Universe: The Definite Visual Guide

“Universe”, edited by Astronomer Royal Martin Rees and published for the Smithsonian Institution by DK, is one of the most thorough visual guides to the cosmos. This up-to-date guide presents the newest advances in space imagery including big, high resolution pictures of the most exotic places in the universe. But don’t get yourself fooled — it’s not only a visual guide, but also a great book for the description of the theory of astronomy and physics in general.

Author: Martin Rees Hardcover: 528 pages Publisher: DK Adult (Sep 17, 2012) ISBN-10: 0756698413 ISBN-13: 978-0756698416 Kindle edition: (n/a) Reviews: 7 customer reviews
Rating: ★★★★★	Ranking: 4236	US Version	UK Version

About the Author

Martin John Rees (Baron Rees of Ludlow) (born 23 June 1942, in York, England) is a British cosmologist and astrophysicist. He has been Astronomer Royal since 1995 and Master of Trinity College, Cambridge since 2004. He was President of the Royal Society between 2005 and 2010 as well. The impressive book list of Rees includes “Just Six Numbers: The Deep Forces That Shape the Universe“, “Our Cosmic Habitat“, “From Here to Infinity: A Vision for the Future of Science” and many others.

Short Overview

The first section is mostly about the theory of astronomy and physics in general. The basics of physics are explained including discussions about matter, space time, electromagnetism and so on. This rather theoretical overview of the basics is given in the light of how the laws of physics shape the sky and everything that is up there. Naturally for a visual guide, all of this discussion comes along with some stunning high resolution pictures.

The second section is mostly dominated by interesting facts about the universe at different size scales. It all starts with our own solar system and the sun including some breathtaking pictures of solar spots, eclipses and so on. Of course, the planets of the solar system are also taken into account, including the rings of Saturn, the great blue Uranus and other planets.

Excerpt from the book

The final section focuses on the night sky, as seen from different corners of Earth. This naturally leads to the discussion of the constellations, their distribution and history. This part is also a great practical guide for those wishing to start some basic backyard sky-gazing.

Overall, the book offers some amazing up-to-date visuals, which would never look as great on the computer screen as they do on paper.  Taking into account the very affordable price of this 500 page book, I highly recommend it as an addition to your personal library.

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