members present, the IAU (an organization of over 10,000 members) passed a resolution defining "planet" in such a way as to exclude Pluto and established a new class of objects in the solar system to be called "dwarf planets," which was deliberately designed to include Pluto.Click here to read moreWith the discovery of 2003 UB313--an outer solar system object thought to be both slightly larger than Pluto and twice as far from the Sun--astronomers have again been thrown into an age-old debate about what is and what is not a planet. One of many sizeable hunks of rock and ice in the Kuiper Belt, 2003 UB313 has resisted easy classification and inspired much controversy over the definition of planethood. But, Pluto itself has been subject to controversy since its discovery in 1930, and questions over its status linger. Is it a planet? What exactly is a planet? "Is Pluto a Planet?" tells the story of how the meaning of the word "planet" has changed from antiquity to the present day, as new objects in our solar system have been discovered. In lively, thoroughly accessible prose, David Weintraub provides the historical, philosophical, and astronomical background that allows us to decide for ourselves whether Pluto is indeed a planet. The number of possible planets has ranged widely over the centuries, from five to seventeen. This book makes sense of it all--from the ancient Greeks' observation that some stars wander while others don't; to Copernicus, who made Earth a planet but rejected the Sun and the Moon; to the discoveries of comets, Uranus, Ceres, the asteroid belt, Neptune, Pluto, centaurs, the Kuiper Belt and 2003 UB313, and extrasolar planets. Weaving the history of our thinking about planets and cosmology into a single, remarkable story, "Is Pluto a Planet?" is for all those who seek a fuller understanding of the science surrounding both Pluto and the provocative recent discoveries in our outer solar system.

ISBN:

ListPrice: 54.00

Edition: Collector's Edition

Translator: A. M Duncan

Summary: A handful of great landmark books in the scientific renaissance forever changed how we look at our place in the universe. The first of these was Nicolaus Copernicus' De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium, Libri VI (Six books on the revolutions of the heavenly spheres). Published in 1543, the year of the Polish astronomer's death, De Revolutionibus gave a revolutionary new blueprint for the planetary system. The earth, instead of resting solidly in the center of the cosmos, was set awhirl, spinning on its axis every twenty-four hours and revolving around a distant, fixed sun. The new cosmology was not a clarion call from the stars, inevitable and proven by fresh Renaissance observations of the planets; instead it was something truly subtle and wonderful, a "theory pleasing to the mind." Chapter 10, with its famous sun-centered diagram of the planetary system, was intended to convince not by physical or astronomical "proof," but by aesthetics, by the beauty of the explanation. Clearly the persuasion would be in the eye of the beholder. Each of Copernicus' arguments concerns the planets, those heavenly bodies that moved against the fixed patterns of the distant stars. He demonstrated that the principal complications in the planetary motions could be elegantly explained by attributing movement to the earth itself. From a geometric point of view, Copernicus' arguments were highly compelling, but to the great majority of his contemporaries, any claims for physical reality seemed ridiculous. If the earth were spinning daily on its axis, a stone thrown upward would surely land in another county. As the great Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe would say later in the sixteenth century, "The Copernican arrangement nowhere offends the principles of mathematics, but it casts the earth, a lazy, sluggish body unfit for motion, into a movement as fast as the aetherial torches [i.e., the stars themselves]." Commentary by Owen Gingerich, searchable English translation and Latin live text.

ISBN: 1852336315

ListPrice: $39.95

Edition: First Edition

Summary: Amateur astronomy is becoming more and more popular, mostly because of the availability of relatively low-cost astronomical telescopes of superb quality - commercially-made Schmidt-Cassegrain and Maksutovs. Rod Mollise's book contains everything amateur astronomers need to know about these telescopes. Featuring (but not exclusively) the ubiquitous Meade and Celestron ranges, he describes what these instruments will do, how to use them, and which are the best to choose. This book includes everything! There are sections on accessories, observing techniques, and hints and tips gleaned from his 25 years experience with this type of telescope: cleaning, collimating, maintaining the telescope and mounting; using the telescope in various conditions; computer control; imaging (wet, digital and CCD). This is the perfect book for amateur astronomers who are about to invest in a new Schmidt-Cassegrain or Maksutov telescope, or for those who already have one and want to get the best out of it.

ISBN: 155297801X

ListPrice: $19.95

Edition: Revised

Summary: Astronomy buffs often wish they could photograph what they see through their telescopes. Camera buffs often wish they knew the techniques for capturing majestic yet elusive heavenly bodies. Astrophotography brings these two hobbies together in one complete resource. This big, fully-illustrated book offers: Practical guidance and authoritative advice Equipment resources and contacts Brand-new star charts and illustrations Techniques for conventional and digital photography Step-by-step instructions are given for choosing and using the right camera, shooting with a telescope, getting the best out of black and white and color film, and developing pictures at home or while traveling. Specific instructions are given for photographing: The Sun, the Moon and the planets Meteors and comets Stars and satellites Rainbows, halos, and other phenomena in the night sky This new edition also includes the latest information for shooting digital and dedicated astro CCDs (charge-coupled device) for capturing faint nebulae and distant galaxies. Generously illustrated with 100 color and black and white photographs, Astrophotography is an attractive and easy-to-use reference.

ISBN: 0345379187

ListPrice: $14.95

Edition: Reprint

Summary: In the final book of his astonishing career, Carl Sagan brilliantly examines the burning questions of our lives, our world, and the universe around us. These luminous, entertaining essays travel both the vastness of the cosmos and the intimacy of the human mind, posing such fascinating questions as how did the universe originate and how will it end, and how can we meld science and compassion to meet the challenges of the coming century? Here, too, is a rare, private glimpse of Sagan's thoughts about love, death, and God as he struggled with fatal disease. Ever forward-looking and vibrant with the sparkle of his unquenchable curiosity, Billions & Billions is a testament to one of the great scientific minds of our day.

ISBN: 0345409469

ListPrice: $14.95

Edition: Reprint

Summary: Carl Sagan muses on the current state of scientific thought, which offers him marvelous opportunities to entertain us with his own childhood experiences, the newspaper morgues, UFO stories, and the assorted flotsam and jetsam of pseudoscience. Along the way he debunks alien abduction, faith-healing, and channeling; refutes the arguments that science destroys spirituality, and provides a "baloney detection kit" for thinking through political, social, religious, and other issues.