Humanity’s success in controlling nature has led to a loss of our connection to the natural world. Astronomer Donald Goldsmith gives readers nine easy steps to connect directly with the universe by observing cosmic phenomena with their own eyes. Readers will learn to look at the stars with feelings of friendly recognition, leading to a sense of joy and awe currently missing from most people’s lives.

Each of the nine steps involves a brief observation of the sky or another natural phenomenon (such as light, rock, etc.) and includes:

o A simple, moderate and advanced level of activity

o Accessible information on what to look for and what it means

o A meditation to relate what is seen to our place in the universe

Readers can make their own connections by personally experiencing the mystique of the universe. Examples include:

o Watching the sun rise and set on the same day to get a sense of a daily cycle

o Watching the moon wax and wane, and the tide rise and fall

o Observing the movement of the sun across the sky over a day, a week and a month

o Seeing light through a prism and observing its refraction

o Identifying Venus, the morning star and evening star

o Observing the composition of a grain of sand, whose atoms came from the stars

About the Author
Donald Goldsmith has written more than a dozen books about astronomy, cosmology and space science, including The Hunt for Life on Mars, The Runaway Universe and The Astronomers, which was the companion book to the PBS special. He teaches at the University of California at Berkeley and is devoted to making astronomy popular and interesting.