Product Description
Webster's bibliographic and event-based timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "Planetarium," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have Planetarium in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with Planetarium when it is used in proper noun form. Webster's timelines cover bibliographic citations, patented inventions, as well as non-conventional and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities in usage. These furthermore cover all parts of speech (possessive, institutional usage, geographic usage) and contexts, including pop culture, the arts, social sciences (linguistics, history, geography, economics, sociology, political science), business, computer science, literature, law, medicine, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and other physical sciences. This "data dump" results in a comprehensive set of entries for a bibliographic and/or event-based timeline on the proper name Planetarium, since editorial decisions to include or exclude events is purely a linguistic process. The resulting entries are used under license or with permission, used under "fair use" conditions, used in agreement with the original authors, or are in the public domain. ... Read more

Product Description
The Fantastic Fifteen solve the puzzle of the strange salad the planetarium teacher has left for them. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

book for a small audience
This is a decent history that is (I would guess) mostly of interest to professional planetarians. Also check out Theaters of Space and Time: American Planetaria 1930 to 1970. Norton's book describes more technical details of the first generation of star projectors. Theaters of Space and Time has more institutional history.If you want more details of the Zeiss Mark II instrument you can get a copy of the Adler Planetarium souvenir handbook (printed from 1930 to 1945), there are usually a couple of copies up for sale on Ebay - don't pay more than $10 for one, they are not rare. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A flawed labour of love
Henry King is the author of the standard (and definitive) work on the history of the telescope.In this book, he aims to do the same for mechanical models of the universe, covering everything from the very earliest known such models, like the Antikythera Mechanism - a geared mechanism accidentally discovered by divers in the Greek islands and thought to date from 2,000 years ago - to the light projecting and electrically powered planetaria of the 20th century.Everything in between, from mediaeval clockworks to the tabletop planetary models of the Enlightenment (known as orreries), gets a look-in.Inevitably, however, with such a wide scope of material to cover, the book has its drawbacks.Firstly, there is the sheer physical size of the work.Large in format (think coffee-table size), it also measures about 4cm thick, giving it a weight of about a kilogram.This is not a book to snuggle up in bed with or take on holiday; spread it out on a flat surface and only lift it to turn the pages.It is unusual, I know, to criticise a book for its format rather than its content, but in this case, its form reflects a basic problem with its content as well: the book doesn't know what to be.Its size says "for the general reader", and this is reflected in the good number of illustrations and photos, which, because of the age of the book (published in the 1970s) and some apparent constraints on its production budget, are all in black and white.But the text is too scholarly and too filled with technical detail for it to work as an introduction for the educated layman.Nor does it work properly as an academic text either, and for exactly the same reason: the book tries to cover too much material in one go - matter dealt with in some chapters arguably bears little relation to that in others.In King's history of the telescope, the connection between the optical tubes used by Galileo in the 17th century and the telescopes of Lord Ross or James Nasmyth in the 19th is clear: what is being told is the history of the development of just one technology (telescope optics) having a single application (astronomical research), and the book has a clear narrative arc.But what, other than representing the heavens, is the connection between a mediaeval clockwork mounted on a cathedral tower and a 20th century display given with a Zeiss planetarium projector, which the public queues to visit as an afternoon's entertainment?The technologies are radically different, but so are the social contexts: from a social point of view at least, a Zeiss planetarium arguably has more in common with the dioramas of the eighteenth century, the magic lantern shows of the nineteenth and the cinema.Trying to cover too much material which is only loosely related in this way also has another drawback, and that is gaps.The overall effect is like reading a collection of academic review papers, rather than a single narrative text.When dealing with the large public astronomical clocks of early modern Europe (the most famous of which today is probably that in central Prague), other less famous, but equally interesting examples are overlooked.The author does not give any hint of even knowing of the existence of the family of technically very similar astronomical clocks in the Hanseatic league ports dotted along the southern shores of the Baltic in cities like Gdansk or Lubeck, which have something very interesting to say about the wealth, status and technical sophistication of these cities at the time of their construction.This may well reflect the era when this book was written: at the height of the Cold War, access to locations behind the Iron Curtain was admittedly restricted, but even in spite of this, King has managed to give full coverage to the enormous mechanical globe in the Kunstkammer in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg).In summary, therefore, this book is flawed: its drawbacks are physical, it now looks dated, its scope is overambitious and as a result, its coverage is patchy and it has no clear narrative arc.But I still give it four stars because: what it does contain is both carefully researched and accurate and King deserves credit for that, if you have a background in the history of scientific instruments, the history of astronomy or horology (and preferably a combination of all three), you will find much here of interest, and until such time as someone writes a replacement, you won't find all of this material collected together in one place anywhere else.One day, I might just get round to writing a replacement, but until then, "Geared to the Stars" is a worthwhile investment for the individual with a grounding in the relevant subjects or for the departmental library. ... Read more

