Editorial Review:
A handy and comprehensive reference to the 300 most interesting celestial objects. This book provides a tour through the galaxy, from its solar core to its outer limits, with all the highlights and the very latest data about the universe. Convenient data sidebars with each entry provide facts and figures on every object- including mass, magnitude, density, radius, rotation period, and surface and core temperatures. An annotated cross-section of the object enhances this information, and a full-page photograph brings the object to life. Additional spreads bring together and explain related objects or phenomena. For example, the corresponding pages for the sun include solar power, sunspots and solar flares. Others examples include: - Mercury: Mercury's surface
- The asteroid belt: Eros 433
- Jupiter's moons: 10, Europa, Callista
- Uranus: Uranus' rings, Ariel and Titania
- Outer belts and comets: Halley's comet; Deep Impact
- Space telescopes: International Space Station.
300 Astronomical Objects is a handy reference for the amateur astronomer. (20080201)
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Customer Reviews
Average Customer Rating: 
Modern, broad coverage, well-illustrated, fact-filled 2008-03-19
For anyone with a layman's interest in all things astronomical, this book does well to provide magnificent pictures with concise, informative descriptions of a very wide range of objects. Published in 2006, it contains much modern material and therein lies its interest - it is not just replaying information covered in the existing books and recent magazines. Personally, I learned a good deal.
This book is mostly about what scientists observe - concentrating on the most remarkable. Sometimes there is a sentence or two to state the accepted physics explaining the observation; sometimes there is the frank admission that scientists do not have a good theory to explain it.
"It is not known what generates Uranus's magnetic field."
"Currently it is not understood why [the small Saturnian moon, Enceladus] has such a heat source within it and why the heat is concentrated at the south pole."
Surely we are privileged to live in such a golden age of astronomy, blessed with myriad observations from ever more powerful instruments and probes. This book does a good job to highlight many of these and also some of the mystery that remains to be explained.
It completes well with larger guides intended for coffee-table display. 2007-03-04
Jimie Wilkins and Robert Dunn's 300 ASTRONOMICAL OBJECTS: A VISUAL REFERENCE TO THE UNIVERSE packs in some amazing astronomical photos usually seen in much larger titles, providing an excellent introduction to each object and specific examples accompanied by one or more large photos. From a close-up of the Great Red Spot to guides to the solar system, Milky Way and more, amateur astronomers will find this an outstanding visual and factual treat which offers the convenience of a smaller format lending to take-along totes. It completes well with larger guides intended for coffee-table display.
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