Bad Astronomy: Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from Astrology to the Moon Landing "Hoax"
by:
Philip Plait (author)
Advance praise for Philip Plait s Bad Astronomy"Bad Astronomy is just plain good! Philip Plait clears up every misconception on astronomy and space you never knew you suffered from." --Stephen Maran, Author of Astronomy for Dummies and editor of The Astronomy and Astrophysics Encyclopedia"Thank...
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Advance praise for Philip Plait s Bad Astronomy"Bad Astronomy is just plain good! Philip Plait clears up every misconception on astronomy and space you never knew you suffered from." --Stephen Maran, Author of Astronomy for Dummies and editor of The Astronomy and Astrophysics Encyclopedia"Thank the cosmos for the bundle of star stuff named Philip Plait, who is the world s leading consumer advocate for quality science in space and on Earth. This important contribution to science will rest firmly on my reference library shelf, ready for easy access the next time an astrologer calls." --Dr. Michael Shermer, Publisher of Skeptic magazine, monthly columnist for Scientific American, and author of The Borderlands of Science"Philip Plait has given us a readable, erudite, informative, useful, and entertaining book. Bad Astronomy is Good Science. Very good science..." --James "The Amazing" Randi, President, James Randi Educational Foundation, and author of An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural"Bad Astronomy is a fun read. Plait is wonderfully witty and educational as he debunks the myths, legends, and 'conspiracies that abound in our society. 'The Truth Is Out There' and it's in this book. I loved it!" --Mike Mullane, Space Shuttle astronaut and author of Do Your Ears Pop in Space?
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Format: paperback
ISBN:
9780471409762 (0471409766)
Publish date: March 1st 2002
Publisher: Wiley
Pages no: 277
Edition language: English
Series: Wiley Bad Science Series
A good book for people like me who haven't studied astronomy in a very long time and could use a refresher. Nice job covering some very common questions and misconceptions. And a fair amount of time debunking non-science of the Young Earth or aliens-among-us or astrology fans. The only reason it t...
I don't think you really need to be an astronomer to realize that what people normal believe about the skies... Well, it doesn't necessarily match reality. To say the least. That's where Bad Astronomy comes in, to show exactly where we've gone wrong. The targets vary widely, from the simple fact tha...
This was a fun read. It taught me some stuff I didn't know, and clarified some concepts I only vaguely knew about. But in the end I think I prefer Plait's website. The stuff I really like--the debunking of movie "science"--was only a short chapter in the book, and there's much more of that at the bl...