20 Products

This highly illustrated guide focuses on space exploration – past, present and future – including the Apollo missions, the Space Shuttle years, the International Space Station and the future of commercial spaceflight. The book also explores the Solar System, dedicating chapters to the Sun, the Moon, the planets and the asteroid belt, and concluding with a discussion of astronomy’s powerful telescopes, such as Hubble’s successor the James Webb Space Telescope, which facilitate a deeper understanding of the universe.

The inhospitable atmosphere and violent climate on Mars have not prevented numerous space probes and orbiters from visiting the planet over the last 50 years, their data-gathering abilities growing ever more sophisticated. From the successful Mariner and Viking programs of the 1960s and 1970s, to human missions being planned today, Rod Pyle charts the history of Martian exploration, lists the key scientific discoveries made and presents striking images of the Red Planet from space and from the surface.

At the heart of the Sun, a vast nuclear furnace casts out the warmth, light and magnetism which nurtures life on Earth. Supported by data from laboratories, telescopes, probes and thousands of years of naked-eye observations, solar physicist Lucie Green’s authoritative guide to the science of the Sun provides answers to questions posed since the dawn of history: Why does the Sun shine? What is the source of its heat? How long will it shine?

Since the late 19th century, when lighting was first introduced to city streets, urban populations have lost most access to the night sky. Our ancestors, on the other hand, were highly attuned to the stars, their constellations and diurnal rhythms enabling them to entertain, farm, hunt and navigate. This book looks at how ancient societies as far flung as Polynesia, China, the Americas and Europe relied upon the stars for their survival and happiness. Off-mint.

‘Lying on our backs, we look up at the night sky. This is where stories began’ (John Berger). Drawing on folk and literary traditions of many cultures, this book retells some of the myriad myths and legends inspired by the stars. From Andromeda to Vulpecula (the ‘Little Fox’), each constellation’s story is accompanied by an illustration and a celestial map that shows adjacent constellations and the apparent magnitude of each star as seen from Earth. Felt-tip mark on lower trimmed edge.

As he sets off to conduct a journey through the universe, the astrophysicist Christophe Galfard aims to ‘not leave any readers behind’ and promises to use only one equation (E=mc²). In a widely acclaimed, non-scientists’ introduction to modern physics and cosmology, Galfard uses humour, storytelling and thought experiments to make concepts such as electromagnetism, quantum mechanics, general relativity and black holes intelligible to all of us.

Stonehenge was built to observe sunset on Midwinter’s Day, not sunrise on Midsummer’s Day; and Galileo did not invent the telescope. These are just two of the surprising facts discussed in this unconventional history of astronomy. Focusing on the stories of breakthroughs that overturned accepted wisdom, two leading science communicators celebrate the important work of maverick scientists, enthusiastic amateurs and those unsung heroes and heroines who helped to promote the ideas and discoveries of others.

Working spacesuits were not required until the 1960s, but the technology used reaches back to pressurized suits developed for aviators in the 1930s and further to diving suits of the 19th century. This exploration of the spacesuit mixes the history of technical development with the predictions and hypotheses of science fiction. The book is illustrated with archive photographs and diagrams, and classic sci-fi artwork from comic books and pulp fiction.

Who are we, and why are we here? In the beautifully illustrated book of their BBC Two series Professor Cox and his Executive Producer Andrew Cohen tackle some of the biggest questions that humans have asked about the past, present and future of our species. They follow the intellectual journeys that led to discoveries about gravity, relativity and the Big Bang, then track down the earliest evidence for life on Earth and reflect on our quest to learn whether we are truly alone in the cosmos.

Looking from Earth's neighbours in the solar system and out to the farthest reaches of the universe, this volume from TIME Books brings together expert commentary and images from the Hubble Space Telescope and spacecraft including Cassini and the Mercury Messenger probe to give a full account of the latest explorations of space. Among the topics covered are powerful new telescopes, the Curiosity rover on Mars, the future for manned spaceflight, dark matter and new mysteries of the cosmos.

Specially designed for observers with binoculars or small telescopes, this atlas contains all the maps needed to learn your way around the night sky. It can be used anywhere in the world, at any time of year, and although it is exceptionally straightforward to use, with five different sets of maps and 50 lists of observing targets it contains plenty of material for the experienced observer.

Weird and mysterious phenomena can often be observed in skies around the world, ranging from unusual sunsets, comets and St Elmo's fire to less easily explicable voices and humming sounds, phantom planes and UFOs. In this book Antony Milne analyses reports of such sightings, delves into defence files on UFOs and surveys some of the explanations that have been suggested by physicists, biologists, meteorologists and astronomers.

An ideal starter kit for star-gazers, this set comprises two booklets: The Night Sky, Sir Patrick Moore's classic, easy-to-follow guide for beginners, and John Woodruff and Wil Tirion's Month-by-Month Star Finder, with a map for each month showing the locations of stars and constellations; plus the essential Planisphere 51.5° North, a practical map that shows where stars and constellations are for every hour of every night of the year.

From the Big Bang to the end of our world billions of years later, one of Stephen Hawking's former graduate students takes the reader on a journey through the cosmos as it is currently understood by scientists. With humour and imaginative storytelling he brings to life the beauty of the universe and explains such mysteries as quantum mechanics and black holes without equations or graphs, in the belief that 'we can all understand this stuff'.

Here the astronomer and broadcaster Mark Thompson describes what a journey through the solar system might be like, from the preparations for take-off on Earth to arrival at the edge of interstellar space many years later. On the way he discusses what we know about the origins of the planets and their moons, describes physical features that would be visible and reflects on the challenges of navigation, weightlessness and living in a confined spaceship.