State of the Universe 2008 - by Martin A Ratcliffe (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

State of the Universe 2008 captures the excitement and vibrancy of modern astronomical research. It details discoveries made from the world's leading ground based and orbiting observatories in astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology in the last year. The volume also

presents brief summaries of the major announcements and news items.

Leading astronomers and science writers fully explain all major discoveries and events, and web links are included for all major news stories, providing a bridge between the public news stories and the actual research web sites. Written at an accessible level for both novice and experienced astronomy enthusiasts, this volume enables the reader to stay up to date with the rapid pace and development of modern astronomical research.

Review Quotes

From the reviews:

"This softback volume brings together 100 of the most significant astronomy-related press releases that were issued between 2006 April and 2007 March, together with full-colour reproductions of the relevant illustrations. ... this compilation by writer and educator Martin Ratcliffe is a welcome reference. ... Written by recognized experts in their field, these articles cover such diverse topics as 'The history and future of telescopes', 'The state of the Universe', and 'Building planetary disks'." (Peter Bond, The Observatory, Vol. 128 (1204), 2008)

"A book that collates and presents a whole year's worth of news stories ... . The succinct nature of these news stories captures the essence of the research, and for those who wish to read up more about each subject, web links to the original press release or even the scientific paper are provided, making this an excellent resource ... . Anyone wanting a year book style review of the current state of affairs in the Universe ... will enjoy reading this book." (Emily Baldwin, Astronomy Now, July, 2008)