cover image Back to the Astronomy Cafe: More Questions and Answers about the Cosmos from ""Ask the Astronomer""

Back to the Astronomy Cafe: More Questions and Answers about the Cosmos from ""Ask the Astronomer""

Sten Odenwald. Basic Books, $15.95 (288pp) ISBN 978-0-8133-4166-8

Meticulously researched by the education and public outreach manager for the NASA IMAGE satellite program, this question-and-answer book of astronomy, complete with pictures, timetables and a""glossary of annoying terms,"" provides explanations for many phenomena regarding the sun, moon, Earth and beyond. Odenwald occasionally waxes poetic, writing, for instance, that our world is""a cosmos where every shining star sports a discoverable retinue of worlds to explore."" The well-informed amateur will reap much informative detail from this follow-up to the author's original The Astronomy Cafe, based on his popular Web site, but those who are getting their feet wet for the first time may feel that the explanations assume too much prior knowledge.