Product Description

Written by an expert team of contributors under the editorship of Ian Ridpath, this text covers everything from black hole to white dwarf. It should be of value to students, professionals, and amateur astronomers seeking a comprehensive source of helpful information. There are 4000 entries, from astrophysics and cosmology to galaxies and time, and major entries include Big Bang theory, comet, eclipse, Magellanic Clouds, Mars, quasar, radio telescope, relativity, and variable stars. Up-to-date coverage includes space missions and recently named Solar System objects. As well as world-wide coverage of telescopes and observatories there are also biographical entries on eminent astronomers from Copernicus to Edwin Hubble.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #980397 in Books
• Published on: 1997-11-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 544 pages

About the Author
Ian Ridpath is a well-known writer and broadcaster on astronomy. As well as editor of Norton's Star Atlas, he is the author of the Collins Guide to Stars and Planets and Monthly Star Guide. A fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, he is a former editor of the magazine Popular Astronomy.

Customer Reviews

A must for anyone keenly interested in astronomy
Oxford's Dictionary of Astronomy, written by a large team of experts, is addressed to both astronomers, professional and amateur, and the general reader, and, what is more, its wealth of authoritative and well written entries, which covers all aspects of astronomy (from astrophysics, astrometry, astronomers, cosmology, exobiology, to planetology, space exploration, telescopes etc.), makes this reference a splendid astronomy book deserving a place in everyone's library.

The major difference of the latest edition (2007), compared to the 1997 and the 2003 editions, is that the latest edition is by and large up-to-date and noticeably heavier. New entries include terms such as apohele, dwarf planet, Eris, frame dragging, planetary migration, sky brightness etc. Many entries have remained unchanged whereas others, such as galaxy evolution and planet, have been updated or expanded. The number of figures and diagrams has not changed at all as far as I know, while an excellent table of variable star types has been added in the Appendix.

Of all astronomy dictionaries I consult, Oxford University's is the one I recommend the most. The one by Cambridge University Press (Jacqueline Mitton) needs updating and does not include biographical entries. CRC Press' Dictionary Of Geophysics, Astrophysics and Astronomy is too technical for the general reader, while Philip's Astronomy Encyclopedia (not a dictionary, but structured and used exactly like a dictionary) is much more illustrated than Oxford's but needs updating.

This edition of Oxford's astronomy dictionary is currently the best investment in terms of astronomy dictionary, because comprehensive, reliable, inexpensive, easy to read and carry, an excellent reference guide to space and stars.