Product Description

Building on a long tradition of strong pedagogy and streamlined presentation,The Cosmic Perspective, Fourth Edition Media Update now includes an enhanced media package that features the most advanced astronomy tutorial, assessment, and self-study system ever built. The Fourth Edition Media Update includes MasteringAstronomy™, Voyager SkyGazer planetarium software, an updated Astronomy Media Workbook, and an e-book CD-ROM with embedded animations – a convenient additional study resource for readers on the go – all designed to seamlessly incorporate media into lectures and at-home study. The Fourth Edition Media Update is a reader-friendly text that focuses on central ideas and unifying themes to provide a cosmic context.  Developing Perspective: Our Place in the Universe, Discovering the Universe for Yourself, The Science of Astronomy, Celestial Timekeeping and Navigation. Key Concepts for Astronomy: Making Sense of the Universe: Understanding Motion, Energy, and Gravity, Light and Matter: Reading Messages from the Cosmos, Telescopes: Portals of Discovery. Learning from Other Worlds: Our Planetary System, Formation of the Solar System, Planetary Geology: Earth and the Other Terrestrial Worlds, Planetary Atmospheres: Earth and the Other Terrestrial Worlds,  Jovian Planet Systems, Remnants of Rock and Ice: Asteroids, Comets, and the Kuiper Belt , Other Planetary Systems: The New Science of Distant Worlds. A Deeper Look at Nature: Space and Time, Spacetime and Gravity, Building Blocks of the Universe. Stellar Alchemy: Our Star, Surveying the Stars, Star Birth, Star Stuff, The Bizarre Stellar Graveyard. Galaxies and Beyond, Our Galaxy, Galaxies and the Foundation of Modern Cosmology, Galaxy Evolution, Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Fate of the Universe, The Beginning of Time. Life on Earth and Beyond: Life in the Universe  For all readers interested in astronomy in a cosmic context.

Customer Reviews (5)

Received book promptly
Very good transaction overall. Book was described as new, however was not wrapped in the plastic,instead the plastic was thrown inside the box.

Textbook
This textbook was in good shape too bad it wasn't the edition I wanted but that is my fault i guess.

Can be hard to understand
This book is interesting enough, but was very hard to understand sometimes. At times during reading i would have to look up several words just to try to grasp what the writer was talking about. I would reccomend this book to someone who is seeking a more in depth look into Astronomy. Gives lots of good information and comes with a very imformative computer program that provides several tutorials on how to use it. Good book, too indepth for this reader.

HOU Required Text
This book is great. Along with the media it serves as a guide to understand the most boring class you will ever take in GSP @ NYU!

It does the job of teaching about astronomy
This book does the job it is designed to do, and it is written well, so it is relatively easy to understand. I recommend this book. ... Read more

Product Description
Hosted by Kate Mulgrew, this video chronicles the Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum's inception and evolution, the commitment of its founding family over seven decades, and its role as a guide for everyone who looks to the sky and wonders about their place in the Universe.Since 1930, the Museum has been at the forefront of space exploration, presenting the latest astronomy discoveries and showcasing one of the world's largest collections of historic scientific instruments. ... Read more

Product Description

The Essential Cosmic Perspective, Third Edition Media Update features a new an effective learning program that uses chapter openers, headers, callouts in the text, and highly-visual chapter summaries to make learning goals more explicit and to tie together important astronomy concepts.

