About this item
We all gaze at the night sky in wonder - and this guidebook, the ninth in the National Geographic Pocket Guide series, provides a go-to reference for everything filling the dark canvas above us. A basic guide to the solar system, distant galaxies, exoplanets and deep space, satellites and spacecraft, the big bang, meteor showers, and moon phases, this book also features scores of sky and constellation charts for stargazers. Each of the 147 featured topics includes a photograph or explanatory illustration or graphic. Interesting facts and tips throughout offer a quick guide to observing the night sky with the naked eye, from the Big Dipper and the North Star to auroras and eclipses.
About the Author
A former National Geographic staff member, Catherine Herbert Howell has written more than a dozen books and contributed to dozens of others. She covers topics as diverse as the archaeological treasures of the ancient world; North American birds, wildflowers, mammals, and reptiles and amphibians; the engineering marvels of the twentieth century; the influence of birds in culture and art; and world ethnic groups. She also served as editor of Drawn & Quartered: The History of American Political Cartoons and Out of Ireland, a companion volume to the PBS documentary of the same name.She holds a master's degree in anthropology from the University of Virginia and has conducted field research among urban women in India as a Fulbright grantee and among Indian immigrants in New York City.Howell lives in Arlington, Virginia, where she tends the native plants of her certified wildlife habitat and volunteers with the Arlington Regional Master Naturalists.
