Popular astronomy & space
Showing 1–16 of 27 results
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A book of noises
£10.99A book of noises
Sound shapes our world in invisible but profound ways, and here Caspar Henderson brings his characteristic curiosity, knowledge and sense of wonder to the subject to take us on an exhilarating journey through the heard universe. ‘A Book of Noises’ gathers together sounds from the cosmos, the natural world, the human world, and the invented world, and contains quiet pockets of silence. From the vast sound of sand in the desert to the tuneful warble of a songbird, to the meditative resonance of a temple bell and the improvisational melodies of jazz, this is a celebration of all things auricular.
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A city on Mars
£10.99A city on Mars
Earth is not well. The promise of starting life anew somewhere far, far away – no climate change, no war, no Twitter – beckons, and settling the stars finally seems within our grasp. Or is it? Authors Kelly and Zach Weinersmith set out to write the essential guide to a glorious future of space settlements, but after years of original research, and interviews with leading space scientists, engineers and legal experts, they aren’t so sure it’s a good idea. Space tech and space business are progressing fast, but we lack the deep knowledge needed to have space-kids, build space-farms and create space nations in a way that doesn’t spark conflict back home. In a world hurtling toward human expansion into space, ‘A City on Mars’ investigates whether the dream of new worlds won’t create a nightmare, both for settlers and the people they leave behind.
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A crack in everything
£20.00A crack in everything
A black hole is a region of space where gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape. This can occur when a star approaches the end of its life. Unable to generate enough heat to maintain its outer layers, it shrinks catastrophically down to an infinitely dense point. When this phenomenon was first proposed in 1916, it defied scientific understanding so much that Albert Einstein dismissed it as too ridiculous to be true. But scientists have since proven otherwise. In 1971, Paul Murdin and Louise Webster discovered the first black hole: Cygnus X-1. Later, in the 1990s, astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope found that not only do black holes exist, supermassive black holes lie at the heart of almost every galaxy, including our own. On 10 April 2019, a team of astronomers made history by producing the first image of a black hole. This book is the story of black holes.
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A Little Book of Coincidence in the Solar System
£5.99A Little Book of Coincidence in the Solar System
The solar system has long been suspected of hiding secret mysterious relationships and patterns. From the earliest known times people have studied the motions of the planets. Now, just when we thought there were no more surprises left, John Martineau introduces the solar system in a new way.
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Children’s guide to the night sky
£9.99Children’s guide to the night sky
Explore the night sky with this fact-packed guide to astronomy for children aged 7+.
From planets to meteor showers, stars to satellites, kids will learn how, where, and when to see 100 things in space using binoculars, a telescope, or just their eyes.
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Enlightenment
£20.00Enlightenment
Thomas Hart and Grace Macaulay have lived all their lives in the small Essex town of Aldleigh. Though separated in age by three decades, the pair are kindred spirits – torn between their commitment to religion and their desire for more. But their friendship is threatened by the arrival of romantic love. Thomas falls for James Bower, who runs the local museum. Together they develop an obsession with the vanished 19th-century astronomer said to haunt a nearby manor, and whose identity might finally be revealed when a startling discovery is made. As Thomas fears a broken heart, he comes to find solace in astronomy: might it offer as much as earthly or even divine love? Meanwhile Grace meets Nathan, a fellow sixth former. They are drawn recklessly together, but quickly pulled apart, casting Grace into the wider world and far away from Thomas.
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For the Love of Mars
£16.00For the Love of Mars
A tour of Mars in the human imagination, from ancient astrologers to modern explorers. Mars and its secrets have fascinated and mystified humans since ancient times. For the Love of Mars surveys the red planet’s place in the human imagination, beginning with ancient astrologers and skywatchers and ending in our present moment of exploration and virtual engagement. Â National Air and Space Museum curator Matthew Shindell describes how historical figures across eras and around the world have made sense of this mysterious planet. We meet Mayan astrologer priests who incorporated Mars into seasonal calendars and religious ceremonies, Babylonian astrologers who discerned bad omens, figures of the Scientific Revolution who struggled to comprehend Mars as a world, Victorian astronomers who sought signs of intelligent life, and twentieth- and twenty-first-century scientists who have established a technological presence on the planet’s surf
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i-SPY in the night sky
£3.99i-SPY in the night sky
Beat the boredom and take time out from screens with this pocket-sized book packed with facts, photos and fantastic spots for hours of fun!
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Mars
£8.99Mars
The perfect gift for anyone eager to learn more about the Red Planet
Discover all you need to know about Mars – including the historic, cultural and scientific background and exploratory missions – with this accessible guide for aspiring and seasoned astronomers, packed full of stunning images.
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Night sky almanac 2025
£9.99Night sky almanac 2025
A beautiful gift for anyone interested in the night sky.
Follow the progress of constellations throughout the seasons with this beautiful companion to the night sky from Astronomy experts Collins.
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Oh Maya gods!
£7.99Oh Maya gods!
The world’s worst-behaved immortals are at it again! Meet Vesper, the bossy, football-mad daughter of Elliot Hooper, and super-bright Aster, son of Constellation, Virgo. Off they head to the Maya underworld, where Kizin and his Lords and Ladies of Death are messing with astronomy, chocolate and human sacrifice …
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On the revolutions of the heavenly spheres
£9.99On the revolutions of the heavenly spheres
With a new introduction, this is an accessible, abridged edition of Renaissance Natural Philosopher Copernicus’s great work. The consequence of long observation, it resulted in the first stage of the Scientific Revolution by correctly identifying that the earth and other planets of the solar system revolved around the sun.
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Origins
£11.99Origins
For centuries poetry and science have been improbable, yet constant, bedfellows. Chaucer was an amateur astronomer; Milton broke bread with Galileo; and, before turning to the arts, Keats was a doctor. Meanwhile, scientific luminaries like Ada Lovelace and James Clerk Maxwell moonlighted as poets, composing verse between experiments and equations. Following in this tradition, theoretical physicist Joseph Conlon spins a dazzling intergalactic epic. Drawing on his scientific expertise, Conlon reveals the origins of our universe through two long-form poems – ‘Elements’ and ‘Galaxies’. Journeying from the Big Bang to the edges of our ever-expanding cosmos, Origins offers a delightful and revelatory adventure through contemporary physics.
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Our accidental universe
£22.00Our accidental universe
The BBC presenter of ‘Sky at Night’, and Gresham Professor of Astronomy, Chris Lintott, takes us on an astonishing tour of bizarre accidents, big characters, and human error to tell the story of some of the most important astronomical events of the past hundred years.
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Out of this world – and into the next
£18.99Out of this world – and into the next
Humanity has always looked up at the night sky and wondered what lies beyond our world. Now, we are on the precipice of stepping out among the stars, not just as lone astronauts or billionaire tech bros, but as a civilization. Our story is one of curiosity and an innate desire to explore and understand not only the world around us, but the world within us, and the worlds above us, from extremophiles to extraterrestrials, technosignatures to terraforming, DNA to Dyson Spheres. In this sweeping treatise on exploration, innovation and human ingenuity, theoretical physicist Adriana Marais explores the questions that stand at the heart of scientific endeavour: What are the building blocks of life and how does life emerge? Are we alone in the universe and if so, why? How did we get here – and where are we going next?
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Philip’s 2024 stargazing month-by-month guide to the night sky Britain & Ireland
£6.99Philip’s 2024 stargazing month-by-month guide to the night sky Britain & Ireland
This is a guide for stargazers in Britain and Ireland. The new 2024 edition has been completely revised to make it even more essential for exploring the night skies – making the night sky accessible to beginners and experts alike.
£6.99