Worlds in the Sky: The Story of Planetary Discovery from Earliest Times through Voyager and Magellan - Tapa dura

"A splendid introduction to the descriptive aspects of the Moon, the planets, comets, and meteors of the Solar System. Well written by a knowledgeable amateur who describes them from the first primitive observations to modern fly-bys with earth probes, the text is educational, free-flowing, and entertaining, and contains many anecdotes that will be new even to astronomers. . . . Sheehan includes interesting vignettes that make each chapter stimulating and entertaining. . . . Highly recommended to any reader above age 10 curious about the planets and their satellites and as good recreation for professionals." --Choice"As a narrative, the book grabs and holds the reader's attention from cover to cover. . . . A delight to read and a book that . . . is very unlikely to disappoint the reader." --Sky & Telescope

Ever since early star-gazers discovered that some heavenly bodies wandered among the others, people have been fascinated by the planets. Kepler calculated their orbits from naked-eye observations; Galileo's telescope made it possible to discern their markings; now observations from spacecraft provide electronically enhanced images that bring these distant worlds even closer.In "Worlds in the Sky, " William Sheehan gives us a history of this long fascination, weaving together scientific history, anecdotes surrounding planetary discoveries, and the personal reflections of an incurable amateur astronomer. He describes how we arrived at our current understanding of the Moon and the planets and shows how certain individuals in history shaped the world's knowledge about the Solar System.Placing historical observations in the context of recent discoveries, Sheehan questions whether these telescopic glimpses were revelations or mere deceptions. By reflecting on the mental processes of early astronomers, he provides not only a fascinating account of scientific discovery but also a tribute to those who, long before Voyager, relied on their own powers of observation to travel to worlds in the sky.