DEVELOPING PERSPECTIVE, Our Place in the Universe, Discovering the Universe for Yourself, The Science of Astronomy, KEY CONCEPTS FOR ASTRONOMY, Making Sense of the Universe -Understanding Motion, Energy and Gravity, Light - The Cosmic Messenger, LEARNING FROM OTHER WORLDS, Our Solar System and Its Origin, Earth and the Terrestrial Worlds, Jovian Planet Systems, Remnants of Rock and Ice: Asteroids, Comets, and Pluto, STARS, Our Star, Other Stars, Star Stuff, The Bizarre Stellar Graveyard, GALAXIES AND BEYOND, Our Galaxy, A Universe of Galaxies, Dark Matter and the Fate of the Universe, The Beginning of Time, LIFE ON EARTH AND BEYOND, Life in the Universe: Prospects for Microbes, Civilizations, and Interstellar Travel.

For all readers interested in important astronomy concepts.

Customer Reviews (6)

Good condition Astronomy book
I received this book in the mail a couple days before it was expected. I'll probably keep it instead of selling it back at the end of the year like I usually do with my textbooks.

Just what I was looking for.
I ordered this book for an Astronomy class, and it's been a great read. Astronomy is really mind boggling stuff, and this book is full of mid boggling information in a way that isn't boring at all!

It arrived in great condition even though it was sold as being used, and it had a speedy delivery. No problems here!

good textbook
It's rather interesting to read, although it's a bit challenging too since I'm very unfamiliar with Astronomy. The best part of it is mentioning the uncertainties of the universe, and it's very up to date, making it exciting and intriguing.

The Most Exceptional Textbook This Side of the Galaxy!
I love this book!I don't even read text books very often, but this one is one of the most fun text books I've ever read--the fourth edition of "The Essential Cosmic Perspective."Perhaps I say this because I like Astronomy.I've never taken the course before, so this is really the only college text book in this subject I've looked at.Still, everything in here is interesting.

It has been updated with the most recent expansions with two notable points.It contains the most recent alterations of language by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).Did you know that Pluto isn't a planet?It's actually a comet!In August of 2006, the IAU changed the definition of planet to account for the differences of the planet Pluto, an object whose composition recently discovered is essentially the same as a comet from the belt of comets just outside of the Solar system: called "the Kuiper belt (pronounced like "viper," but with a K.In 2006, the IAU changed the designation of Pluto to a new category of Solar body: the dwarf planet.

Dwarf planets are not planets, as the definition of a planet now has a finer meaning, changed by the IAU.Planet designations are based on composition and size: the inner four planets--Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars--are referred to as "terrestrial planets," because their compositions are made up mostly of metal and rock, they're all about the same size, and they have two moons or less.Asteroids also have the composition of rock and metal, and so the belt of asteroids lying just outside of Mars gives an interesting connotation about our system which I will explain soon.Then, the four outer planets--Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune--are called "Jovian planets," meaning "Jupiter-like," because their compositions are mostly gaseous, and because of their sizes: "gas giants."These Jovian, gas giants are several times the mass and diameter of the terrestrial planets, and so their sizes make them considerable to the system.What sets these solar bodies apart the most is THE WAY THEY WERE FORMED which accounts for their composition differences, and therefore the asteroid belt is the boundary line between the inner-terrestrial and outer-Jovian planets of the Solar system.

Every Solar body with an orbit on a somewhat-similar elliptical plane and beyond Neptune is a comet of the Kuiper belt.Although Uranus and Neptune also have essentially a similar gaseous composition as comets like Pluto, the main difference is Pluto has a radius of about 1000 kilometers.Anything that small is considered to be a comet, and, because the comets of the Kuiper belt are usually very small, Pluto resembles them more than a planet, as it is much smaller than even Earth's Moon.Pluto's mass is about 18 percent that of the Moon.

