The Handy Astronomy Answer Book

The Handy Answer Book

by Charles Liu

From planetary movements and the exploration of our solar system to black holes and dark matter, this comprehensive reference simplifies all aspects of astronomy with an approachable question-and-answer format. With chapters broken into various astronomical studies—including the universe, galaxies, planets, and space exploration—this resource is an ideal companion for students, teachers, and amateur astronomers, answering more than 800 questions, such as Is the universe infinite? What would happen to you if you fell onto a black hole? What are the basic concepts of Einstein's special theory of relativity? and Who was the first person in space?

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Reference, Astronomy

332 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2008

About the author

Charles Tsun-Chu Liu is an American astronomer and astronomy educator. His research interests include merging and colliding galaxies, active galactic nuclei, and the star formation history of the universe. Liu is one of the original team members of the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS), the largest contiguous deep field ever observed with the Hubble Space Telescope. He is a former director of the William E. Macaulay Honors College and The Verrazano School at the City University of New York’s College of Staten Island. He currently serves as a professor of physics and astronomy at the College of Staten Island, and as President of the Astronomical Society of New York. In 2019, he was named a Fellow of the American Astronomical Society.

Reviews

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has answers to most astronomical questions you may have, but the answers are brief and the questions are all over the place. Was hoping for more in depth details for each question. Quality vs. quantity-pick your poison.

[Lisa Cindrich]

Wow...for a few minutes I felt like I almost almost understood how gravity works. Plus black holes. The author does an effective job breaking the science down for the layman. Paired quite nicely with Arthur Clarke's 2001, another recent read.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Space

[Muhamed Ȝadel · Rating 5 out of 5]

سهل جدا وجميل

[Edna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard topics explained in simple terms. Great reputable student resource.

[Wee Jiawei · Rating 5 out of 5]

best quote - "In the end, the questions we have to answer are the ones we have yet to ask." Great summary to the beautifully crafted and conveyed book.

[Milja]

Is it possible for one person to travel more slowly through time than another person? It is possible for someone to travel more slowly through time relative to others. By traveling faster than someone else, time will pass by at a slightly slower rate than compared to someone standing still. The difference in these cases, however, will be incredibly small. Even if one is flying in a jet plane for twelve hours the total time difference is less than one ten-millionth of a second compared to someone who remained on the ground.

What is the universe? The universe is all of space, time, matter, and energy that exist. Most people think of the universe as just space, but space is just the framework, the "scaffolding" in which the universe exists. Furthermore, space and time are intimately connected in a four-dimensional fabric called spacetime.

How old is the universe? The universe is not infinitely old. According to modern astonomical measurement, the universe began to exist about 13.7 billion years ago.

What is the structure of the universe? The structure of the universe - as opposed to the structure of matter in the universe - is determined by the shape of space. The shape of space is, surprisingly, curved.

How big is the universe? The farthest limit to our viewing is called the cosmic horizon, which is about 13.7 billion light-years away, or about 80 billion trillion miles, in every direction. Everything within that cosmic horizon is called the observable universe. As for the universe beyond the cosmic horizon, there is still no scientific way to measure its size. There is no reason to think there is or is not a boundary far away. However, it is possible for the universe to be limited in size and still not have an edge. Think of the surface of our planet, for example. Earth's surface area is finite, but there is nowhere on Earth where you could reach the "end" of Earth in a boat and fall off our planet. In a huge, three-dimensional way, our universe, might be similar.

What are the possible shapes of the universe? There are three general categories of possible shapes of the universe: open, flat, and closed. These adjectives refer to the kind of curvature that space has overall.