Space Station Threshold

The 5 DVD package of the complete Season Two of The Universe by the History Channel provides over 14 hours of captivating science. Bright lights and driving sound push information to the viewer as if a mad scientist had been let loose in a vault containing an infinite supply of paint and sound effects. And [...]

The Hubble space telescope brought space's beauty to the average person in North America. Via magazines, weblinks or video, the last few years this instrument dazzled us with a dizzying and splendid array of artistic and scientific sights. The book "Hubble: Imaging Space and Time" by David Devorkin and Robert W. Smith captures many ...

The Cassini mission has released some of the most detailed images of Saturn's poles yet, revealing vast cyclones churning up the gas giant's atmosphere in the north and south. These observations show very similar storms to the south pole observations imaged by the NASA spacecraft in 2006, only in far better detail. It is believed [...]

Curious and curiouser things began happening when telescopes opened up to the skies. Richard Baum's book entitled "The Haunted Observatory - Curiosities from the Astronomer's Cabinet" has the reader thinking like Alice might have in her wonderland. Bright lights, aspiring dots, gleaming trails of a forgotten impression can all ...

Ian Ridpath has been adding to his impressive list of publications with the recently updated fourth edition of "Stars and Planets". Or, consider its more accurate and complete title "Princeton Field Guides Stars & Planets - The Most Complete Guide to the Stars, Planets, Galaxies and the Solar System". The title's quite ...

To successfully foretell the future, you need more than a crystal ball. You need to start with a good understanding of where we stand today. Then, perhaps, you can envision where to go and how best to get there. Such was the choice and action of a number of individuals who appear in Robert Zimmerman's [...]

A simple lesson in school physics provides the fundamental theory behind rockets. Simply put, by quickly pushing lots of exhaust out, the great mass of a rocket will ascend. Yet, as is often the case, putting theory into practise is anything but simple. J.D. Hunley in his book 'Preludes to U.S. Space-Launch Vehicle Technology - [...]

Brilliant plumes of iridescent lava thrown skyward both awe and thrill us. Active volcanoes diminish our sense of importance as they shake the very ground and spread ash throughout the skies. But as Rosaly Lopes and Michael Carroll describe in their book "Alien Volcanoes", these forceful displays dominate the shape of the Earth. As well, ...

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation provides the eclectic radio show Quirks & Quarks. In it, the hosts serve up hot scientific topics using everyday language so that a general audience can appreciate the significance of recently unravelled marvels. Using the same approach, Jim Lebans presents his book, ' The Quirks and Quarks Guide to ...

America's OTHER space program is how John Powell bills his airship to orbit program. This endeavour, wonderfully encapsulated in his book Floating to Space, describes a less than typical application of a well-known technology. Using the concept of dynamic climbing, he believes and shows that airships are the better method to putting people ...