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GETTING ACQUAINTED WITH COMETS by Dr. Robert S. Richardson

GETTING ACQUAINTED WITH COMETS

By

Publisher: McGraw-Hill

Eyes focused on space by interest in satellites and moon probes have stimulated interest in natural heavenly bodies. This book provides satisfaction in information about comets, those apparent vagabonds and doom-bringers of the skies. Written by a respected astronomer and college text book author, the book provides a good and highly interesting introduction to just about every aspect of comets which the casually interested adult or the dedicated young astronomer would find valuable. Where to find comets, when to look for them, what they are made of, and how we know, are among the host of questions considered by the author. Even the question of what would happen if a comet and the earth were on a collision course is considered. The experiences of people like E.E. Barnard, who paid off his mortgage with money earned from comet sightings, and Masaji Nagata, a farmer who discovered a comet now named for him, provide a brief glimpse into the world of the comet watcher. This book is highly accurate technically but does lapse occasionally into the world of the comet watcher. Too often, an interesting idea is spun out until one finds that the thread of thought leads to an unsatisfactory, incomplete end.