The Sky at Night: How to Read the Solar System: A Guide to the Stars and Planets

Description

The essential guide to the wonders of our Solar System The Solar System - so what is it? We've all learned the basics at school but how much can you remember? Expert astronomers and co-presenters of The Sky at Night Chris North and Paul Abel take a fascinating guided tour of our Solar System and explain its wonders. They look at all the major players, including our more familiar neighbours - the Sun, the planets and their moons - the occasional visitors to our planet - asteroids, meteors and comets - as well as distant stars and what might be beyond our Solar System - Earth Mark II? Chris and Paul recount the history of how everything came about and the myths that once shaped astronomy. They explain the latest science and discoveries, and reveal how any amateur astronomer can view and interpret the Solar System.

Dr Chris North is an academic researcher at Cardiff University's School of Physics and Astronomy. He has worked on the Planck Satellite (launched in 2009 to map space and help explain how the universe was formed) and the Herschel Space Observatory. Dr Paul Abel is an astronomer and lecturer at The Centre for Interdisciplinary Science at the University of Leicester, specializing in the research of black holes and General Relativity. He is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and an Assistant Director of the British Astronomical Association.