Darling, David J

Presents over three thousand alphabetized, cross-referenced entries on astronomy, covering celestial bodies, observatories, astronomers and other figures, and other topics, and includes star charts.

Traces the evolution of knowledge about the moon, from the invention of the telescope to the landing of the Apollo astronauts.

Discusses the formation, life, and destruction of stars and includes an imaginary spaceship ride through many galaxies to view the Milky Way and other star clusters.

Explains what galaxies are, how they were formed, and the types of galaxies.

Explains what the sun is and how it produces such enormous amounts of energy.

Describes the origins, characteristics, and behavior of comets, meteors, and the largest of the space rocks, asteroids.

Explains the Big Bang theory of the formation of the universe and discusses its possible continued growth.

Traces the history of space exploration describing the kinds of artificial satellites and their uses.

Explores recent developments in genetic engineering, explains the controversial issues surrounding it, and describes how DNA works.

Contains over eighteen hundred alphabetically-arranged, math-related entries that cover things like unsolved theorems, challenging puzzles and games, discussions on the search for a fourth dimension, parallel universes, as well as profiles of noted mathematicians.