An Instant Guide to Stars and Planets is an ideal compact identification guide to our night sky. A system of season-by-season star charts enables the reader to identify quickly and easily the major constellations visible in the Northern Hemisphere. The Solar System and its planets are described and illustrated using data from the Voyager and Mariner missions. Information on stars, star clusters, nebulae, galaxies, and black holes provides the background needed to understand the structure of the universe and how it functions. Detailed, full-color illustrations and a concise but informative text provide everything the novice starwatcher needs to explore the sky.

On one level, An Intimate Look at the Night Sky is a unique star guide: twenty-four beautiful star maps, created specifically for this book, cycle through the seasons and across the heavens, revealing what you can see with the naked eye throughout the year on a clear night in the northern hemisphere. Raymo's commentaries amplify the maps, offering intriguing details and tips on identifying stars, planets, and constellations.....On another level, Chet Raymo challenges our imagination-to see what is unseeable in the universe, to perceive distance and size and shape that is inconceivable, to appreciate ever more fully our extraordinary place in the cosmos. His elegant essays on the heavens blend science and history, mythology and religion, making clear why he is one of the most insightful and passionate science writers of our time.

The real test for the crew of Apollo 12 was not to see if they could get to the moon, but to see if they could get to an exact place on the moon. Their target was an area known as the Ocean Of Storms. The flight of Apollo 12, which began almost catastrophically when the huge Saturn V was struck by lightning just moments after lift off, went on to yield an enormous amount of valuable data collected during over seven and a half hours on the lunar surface. Some of the rare official documentation of the voyage of Apollo 12 is collected and made commercially available for the first time. Includes - Windows CD-ROM featuring: Over 2000 - 70 mm images taken during the mission; Several unique interactive panoramic images of The Ocean Of Storms; A 25 minute movie of the voyage of Apollo 12; plus the complete TV footage from the lunar surface and the in-flight press conference - over two hours of full screen, full MPEG video.....The NASA Mission Reports is a series of books that will include all of the Apollo missions from Apollo 8 to Apollo 17 and all of the Mercury, Gemini and Skylab missions. All books will have CD-ROMs included.

Homer himself could not have written a more captivating story than the flight of Apollo 13. On April 11 1970 veteran astronaut Jim Lovell and his crewmates Jack Swigert and Fred Haise rode atop the eighth launch of the Saturn V juggernaut to begin their ill-fated journey to the moon. The aptly named Command Module Odyssey and the reluctant Lunar Module - lifeboat Aquarius were to take the three men to a date with the lunar highland area known as Fra Mauro but fate and a faulty circuit in one of the vehicles oxygen tanks would irrevocably alter their plans and turn the flight of Apollo 13 into an epic to rival the original Odyssey. After an explosion in the Service Module crippled the spacecraft while it was still outward bound the crew would spend several harrowing days in near frigid temperatures while the technicians at home worked around the clock to devise new and ingenious ways to keep them alive and bring them home safely. In 1970 some considered Apollo 13 a catastrophic failure but it has since been recognised as one of NASAs truly great moments, when the spirit of daring and ingenuity came to life in the team at Mission Control as they successfully brought the crew home. In Apollo 13 The NASA Mission Reports some of the rare official documentation of the voyage of Apollo 13 is collected and made commercially available for the first time.

This guide provides useful insight for first-time telescope buyers as well as experienced amateurs. It examines the advantages and disadvantages of different types of telescopes, mountings, and accessories--ranging from refractors and reflectors to computer controlled drives and CCD cameras. The author also covers observation techniques, photographic equipment, astronomical software, as well as equipment care and maintenance.

Feel at home among the stars in no time with this acclaimed self-teaching guide.....This popular guide to the stars brings the fascinating world of astronomy to interested star-buffs and students everywhere. From galaxies, stars, and planets, to the mysteries of black holes, the Big Bang, and the possibility of life on other planets, Astronomy clearly explains the essentials. Its interactive format allows beginners to quickly and easily grasp basic principles. Star and moon maps identify celestial objects; reviews and self-tests monitor progress; and simple activities allow readers to test basic principles.