Planetarium (Welcome to the Museum)

Gazing up at the stars is an incomparable experience, but this stellar book comes close to capturing the night sky’s enchantments. The latest entry in the Welcome to the Museum series guides readers through “galleries,” explaining how humans look at space, the solar system, elements of the sky, galaxies, and the universe. Richly rendered woodblock-style illustrations by Wormell hearken back to the magical precision of early illustrations by celestial observers, mixing close-up detail, wider-range views, and diagrams, including a dazzling view of the evolving universe. Prinja’s understatedly expert text balances comprehensive information on each subject with approachable explanations of wonder-inducing science. For example, to explain transiting, a method researchers use to find exoplanets, he writes, “Imagine finding a firefly crawling over a searchlight by measuring the dimming of the searchlight’s brightness—and doing that from 620 miles away.” A mesmerizing resource for astronomy buffs young and old. Ages 8–12. ([em]Apr.) [/em]