Planets, Stars, and Galaxies: A Visual Encyclopedia of Our Universe [Hardcover]

David Aguilar (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Finally, it's here! The farthest reaches of our universe captured in atlas form for young readers. Planets, Stars, and Galaxies is the space book that pushes the boundaries of man's ultimate frontier. The engaging, educational text, written in collaboration with National Geographic experts, includes the latest discoveries about our universe; while specially commissioned artwork by the author illuminates page after page.

Exciting as well as enlightening, Planets, Stars, and Galaxies belongs on every family bookshelf, providing easy reference for school reports and compelling reading on the myriad mysteries beyond our world. With vivid illustrations and superb photography, this beautiful book puts the wonders of space into every child's hands. This engaging, provocative reference work includes: the new solar system including dwarf planets Pluto, Ceres, and Eris;the latest developments in space exploration, science, and research—how a star is born and dies, "weird worlds," the "galactic zoo," and more;fun facts about space and amazing new images—Saturn's rings, Jupiter's moons, and Hubble's deep-space view;first-hand accounts from scientists and astronauts—what it's like to study the universe and to live in space;a fascinating look into our future in space: What space travel might hold in a reader's own lifetime—moon colonies, hotels on Mars? How will the universe end?questions to ponder, such as "Is there other life in the universe?"an illustrated timeline of space research and exploration, star charts, moon maps, fact boxes, and helpful scientific diagrams.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

This text introduces readers to the most current information available about the universe. Information is presented in a clear and easy-to-understand manner. The author writes in a conversational tone and begins with an introduction to the universe that includes how it began and how we know what we know. Readers are then taken on a virtual tour of the solar system and presented with information about the newly designated 11 planets and their varying categories. Fact boxes are provided for each of the planets with such information as the planet’s mass, density, length of day and length of year (measured in Earth days), average surface temperature, and more. Comets, the Kuiper Belt, and asteroids are also discussed. This is followed by information on the stars and galaxies. The final two chapters address whether we are alone in the universe and where science and research might take us in the future. The book features bright, eye-catching illustrations that author Aguilar created on his computer. In addition, there are many vibrant photographs in the book that were taken by cameras here on Earth as well as by satellites and telescopes. The layout features colorful, well-annotated images on every page spread. The images nicely supplement the text and help to relay concepts. In one of the chapters, images with a binocular symbol indicate objects that can be seen in the night sky with binoculars. The book concludes with four different time lines; “Time Line of the Solar System,” “Time Line of Humans on Earth,” “Time Line of Astronomy to 1961,” and “Time Line of Astronomy 1963 to the Present,” which covers through 2020, when spacecraft in the Constellation program are scheduled to return human explorers to the moon. Also included are a glossary, an index, and a list of additional reading and Web sites. With appeal for students doing research, as well as the lay reader, this colorful resource is recommended for upper-elementary, middle-school, high-school, and public libraries. Grades 5-12. --Maren Ostergard

About the Author

David A. Aguilar is the Director of Science Information at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Previously, he was the Director of the Fiske Planetarium and Science Center at the University of Colorado. An expert in astronomy and a talented artist, his work reflects his passion for bringing the wonders of space to wider audiences. In this, his first book for National Geographic, he presents the latest discoveries in space to young imaginations in an engaging and scientifically accurate way. David Aguilar lives in Boston, Massachusetts.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: National Geographic Children's Books; Reprint edition (October 9, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1426301707
• ISBN-13: 978-1426301704
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 0.6 x 11.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #661,910 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David A. Aguilar is the author of "SuperStars! "- his third venture to the stars for National Geographic. "13 Planets: The Latest View of the Solar System" (2011), received the Eureka! Nonfiction Children's Book Gold Award from the California Reading Council. His writings are widely recognized for their ability to communicate the wonderment of science to enthusiasts of all ages. David also created the illustrations for each book, and this artwork has been featured on the History Channel's series "The Universe", Time magazine, CNN, USA Today, National Geographic, Astronomy, et al. His other books include "Planets, Stars & Galaxies" and "11 Planets", both published by National Geographic.

