A brand-new edition of this bestselling Gem, featuring individual charts for all 88 constellations, a star atlas of the entire sky and details of the brightest stars and objects of interest which can be seen with the naked eye, binoculars and small telescopes. Collins Gem Stars provides details of all 88 constellations of the Northern and Southern hemispheres, complete with star charts and a star atlas of the entire sky, ideal for practical observation of the stars throughout the world all year round.

The revised second edition of this established dictionary contains over 4,300 up-to-date entries on all aspects of astronomy. Compiled with the help of thirty-four expert contributors under the editorship of renowned author Ian Ridpath, the book covers everything from space exploration and the equipment involved, to astrophysics, cosmology, and the concept of time--plus biographical entries on eminent astronomers and worldwide coverage of observatories and telescopes. The appendices include tables of Apollo lunar landing missions, the constellations, and a table of planetary data. The entries...

Every night, a pageant of Greek mythology circles overhead. Perseus flies to the rescue of Andromeda, Orion faces the charge of the snorting Bull, and the ship of the Argonauts sails in search of the Golden Fleece. Constellations are the invention of the human imagination, not of nature. They are an expression of the human desire to impress its own order upon the apparent chaos of the night sky. Modern science tells us that these twinkling points of light are glowing balls of gas, but the ancient Greeks, to whom we owe many of our constellations, knew nothing of this. Ian Ridpath, well-known...