Remember the tenth planet, "Planet X?"Planet X, the tenth planet, was known as "Planet X" because scientists thought that, because it was so small and had the composition of a comet, that these were fundamental differences between comets and planets of the solar system.They felt that, if every newly-discovered comet of the Kuiper belt orbiting the Suncould be called a planet because it revolved around the Sun, our new computerized telescopes would be discovering planets quite frequently; comets, no matter how small they are, would be called "planets," by old definitions.That's why these new definitions are in place now.Pluto has enjoyed the stature of a planet for about 75 years since its discovery, but now that designation is over.

Additionally, the Jovian worlds are known for their multiple moons.Pluto has a moon, but, because its center-of-gravity lies outside of its moon Charon, both Pluto and Charon should actually be referred to as "binary planets," or more correctly "binary dwarf planets" by IAU's new definition--or rather a "binary system of dwarf planets."A planet and a dwarf planet are separate categories of solar bodies and not the same.

Incidentally, speaking of the Moon, the Moon is thought to have been a planet that, at one time, moved around the Sun.Scientists think this because of the size which is roughly the same as Mercury, a terrestrial composition, and it has a similarly substantial amount of gravity.It theoretically took an orbit around the Earth after they collided based on the attractions of their gravity, after which the Moon started orbiting around the Earth.The Moon is also similar to Mercury in that neither of these bodies maintain any atmosphere.

If you hate Al Gore, well--guess what--the same charts used in Al Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth" are in this book: a major subsection of one of the chapters.This may be a point of either hostility or remorse for those Americans who were comforted by the anti-Gore beliefs of "the Flat World Society": apparently, some scientists think Al Gore actually has facts within his determinations.This book also states the reasons for these conclusions and relates them to a runaway greenhouse effect.If anyone needs an explanation of why people should be concerned, this is as pedestrian as it comes.

Although Venus is thought to be Earth's sister planet, there is nothing there to comfort any human.It has clouds of battery acid!Until 2006, no one could even see through its thick atmosphere due to an extreme greenhouse effect, and in the past only a form of radio technology could view the planet only slightly.In 2006, the European Space Agency (ESA) landed an unmanned spacecraft there to take pictures and send back data about the surface.The "Venus Express" lander, a specially-made craft designed to withstand Venus' harsh atmosphere, lasted for only about an hour on the surface, then corroded into uselessness and dissolved from the extremities of the atmosphere there.You see, there is no water or oxygen on Venus: the extreme greenhouse effect would've caused its oceans to evaporate into space.The atmosphere on Venus is so thick, the pressure at its surface translates to the pressure of one mile beneath the surface of one of Earth's oceans.This book refers to Venus' surface as resembling "a traditional view of hell" (144).

More importantly, although Mercury orbits the Sun at half the distance as Venus, Mercury's surface temperatures are substantially lower than Venus'.This sounds counter intuitive, and it is.But, the reason for it is the extreme greenhouse effect on Venus.And so, although Venus is twice as far from the Sun, it is MUCH hotter there than on Mercury!While Mercury's temperature goes back-and-forth between 700 kelvins (K) in the day and 100 K at night, Venus has a constant average temperature of 740 K (880-degrees Fahrenheit) all the time!

All this information is located within this book.The writing all seems very well put.The glossary has all the terms located in the chapter questions sections, so students should have an easy time finding anything.The chapter information, as it is introduced, is labeled nicely in easy-to-read bold upon its introduction, so eyes can quickly move right to the place where to find that information.The index is large and covers anything I would want to know.It has beautiful photos, images, and tables, in color of course.Many of these shots are brand-new images from off-earth, satellite telescopes and unmanned space vehicles.Of course, I have some doubt about the context of a few of the pictures, but there's surely nothing missing that NASA or other space agencies have allowed to be released: the book is up-to-date.

The book comes with interactive things like on-line supplements and a CD-Rom.The CD-Rom contains a program allowing a student to view any known place from any other known place through a telescope: one can look at Earth from the Moon for instance, and receive technical information about it.You can copy the CD-Rom onto another blank CD or put it on a hard drive for free.The book's included on-line supplemental course features are interactive and reiterate the book's material.

