97 books like Transit of Venus

I found this book compelling because Noon and De Napoli, both Indigenous astronomers, combine their Western scientific knowledge with First Nations cultural knowledge. I was particularly moved by reading about their different but connected personal journeys. Despite prejudice and disadvantage, each was determined to pursue tertiary education and careers in Western astronomy and maintain and communicate the sky knowledge systems of Aboriginal communities.  They unite in presenting astronomy as land and sky together in one cosmology. 

I liked this book because it felt very personal. The occasional, justified critique of Australian society and historical events makes it authentic. I often paused to absorb and reflect. This is part of a six-book series called First Knowledges, and I plan to read the other five.

I loved the way this book brings together historical eclipses, art, mythology, theory, mathematics, religious beliefs, science, and personal reflections on solar eclipses. In particular, I enjoyed learning a bit more about well-known historic eclipse events and technologies. Still, there were some surprises, such as rituals performed by the kings of Assyria after an eclipse. 

I enjoyed looking carefully at the spectacular artworks and photographs of eclipses throughout this book. The chapters on animal behavior and the impact of eclipses on weather completed the way this book reflects my immersive experience of total solar eclipses. Finally, I was touched by the emotional aspect of this book, which included the personal reflections of contemporary eclipse chaser Mike Frost. This was the last work of contributor and well-known eclipse scientist Jay Pasachoff and co-author Tom McLeish, who sadly passed away before publication and I felt fortunate to have their words on paper… show more.

This book makes me feel like I am discovering the clues that will lead to solving some of the big questions of our existence. Fred Watson is very good at explaining mind-blowing cosmic science, and I enjoyed his wit and sense of humor. 

This book is about the resilience of our planet Earth. It discusses the science behind cosmic phenomena and explains new technology and applied physics. It made me feel that all may not be lost due to our environmental destruction. My favorite section is about the research contributions made around the globe by citizen scientists and amateur astronomers and the challenges posed by the advent of space tourism.

As I read this book of 37 individual stories, I felt so pleased that these leading astronomers, all women, had taken the time to write and publish their stories about the obstacles they had faced in scientific research and recognition due to gender prejudice. It was tough but compelling to read out the only woman in a physics class having belittling names called out to her as she entered the room and men who took credit for women’s work.

In the late 18th century, European scientists claimed that “the sciences were never at war,” using as an example the international Transit of Venus voyages that took place during the height of the Seven Years’ War.

Even though the two opposing sides–France and Britain–were engaged in one of the bloodiest conflicts of that century, scientists from those two nations, as well as many allied nations on both sides, traveled vast distances across the globe (including Tahiti, South Africa, and Siberia) to witness the two Transits of Venus, 1761 and 1769.

Facing not just war but also fierce cold, disease, and the perils of ocean navigation (see Longitude above), the astronomers combined their observations to give mankind its first glimpse of the enormous scale of our solar system.      

In this masterpiece, we follow two sisters from post-World War Two onward through love, betrayal, marriages, and widowhood. She manages to cover a good part of adult female experiences as lovers and wives and beyond. But truly, this is a book worth reading and re-reading because with every new pass, you’ll find something new to marvel at. The twists and turns of the plot are subtle…this is sentence by sentence prose amazingness. The book was published in the 1980s but it feels edgy and modern in its way of slipping into the minds of the two sisters as they make their way through the challenges of their lives. Somehow Shirley Hazzard manages to inject a dark story with so much humor. It’s one of those laughing and crying at the same time reads. And once you’ve read it, we can discuss!

Julian Evans takes us on a personal tour through the islands of the South Pacific, a region for which I have my own fondness. As well as places I know and love such as Tonga and Vanuatu, Evans visits harder to reach places: The Marshall islands and the Gilbert and Ellis group. Encountering natives, visitors, political and geographical challenges, his story is told with good humour and adventure.

This is a great book to start your little ones on their very first space adventure. Tish Rabe takes the Dr. Seuss’s Cat in the Hat character on a journey to teach children about the planets, the moon, and the sun. But it doesn’t stop there! The book also touches on famous constellations, the moon landing, and lots of cool and wacky facts about the solar system. Neptune’s bright blue color and Saturn’s incredible lightness are just a few of the fun snippets of space knowledge scattered throughout the book. Wonderful illustrations combined with whimsical prose will keep young readers turning the pages. 

“But there’s a lot to discover, and it might be you who looks up in the sky and finds something that’s new!”

The Greeks imagined a whole menagerie of animals in the stars, but the constellations can sometimes be difficult to figure out. National Geographic’s Zoo in the Sky changes all that. It lines up the stars with Christina Balit’s vibrant artwork, bringing the Great Bear, the Great Dog and the other animal constellations to life. It’s a gorgeous way to learn and enjoy the stars for both young and old readers alike.

While in the 1960s Carl Sagan and Frank Drake, based on a simple equation (“Drake’s equation”) concluded that intelligent life is abundant in the Galaxy, with as many as a million such civilizations with which we might be able to communicate, the thesis of this book is that intelligent life is exceedingly rare in the Universe.

The authors do not argue that life itself is rare. Their thesis is that simple life, such as single-celled organisms like bacteria, may have developed on billions of planets in the Galaxy. But that, on the other hand, animal life on land (multicellular creatures, able to move around) is exceedingly rare. And that these animals developing intelligence is still very much rarer.

The arguments which the authors put forward are based on what we know from the history of life on Earth in connection with the very special position of Earth in our planetary… show more.