Back to Astronomy Cafe

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 288 pages
• Published by: Basic Books October 14, 2003
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0813341663
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0813341668
• Book Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Weighs: 13.6 ounces

From Publishers Weekly
Meticulously researched by the education and public outreach manager for the NASA IMAGE satellite program, this question-and-answer book of astronomy, complete with pictures, timetables and a "glossary of annoying terms," provides explanations for many phenomena regarding the sun, moon, Earth and beyond. Odenwald occasionally waxes poetic, writing, for instance, that our world is "a cosmos where every shining star sports a discoverable retinue of worlds to explore." The well-informed amateur will reap much informative detail from this follow-up to the author's original The Astronomy Cafe, based on his popular Web site, but those who are getting their feet wet for the first time may feel that the explanations assume too much prior knowledge.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description
How fast does gravity travel? When will the sun go nova? Who invented the light year? Will we ever travel to the stars? These are just some of the unusual and popular questions NASA astronomer Sten Odenwald answers in Back to the Astronomy Café, based on his award-winning website "for the astronomically disadvantaged." Since his acclaimed earlier book The Astronomy Café published in 1998, the space community has been turned on its head with entirely new discoveries: ion propulsion, dark matter, gravity and magnetic reversals, the Cosmic Dark Ages, and over 100 new planets. In the all-new Back to the Astronomy Café, Odenwald answers the latest and most-asked questions relating to these recent discoveries. His highly personal and authoritative style makes understanding the cosmos less intimidating, exciting, and fun.Since he opened his website "The Astronomy Café" in 1995, Odenwald has answered over 50,000 e-mailed questions. His individual answers have been downloaded over 7.5 million times, making him the most sought-after "answer man" for astronomy in human history.

Reader Reviews
Teaching astronomy is not easy when you know nothing. This book asks all the questions I have and my students have. It has fairly technical language for my 7th graders, but I can get the main ideas and relay them. How old is the solar system? (I forget) Will the sun go super nova? (no) There is an awesome time line which goes way back, and then tracks events predicted by science fiction authors. (fun!) There is an excellent website too, but I had to buy the book because the web site wouldn't give all the answers - it said to buy the book! I did and I am not sorry.