He is the past director of the Fiske Planetarium & Science Center and the originator of the Science Discovery Program at the University of Colorado in Boulder, and now the popular host of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for the Astrophysics "Observatory Nights" program. He also leads Smithsonian study travelers to destinations around the globe to explore celestial phenomena with telescopes and even binoculars! David and his wife Shirley reside near Cambridge, MA. and part-time at their home and new observatory located outside Aspen, CO.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Attractive, but error-laden . . ., July 29, 2010

By 

Mark Pfennigstag (California, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Planets, Stars, and Galaxies: A Visual Encyclopedia of Our Universe (Hardcover)

This book published by the National Geographic Society, known usually for their factual accuracy, is beautiful in its pictorial content as other reviewers have said, but contains serious errors in the text. If you are thinking of buying for your 3-year-old, or your 5-year-old, they'll love the pictures and won't care about the mistakes. If you're contemplating buying it for your 6th grader's report on anything within the bounds of the solar system, don't.

The text on Mars states in its opening paragraph that Mars is the same size as Earth and is the planet nearest us. Wrong! Twice! In fact Mars is barely over 1/2 the diameter of Earth, and Venus orbits closer to Earth than Mars. (Diameters: Earth,7926 miles; Mars, 4221 miles. Because orbits are elliptical, distances vary, so averages are given. Orbit of Venus is about 35 million miles from Earth's, Mars orbit is an average of about 49 million miles from us.)

On the Mars page, the text does not agree with the chart or illustrations, which are correct.

The asteroid / dwarf planet Ceres is described as being "roughly equal to the size of our moon". Not even close! Sparing you the math, let's just say the Ceres is approximately 1/4 the size of our Moon. The text is again in disareement with its own charts. As before, the charts are correct, the text is in error.

Those mistakes were found just in browsing. Extensive examination may find more - but the errors above are enough to cast doubt on the rest of the book.

(Reviewer is a librarian, amateur astronomer, parent of 4, grandfather of 3.)

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Galactic guide book, February 28, 2008

By 

Camille "at the BookMoot!" (Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Planets, Stars, and Galaxies: A Visual Encyclopedia of Our Universe (Hardcover)

David Aguilar describes the planets of our solar system as well as dark matter, neutron stars, nebula, and many other phenomena of space in this book.

What makes this book different from others on the subject, are the glowing illustrations that Aguilar created from NASA and telescope photographs . The photos are enhanced and Photoshopped to offer a "you are there" presence to the reader. What would it feel like to be in the middle of the Kuiper Belt? Well, pages 62 and 63 give us an idea. Imaginative space ships tour planets and space suited explorers stand on the surface of one of Jupiter's moons.

Aguilar fills the text with factual information. He explains how a star burns in a graphic that depicts the collision of two protons and the release of energy that is starlight. The location of supernova, nebula and other objects are marked in constellation maps when they are visible through binoculars.

The author has projected reader into the galaxy, traveling exploring and experiencing the wonders of the universe. We live in a time when the Space Shuttle program seems routine and low Earth orbit is the best we can do. The book could fire the imagination of kids who have seen the spectacular images of the space telescopes and now think, "been there-done that." Chapters, "Are we Alone?" and "Dreams of Tomorrow" ponder what is "alien life" and ideas for the future of space engineering.

This book fires the imagination and could also inspire a young person today to look skyward.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Primer on Astronomy, September 8, 2008

By 

A. Courie "Treb" (Freedom's Fortress) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Planets, Stars, and Galaxies: A Visual Encyclopedia of Our Universe (Hardcover)

David Aguilar's "Planets, Stars, and Galaxies: A Visual Encyclopedia of Our Universe" is a beautiful and well-done book that does a very good job giving a general overview of the latest astronomical knowledge. This book even includes the latest on the new designation of dwarf planets and Pluto's demotion.

The book is full of beautiful photos and computer illustrations of the planets, nebulae, neutron stars, and galaxies. These illustrations really bring the book to life. They are enhanced by well-written, informative text.

Although this is a great book, I do have a couple of criticisms. The first is that the tour of the solar system is done through a narrative device: a spaceship that flies from Earth to the sun and then back out. Venus is thus covered first, followed by Mercury, the sun, then Mars, then (after the rest of the planets are covered) finishing with Earth. While that is consistent with the narrative device, it's confusing to anyone just scanning the book.

Also, there are a handful of errors in the book: The book states that Mars is the closest planet to the Earth; on one chart, Jupiter's moons are incorrectly labeled (my 3 year-old correctly identified the pictures, but I mistakenly corrected him based on the incorrect labels); Callisto is referred to in one place as "Saturn's moon;" and the book states that Voyager 1 and 2 visited Jupiter in 1973. I was surprised to see such obvious errors get past the editors and appear in a National Geographic book.

I bought for my three year-old, who has fallen in love with the planets and stars. Although the book is a bit advanced for him, the beautiful illustrations and straightforward text make this a wonderful book to own.