An Intimate Look at the Night Sky [Hardcover]

Chet Raymo (Author)

4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

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Product Details

Hardcover: 242 pages
Publisher: Fitzhenry & Whiteside (May 22 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0802713696
ISBN-13: 978-0802713698
Product Dimensions: 18.8 x 18.7 x 2 cm
Shipping Weight: 730 g

Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #890,744 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

"[W]hat kind of intimacy can one have with a universe of 100 billion galaxies, each galaxy containing one trillion stars...?" asks astronomer and Boston Globe science columnist Raymo (365 Starry Nights, etc.). He offers two answers. "First,... bring to mind the Big Bang, the out-rushing snowstorm of galaxies, the seething stars, the whirling planets, everything revealed by the telescopes... We carry a universe in our heads. It doesn't get much more intimate than that." Second, the discovery of that vast universe is "a story of human curiosity, human ingenuity, human courage." Arranged in 12 chapters corresponding to the months of the year, this book opens by transporting readers, eyes closed with Haydn's The Creation oratorio playing in the background, to one of those increasingly rare spots where artificial lighting does not pollute the pure darkness. When a choral whisper followed by a fortissimo C-major chord announces, "And there was light," Raymo advises readers to open their eyes to "Stars. Planets. The luminous river of the Milky Way.... [Y]ou will feel that you have been witness to the Big Bang." Each chapter illuminates a different scientific theme and ends with two star maps, one describing "What to See" and the other "What to Imagine" in the month's night sky. The book closes with a revelation. "Science illuminates nature but does not deplete its mystery. Science at its best... is an almost religious activity." By those criteria, and by any other, this is science at its best. Illus. (May)Forecast: This is the astronomy book for literate newcomers to the art of star-gazing. Display and handselling should help it move out of the stores. It's also an Astronomy Book Club main selection.

From Library Journal

Raymo (Skeptics and True Believers: The Exhilarating Connection Between Science and Religion, LJ 6/1/98), a physics professor at Stonehill College, fears that we have lost our ancestral connection with the night sky indeed, that we no longer even see it. In this rambling, highly personal work, Raymo touches on some predictable topics eclipses, comets, the Big Bang but also discusses music, mythology, light pollution, nuclear weapons, and more. His meandering notwithstanding, the author's evident love and appreciation of the beauty, mystery, and wonder of the heavens will inspire some readers to step outside for a look at the stars. Novice sky-watchers can make good use of this book's resources: a series of seasonal star maps highlighting objects visible to the naked eye, appendixes about planets and meteor showers, and a (too-brief) list of print and electronic astronomy resources. Recommended for public libraries. (Index not seen.) Nancy R. Curtis, Univ. of Maine Lib, Orono
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Customer Reviews

10 Reviews

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4 star:		(2)
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Average Customer Review

4.4 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars A literary Nebula, Dec 29 2002

M. Sullivan (Savannah, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: An Intimate Look at the Night Sky (Hardcover)

I bought this book on a whim while looking for star atlases. First, this book does have brief guides based on the seasons on where to see some astronomical wonders. But that is not where it strenght lies. Chet Raymo paints a poetic portrait of our night sky in this book which will captivate your imagination. You can actually feel your mind reaching out across the universe as he pulls you into the initial creation of the heavens and sends you flying out at light speed. Each chapter delves into a aspect of the night sky which tickles your imagination. You will find yourself thinking for hours after putting this book down and looking forward to the next time you can pick it up.
If you are looking for a guide to the night sky, try "Turn Left at Orion". If you want to explore the heavens and enlighten your own mind, buy this book!!! You will not be disappointed in its lyrical prose and heavenly sketches.

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5.0 out of 5 stars simply beautiful, Dec 11 2002

Ashley J. Motia "heartflux" (Indiana, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: An Intimate Look at the Night Sky (Hardcover)

Chet Raymo certainly has a way with words. Couple that with detailed diagrams and pictures of the sky, and you have a wonderful book for anyone remotely interested in the heavens. This book has a poetic nature about it, but it is by no means written on an unattainable level--even for younger readers. This book covers all of the astronomical basics (birth/death of stars, the colors of stars and what that means about heat intensity, planets, comets, galaxies, and universes). It also offers eyes-on experience with diagrams and instructions for night viewing of the sky. The book concludes with a moving chapter about how the universe will end, citing a letter from Einstein and telling the story as if it were a fairytale. Not only is the book enthrallingly beautiful on the inside, but it is equally beautiful on the outside cover (the picture here on Amazon.com just does not do it justice). For a stargazer who is just beginning to search the sky or a seasoned watcher who simply loves celestial beauty, this book will leave the reader satisfied and inspired.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Raymo is a scientist with a poet's heart, May 16 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: An Intimate Look at the Night Sky (Hardcover)

Beautiful, filled with joy, knowledge and insight. I have cried at the personifictions and been filled with wonder. Thank you Chet Raymo!

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