Skywatchers, Shamans & Kings

Skywatchers, Shamans & Kings

Author: E.C. Krupp

Publisher: Turner Publishing Company

Published: 1999-02-26

Total Pages: 580

ISBN-13: 1620456052

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Discover the celestial myths and cosmic rituals of ancient priests and kings . . . Drawing on intimate knowledge of the more than 1,300 ancient sites he has visited, E. C. Krupp, acclaimed writer and preeminent researcher, takes you to the world's essential sacred places and celestial shrines. Join him on a rich narrative journey to see where the rulers of old communed with the gods of the sky. "Highly recommended to everyone interested in the culture of astronomy and those peoples who practiced it in their own ways."-Sky & Telescope "A lively account of the ways in which our ancestors conceived of and used the heavens."-New Scientist "There can be no doubt that this imaginative and readable work by a widely read and widely traveled author will strike a chord in the minds of a great many modern readers."-Isis "The fact that the book is written by an expert in his field comes through on every page, as does his enthusiasm for the subject."-Astronomy Now "Krupp's indispensable volume is fascinating, well-illustrated, and covers much territory."-Parabola


Contact with Alien Civilizations

Contact with Alien Civilizations

Author: Michael Michaud

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2010-05-05

Total Pages: 472

ISBN-13: 0387686185

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This book describes a wide variety of speculations by many authors about the consequences for humanity of coming into contact with extraterrestrial intelligence. The assumptions underlying those speculations are examined, and some conclusions are drawn. The book emphasizes the consequences of contact rather than the search, and takes account of popular views. As necessary background, the book also includes brief summaries of the history of thinking about extraterrestrial intelligence, searches for life and for signals, contrasting paradigms of how contact might take place, and the paradox that those paradigms allegedly create.


The Cosmos

The Cosmos

Author: Jay M. Pasachoff

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2013-08-12

Total Pages: 629

ISBN-13: 1107276950

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An exciting introduction to astronomy, the fourth edition of this book uses recent discoveries and stunning photography to inspire non-science majors about the Universe. Written by two highly experienced and engaging instructors, each chapter has been fully updated, with more than 200 new images throughout, including recent images from space missions and the world's best observatories. The newly redesigned text is organized as a series of stories, each presenting the history of the field, the observations made and how they fit within the process of science, our current understanding and what future observations are planned. Math is provided in boxes and easily read around, making the book suitable for courses taking either mathematical or qualitative approaches. New discussion questions encourage students to think widely about astronomy and the role science plays in our everyday lives and podcasts for each chapter aid studying and comprehension.


Advancing Variable Star Astronomy

Advancing Variable Star Astronomy

Author: Thomas R. Williams

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2011-05-26

Total Pages: 449

ISBN-13: 1139496344

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Founded in 1911, the AAVSO boasts over 1200 members and observers and is the world's largest non-profit organization dedicated to variable star observation. This timely book marks the AAVSO's centennial year, presenting an authoritative and accurate history of this important association. Writing in an engaging and accessible style, the authors move chronologically through five eras of the AAVSO, discussing the evolution of its structure and purpose. Throughout the text, the main focus is on the thousands of individuals whose contributions have made the AAVSO's progress possible. Describing a century of interaction between amateur and professional astronomers, the authors celebrate the collaborative relationships that have existed over the years. As the definitive history of the first hundred years of the AAVSO, this text has broad appeal and will be of interest to amateur and professional astronomers, as well as historians and sociologists of science in general.


The Egypt Code

The Egypt Code

Author: Robert Bauval

Publisher: Red Wheel Weiser

Published: 2007-10-01

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 1934708216

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Why did the ancients align their monuments so precisely with the stars? What were the practical and symbolic reasons behind these mysterious configurations? From the author of The Orion Mystery, the best-selling book that introduced the revolutionary star-correlation theory about the Giza pyramids, The Egypt Code reveals an amazing Grand Unified Plan behind the legendary temples of upper Egypt. Robert Bauval, one of the world’s most prominent and controversial Egyptologists, completes his groundbreaking investigation of astronomy as related to Egyptian monuments and related religious texts. The Egypt Code revisits the Pyramid Age and the Old Kingdom, proposing a vast sky-ground correlation for the Memphite-Heliopolis region, and presenting the possibility of a grand plan spanning three thousand years of Pharaonic civilization and involving pyramids and major temple sites along the Nile. The central idea of the book is that the cosmic order, which the ancients referred to as "Maat," was comprised of the observable cycles of the sun and stars, in particular the star Sirius, and that the changes that took place due to the precession of the equinoxes and the so-called Sothic Cycle are reflected in the orientation and location of religious sites.