I have not opened the envelope containing the on-line password for fear of reducing the sell-back cost at my college--once a student has opened the envelope containing the on-line pass code key, the envelope cannot be sold back, can only be used once.I regret not having used it, because the Pearson, Addison-Wesley website was extremely helpful in one other course in which I used its on-line supplements.I can only imagine how beautiful the on-line astronomical images are.I would steal the images and put them on my computer desktop, or make a screen saver with them.Maybe I'll open it now, anyway, even though I'm nearly through the course.

If you purchase this text book here at Amazon, make sure you also receive the envelope, because it is worth around thirty or forty dollars.Students can buy the code at the web site without the envelope, but know that the envelope is part of the text book and should come with it unless the seller provides product information stating otherwise.I once had someone sell me a text for college algebra on Amazon with a price about thirty dollars less than Amazon's price.When I received the algebra text, it didn't have the envelope with it!The text was also used-but-wrapped-in-plastic, even though that product description stated the book was new!It may have come to me in plastic, but it wasn't new!Because the envelope containing the on-line code was missing, I peered closely at the book itself and confirmed that the book was USED, because of dirty palm prints on the book.I called the seller and sent it back at the seller's cost with the included mail-return sticker.I don't like people selling me something under false pretenses!Make sure the envelope is in the wrapper; otherwise, you're giving away thirty or forty bucks.Make sure also that the CD-Rom is in there, too.

Good book but I believe there are better
The good: This book is easy to read and understand, assumes very little of the reader other than a general understanding of current science. Explainations are clear and build logically throughout the book. Very little math - any high school math would be enough to understand what little there is in this book. Information is up to date and the book has many good pictures and diagrams to aid in understanding.

The not as good: I would have liked more in depth detail. I know this is somewhat subjective the book still has nearly 500 pages, however the text often only covers 60% of a page. In comparison to the at least two compeating books "Astronomy Today" and "The Universe" have over 700 pages each and more like 90% of a text page coverage just to grossly compare them. Each of these books also are easy to read, have good pictures and diagrams too.

So all in all this book is good and covers the subject well, but if you wish more detail other books may be better choices. ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Kstars, Celestia, Stellarium, Digital Universe Atlas. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 27. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Celestia is a 3D astronomy program created by Chris Laurel. The program is based on the Hipparcos Catalogue (HIP) and allows users to travel through an extensive universe, modeled after reality, at any speed, in any direction and at any time in history. Celestia displays and interacts with objects ranging in scale from artificial satellites to entire galaxies in three dimensions using OpenGL, from perspectives which would not be possible from a classic planetarium or other ground based display. NASA and ESA have used Celestia in their educational and outreach programs, as well as for interfacing to trajectory analysis software. Celestia is available for Linux, Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows. Released under the GNU General Public License, Celestia is free software. Typical DSO survey in CelestiaCelestia displays the Hipparcos Catalogue (HIP) of almost 120,000 stars. Celestia uses the very accurate VSOP87 theory of planetary orbits. This makes it possible for it to provide a Solar and lunar eclipse finder and to display the orbital paths of planets (including extrasolar planets), dwarf planets, moons, asteroids, comets, artificial satellites, and spacecraft. The user can vary the number of stars that are visible on the screen and have them drawn in different styles. Celestia users can travel/fly through the Celestia universe using simple keyboard controls, at any speed from 0.001m/s to millions of light years/s. Viewpoints can be set to look forward, backward or at any angle to direction of travel. Controls allow users to orbit stars, planets, moons and other space objects, track space objects such as spacecraft, asteroids and comets as they fly by, o...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=399773 ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Planetarium, Artis, Observatory of Strasbourg, American Museum of Natural History, List of Planetariums, Mclaughlin Planetarium, Expensive Planetarium, California Academy of Sciences, Griffith Observatory, Timeline of Planetariums, National Air and Space Museum, World Museum Liverpool, Glasgow Science Centre, Museum of the Rockies, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, Houston Museum of Natural Science, Museum of Science ... Read more