Bøker av Andrew May

Over 50 years ago, astronomers launched the world's first orbiting telescope. This allowed them to gaze further into outer space and examine anything that appears in the sky above our heads, from comets and planets to galaxy clusters and stars. Since then, almost 100 space telescopes have been launched from Earth and are orbiting our planet, with 26 still active and relaying information back to us.As a result of these space-based instruments, such as NASA's iconic Hubble Space Telescope, we know much more about the universe than we did half a century ago. But why is Hubble, orbiting just 540 kilometres above the Earth, so much more effective than a ground-based telescope? How can a glorified camera tell us not only what distant objects look like, but their detailed chemical composition and three-dimensional structure as well?

There is a huge gulf between the real physics of space travel and the way it is commonly portrayed in movies and TV shows. That¿s not because space physics is difficult or obscure ¿ most of the details were understood by the end of the 18th century ¿ but because it can often be bafflingly counter-intuitive for a general audience. The purpose of this book isn¿t to criticize or debunk popular sci-fi depictions, which can be very entertaining, but to focus on how space physics really works. This is done with the aid of numerous practical illustrations taken from the works of serious science fiction authors ¿ from Jules Verne and Arthur C. Clarke to Larry Niven and Andy Weir ¿ who have taken positive pleasure in getting their scientific facts right.

Dreams, schemes and opportunity as space opens for tourism and commerce.

Artist Ugo Catani's 'A Summer Shower in Collins Street, 1889' sets the scene for walking the streets of Melbourne, imagining the everyday past and seeing the urban landscape with new eyes. This award-winning book is a rich commentary on the growth and transformation of a great Australian city.

Is Earth reallydoomed to be destroyed by a cosmic catastrophe?

The first title in Icon's new Hot Science series, exploring the cutting edge of modern science.

People are used to seeing "fake physics" in science fiction - concepts like faster-than-light travel, antigravity and time travel to name a few.

The Cold War saw scientists in East and West racing to create amazing new technologies, the like of which the world had never seen. Yet not everyone was taken by surprise. From super-powerful atomic weapons to rockets and space travel, readers of science fiction (SF) had seen it all before. Sometimes reality lived up to the SF vision, at other times it didn't. The hydrogen bomb was as terrifyingly destructive as anything in fiction, while real-world lasers didn't come close to the promise of the classic SF ray gun. Nevertheless, when the scientific Cold War culminated in the Strategic Defence Initiative of the 1980s, it was so science-fictional in its aspirations that the media dubbed it "Star Wars". This entertaining account, offering a plethora of little known facts and insights from previously classified military projects, shows how the real-world science of the Cold War followed in the footsteps of SF - and how the two together changed our perception of both science and scientists, and paved the way to the world we live in today.

It tells you the best times to view the Moon, the most exciting sights to look out for, and the best equipment to use, allowing you to snap stunning photographs as well as view the sights with your own eyes.

This book follows Thomas Jones, the first Welsh missionary from rural Wales to Cherrapunji, now one of the most Christianised parts of India. It foregrounds broader political, scientific, racial and military ideologies that mobilised the Khasi Hills into an interconnected network of imperial control. -- .