Just Visiting This Planet, Revised and Updated for the Twenty-First Century - by Neil Degrasse Tyson (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

From Neil deGrasse Tyson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, comes a spirited journey to the planets and stars, revealing the answers to many mysteries of our galaxy and beyond.

In this companion volume to Merlin's Tour of the Universe, we visit again with Merlin, a timeless space traveler from Planet Omniscia, who answers a collection of imaginative questions about the cosmos from curious stargazers. Whether waxing poetic about Earth and its environs, the Sun and its stellar siblings, the world of light, physical laws, or galaxies near and far, Merlin's remarks are engaging, humorous, and clear as a starry night sky.

Merlin tackles such conundrums as:

If aliens exploded Earth's moon, what effect would it have on us?

Are black holes gathering matter in preparation for another Big Bang in another time and dimension?

Why does the Moon look bigger on the horizon?

Lively and entertaining, Just Visiting This Planet is an indispensable guidebook to the universe.

Review Quotes

"Tyson has created a space-age Merlin. An astrophysicist and educator, Tyson weaves together imaginative with straightforward science."

"Tyson is a master of streamlining and simplification...taking mind-bogglingly complex ideas, stripping them down to their nuts and bolts, padding them with colorful allegories and dorky jokes, and making them accessible to the layperson."

"We all have some questions we'd like to ask about astronomy. Well, here they are--and the answers too, short, straightforward, light-hearted, and correct."