Nearest Star: The Surprising Science of our Sun

I have just begun to read this book but find it very good indeed. It goes into great scientific detail and would be very valuable to anyone interested in learning about our nearest star from the scientific standpoint.

A very interesting read highly recommend

A good product

An excellent summary of what we know--and have yet to learn--about our favorite star!

Nice overview on the Sun. Provides an advanced layman’s view.

Physics made intelligible

In the excitement of modern cosmology - when we can see back almost to the Big Bang itself, when we are discovering exoplanets with the capacity to sustain life, when mankind has just taken its first tentative robotic steps beyond the solar system - it can be easy to forget how much there still is to learn about the objects closer to hand. In this book, the authors set out to explain what we know, and what we don't, about our own star, the Sun, and about its effects on us in the past, present and future. Originally published in 2001, this 2014 edition has been fully updated to take account of the most current knowledge on the subject. The book is presented as a series of eight chapters, each looking at a separate aspect of the science of the Sun. The first three chapters provide a general introduction to the Sun, explaining its origins and impact on the development of life here on Earth. The authors don't just tell us what we know, however; they also tell us how we know it, showing how the science has gradually developed from naked eye observations through to the hugely sophisticated and complex space observatories we have become almost blasé about today. This is quite a technical book in parts, so there's a lot of information on how these machines are built and controlled, even down to the size of lenses and lengths of exposures in the photography of the Sun. The fourth chapter takes us one step further, explaining the development of scientific methods to allow us to 'see' those things beyond our visual capacity and 'look' inside the Sun. The four remaining chapters each look in depth at a separate subject: eclipses, space missions, the effects of the Sun on Earth climate, and space weather. As is often the case with scientific books, the authors' desire to inspire enthusiasm for their subject comes through very clearly in these chapters. As well as describing the complexities of cutting edge solar physics, they take the time to describe, for example, how an amateur photographer should go about getting the best photos of an eclipse with standard equipment. Solar winds, auroras, carbon-dating, even how winds are affected by the Sun, influencing trade routes throughout history - all of these diverse subjects and more find a place in here. And in the chapter on Earth climate, they explain some of the science that allows scientists to differentiate between the natural effects of solar cycles and the actions of mankind on the current trend of global warming. Popular science books have to tread a fine line between being so simplified that they irritate anyone with any level of scientific education or being so 'sciency' that they lose the novice completely. This book steps over that line several times in the direction of too sciency for this uneducated reader. While the authors carefully avoid bringing in too many mathematical formulae etc., they do use fairly technical language a lot of the time and though they are very good at explaining a technical term on first usage, they then assume the reader will remember that concept chapters later. I don't know about other casual science readers but I really don't take in scientific concepts that easily and found that more and more I was having to backtrack or go to the (very useful) glossary of terms at the back - or, being something of a lazy reader, beginning to skip the passages that would have required too much work. That's not a fault of the book - I would not for one moment suggest that all science books should be written simplistically enough for the novice. But I would say that this book is probably more suited to someone with an existing familiarity with physics to at least high school standards. I was a little hampered by the fact that in the ARC copy I was given to review many of the graphs were not included - I would think they would probably have been very helpful in clarifying some of the more complex stuff. Having said all that, despite getting lost along the way a few times, I learned a lot from the book and on the whole found it an enjoyable and very informative read. So highly recommended to anyone with a reasonable basic knowledge of physics or to anyone who, like me, is happy to skim through the more difficult bits and enjoy the rest. 4½ stars for me, so rounded up. NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Cambridge University Press.

