Astronomy Made Simple - A Book Review Recommendation

As a science writer of sorts and the coordinator for a Think Tank which operates online, you can bet, I better get my facts straight. Thus, I often have lots of reference books around in the various scientific domains and since each science field has its own language and terminology - it is truly imperative that I keep it all straight.

This means I have textbooks of all sorts as well as pocket type references. Yes, much of the information is duplicated, which is fine, and while writing any given article, I may have three or four books piled up next to this computer - checking facts, and making sure I get things as accurate as possible. If you saw my office, you'd think I was some sort of crazy scientist, but that really isn't the reality here.

Now then, one great little book, which I have been using lately, as I study NEOs or Near Earth Objects, like comets with short periods, and asteroids, meteors, meteor showers etc, is a book which is actually some 15-years old. Of course, in a planetary or solar system time line, that's not even a full drop in the bucket. In any case let me recommend this great reference book to you, in case you need to get the facts quickly, or wish to have an easy to use study guide on astronomy;

"Astronomy" part of the Applied Science Review Series w/a complete course review, and outline format, by C. Gregory Seab PhD and the series edited by Stanley Loeb and; published by Springhouse Corporation, Springhouse, PA, (1995), pp. 184, ISBN: 0-87434-606.

This book is broken into easy to look-up sections; History of Astronomy, Earth, other planets, Moon, Sun, Solar System Evolution, Milky Way, Universe, Cosmology, Interplanetary bodies, telescopes, etc. This book would make a great book for a High School Advance Placement Astronomy course, or a Introductory college course. It would be awesome for a parent doing homeschooling too.

Of course, I use it for my writing, and to make sure my terminology is correct. It might be a little old for current topics, as we have learned so much about our solar system in the last 15-years, but it is fully adequate for everything else. So, if you are looking for yet another handy reference book for your writing or you want to teach yourself or your kids about astronomy, it's perfect.

If I was hosting a Star Party for kids, well, I'd surely like to have a stack of them to hand out. Anyway, please consider all this.

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