Planetary atmospheres are complex and evolving entities, as mankind is rapidly coming to realise whilst attempting to understand, forecast and mitigate human-induced climate change. In the Solar System, our neighbours Venus and Mars provide striking examples of two endpoints of planetary evolution: the runaway greenhouse effect and the loss of the entire atmosphere to space.
The [...]
Mary Sommerville (1780-1872), after whom Sommerville College Oxford was named, was the first woman scientist to win an international reputation entirely in her own right, rather than through association with a scientific brother or father.
She was active in astronomy, one of the most demanding areas of science of the day, and flourished in the unique [...]
Is the story about the Star in the East true? And, if so, what exactly was the ’star’? While Sir Patrick cannot give a definitive answer, in The Star of Bethlehem he looks at various astronomical theories and comes up with a possible answer of his own. Who has not heard of the Star in [...]
Every day millions of individuals consult astrologers, mostly in daily newspapers or on the radio, though some potentates still possess their own personal astrologers. And each year, thousands of new books about astrology are added to the vast numbers that have been previously been published. Is there room for another book? Since this is Sir [...]
Astronomy is advancing at an unprecedented rate, and there have never before been so many backyard astronomers, from beginners to those at the professional frontier. There is also huge interest in the startlingly imaginative concepts that professional astronomers use to explain our place, and existence, in the universe at large.
This established A-Z encyclopedia is a [...]
Why BANG!? Why did three men from markedly different backgrounds come together and spend two years passionately thrashing out the text of a book about a Big Bang? Because they believe that every intelligent, inquisitive human being should have the chance to hear this astounding story, only very recently beginning to make sense – The [...]
Once we thought the universe was filled with shining stars, dust, planets, and galaxies. We now know that more than 98 percent of all matter in the universe is dark. It emits absolutely nothing yet bends space and time; keeps stars speeding around galaxies; and determines the fate of the universe.
But dark matter is only [...]