XXXXX "This book explores the Sun [our nearest star] in a comprehensive way for the non-scientific reader who wants to gain a general idea of the range and significance of solar physics. We explain: [1] What is known about the Sun and how this knowledge is [obtained] [2] Discuss the origins of the Sun's light and heat, and [3] Explore how the Sun evolved and what it will become We pay special attention to cutting-edge research on the Sun's outer atmosphere (the part we can see) and the effects of this atmosphere on the Earth and the space around the Earth." The above comes from this fascinating updated book by Leon Golub and Jay Pasachoff. Golub is a Senior Astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (in Cambridge, Massachusetts), and has been studying the Sun and solar-type stars for the past forty years. He has been involved for the past thirty years in building and flying space instrumentation. Golub is also Chair of the Solar Physics Division of the American Astronomical Society. Pasachoff is Professor of Astronomy at Williams College (in Williamstown, Massachusetts). He has been all over the world to study the Sun. Pasachoff has received major awards from the American and French Astronomical Societies. He is an honorary member of the Canadian Royal Astronomical Society. Pasachoff's undergraduate astronomy textbooks have been widely used. This book is extremely well-written and uses, for the most part, non-technical language. As with all books of this type, it helps to have some science background but this is not absolutely necessary. The first three chapters are similar to what is found in any standard astronomy book but with up-to-date information and with emphasis on the subjects to be discussed in the remaining five chapters. The chapters can be read in any order, as they are self-contained. Having observed the Sun using both ground-based and space-borne instruments, the authors bring their extensive personal experience to this scientific story revealing what has been discovered about solar phenomena ranging from eclipses to neutrinos, formation of the elements, nuclear fusion, nuclear burning, space weather, and even global warming. (Co-author Pasachoff is a veteran of over 55 solar eclipse expeditions.) This book features actual results from the current spacecraft that are now analysing the Sun, especially NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory or SDO. (Co-author Golub designed some of the SDO's telescopes.) Worried that you won't understand all of the scientific words in this book? Don't worry! There is, what I call, a "Solar Glossary" to help you. (It definitely helped me.) Finally, I counted over 85 black and white photographs (including graphs and diagrams) in this book. As well, there are over 15 colour photographs. My favourite colour photo is a full disc image of the Sun taken on Jan. 2013. In conclusion, this is an important book that explains the science behind the space entity responsible of all life on our beautiful planet--our nearest star, the SUN. I leave you with this book's final words: "What is new today is that our planet's fate, as well as our ability to prosper as a human community is not only tied to the Sun, but to our understanding of the Sun." (Second edition published 2014; preamble & authors' biography page; preface; acknowledgements; 8 chapters; main narrative 270 pages; 3 appendices including glossary; photo credits; bibliography; index) <<Stephen PLETKO, London, Ontario, Canada>> XXXXX

I thought this was a very good and informative book. However, the units are very muddled in that they are sometimes given in imperial and at other places in metric. Degrees are sometimes F, C or K but sometimes as just degrees which is confusing.

Like it says in the title, this book is full of surprises. Not the least is the ease of reading in this well illustrated and enjoyable book. As science books go, this is far from dense and continually engaging publication. Despite being a bit out of date (it's a fast moving field, after all) it doesn't feel dated and us a good introduction to solar astronomy for the amateur and serioys student alike.

Excellent read! Full of mind blowing information about our nearest star. Changes the way you look at the Sun and all of the stuff we are made of. Really fascinating and well presented book.

I have just begun to read this book but find it very good indeed. It goes into great scientific detail and would be very valuable to anyone interested in learning about our nearest star from the scientific standpoint.

An excellent summary of what we know--and have yet to learn--about our favorite star!

Nice overview on the Sun. Provides an advanced layman’s view.

In the excitement of modern cosmology - when we can see back almost to the Big Bang itself, when we are discovering exoplanets with the capacity to sustain life, when mankind has just taken its first tentative robotic steps beyond the solar system - it can be easy to forget how much there still is to learn about the objects closer to hand. In this book, the authors set out to explain what we know, and what we don't, about our own star, the Sun, and about its effects on us in the past, present and future. Originally published in 2001, this 2014 edition has been fully updated to take account of the most current knowledge on the subject. The book is presented as a series of eight chapters, each looking at a separate aspect of the science of the Sun.The first three chapters provide a general introduction to the Sun, explaining its origins and impact on the development of life here on Earth. The authors don't just tell us what we know, however; they also tell us how we know it, showing how the science has gradually developed from naked eye observations through to the hugely sophisticated and complex space observatories we have become almost blasé about today. This is quite a technical book in parts, so there's a lot of information on how these machines are built and controlled, even down to the size of lenses and lengths of exposures in the photography of the Sun. The fourth chapter takes us one step further, explaining the development of scientific methods to allow us to 'see' those things beyond our visual capacity and 'look' inside the Sun.The four remaining chapters each look in depth at a separate subject: eclipses, space missions, the effects of the Sun on Earth climate, and space weather. As is often the case with scientific books, the authors' desire to inspire enthusiasm for their subject comes through very clearly in these chapters. As well as describing the complexities of cutting edge solar physics, they take the time to describe, for example, how an amateur photographer should go about getting the best photos of an eclipse with standard equipment. Solar winds, auroras, carbon-dating, even how winds are affected by the Sun, influencing trade routes throughout history - all of these diverse subjects and more find a place in here. And in the chapter on Earth climate, they explain some of the science that allows scientists to differentiate between the natural effects of solar cycles and the actions of mankind on the current trend of global warming.Popular science books have to tread a fine line between being so simplified that they irritate anyone with any level of scientific education or being so 'sciency' that they lose the novice completely. This book steps over that line several times in the direction of too sciency for this uneducated reader. While the authors carefully avoid bringing in too many mathematical formulae etc., they do use fairly technical language a lot of the time and though they are very good at explaining a technical term on first usage, they then assume the reader will remember that concept chapters later. I don't know about other casual science readers but I really don't take in scientific concepts that easily and found that more and more I was having to backtrack or go to the (very useful) glossary of terms at the back - or, being something of a lazy reader, beginning to skip the passages that would have required too much work. That's not a fault of the book - I would not for one moment suggest that all science books should be written simplistically enough for the novice. But I would say that this book is probably more suited to someone with an existing familiarity with physics to at least high school standards. I was a little hampered by the fact that in the ARC copy I was given to review many of the graphs were not included - I would think they would probably have been very helpful in clarifying some of the more complex stuff.Having said all that, despite getting lost along the way a few times, I learned a lot from the book and on the whole found it an enjoyable and very informative read. So highly recommended to anyone with a reasonable basic knowledge of physics or to anyone who, like me, is happy to skim through the more difficult bits and enjoy the rest. 4½ stars for me, so rounded up.NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Cambridge University Press.

XXXXX"This book explores the Sun [our nearest star] in a comprehensive way for the non-scientific reader who wants to gain a general idea of the range and significance of solar physics.We explain:[1] What is known about the Sun and how this knowledge is [obtained][2] Discuss the origins of the Sun's light and heat, and[3] Explore how the Sun evolved and what it will becomeWe pay special attention to cutting-edge research on the Sun's outer atmosphere (the part we can see) and the effects of this atmosphere on the Earth and the space around the Earth."The above comes from this fascinating updated book by Leon Golub and Jay Pasachoff.Golub is a Senior Astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (in Cambridge, Massachusetts), and has been studying the Sun and solar-type stars for the past forty years. He has been involved for the past thirty years in building and flying space instrumentation. Golub is also Chair of the Solar Physics Division of the American Astronomical Society.Pasachoff is Professor of Astronomy at Williams College (in Williamstown, Massachusetts). He has been all over the world to study the Sun. Pasachoff has received major awards from the American and French Astronomical Societies. He is an honorary member of the Canadian Royal Astronomical Society. Pasachoff's undergraduate astronomy textbooks have been widely used.This book is extremely well-written and uses, for the most part, non-technical language. As with all books of this type, it helps to have some science background but this is not absolutely necessary.The first three chapters are similar to what is found in any standard astronomy book but with up-to-date information and with emphasis on the subjects to be discussed in the remaining five chapters. The chapters can be read in any order, as they are self-contained.Having observed the Sun using both ground-based and space-borne instruments, the authors bring their extensive personal experience to this scientific story revealing what has been discovered about solar phenomena ranging from eclipses to neutrinos, formation of the elements, nuclear fusion, nuclear burning, space weather, and even global warming. (Co-author Pasachoff is a veteran of over 55 solar eclipse expeditions.)This book features actual results from the current spacecraft that are now analysing the Sun, especially NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory or SDO. (Co-author Golub designed some of the SDO's telescopes.)Worried that you won't understand all of the scientific words in this book? Don't worry! There is, what I call, a "Solar Glossary" to help you. (It definitely helped me.)Finally, I counted over 85 black and white photographs (including graphs and diagrams) in this book. As well, there are over 15 colour photographs. My favourite colour photo is a full disc image of the Sun taken on Jan. 2013.In conclusion, this is an important book that explains the science behind the space entity responsible of all life on our beautiful planet--our nearest star, the SUN. I leave you with this book's final words:"What is new today is that our planet's fate, as well as our ability to prosper as a human community is not only tied to the Sun, but to our understanding of the Sun."(Second edition published 2014; preamble & authors' biography page; preface; acknowledgements; 8 chapters; main narrative 270 pages; 3 appendices including glossary; photo credits; bibliography; index)<<Stephen PLETKO, London, Ontario, Canada>>XXXXX

Like it says in the title, this book is full of surprises. Not the least is the ease of reading in this well illustrated and enjoyable book. As science books go, this is far from dense and continually engaging publication. Despite being a bit out of date (it's a fast moving field, after all) it doesn't feel dated and us a good introduction to solar astronomy for the amateur and serioys student alike.

I thought this was a very good and informative book. However, the units are very muddled in that they are sometimes given in imperial and at other places in metric. Degrees are sometimes F, C or K but sometimes as just degrees which is confusing.

Excellent read! Full of mind blowing information about our nearest star. Changes the way you look at the Sun and all of the stuff we are made of. Really fascinating and well presented book.

A very interesting read highly recommend