Stargazer's Atlas: The Ultimate Guide To The Night Sky by National Geographic

(Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!)

 

about book: (summary from Goodreads)

Richly illustrated with luminous photographs and informative maps and graphics, this expansive book is the perfect guide for everyone discovering the wonders of the night sky, from those just learning the constellations to dedicated telescope observers.

Combining science, exploration, and storytelling, National Geographic Stargazer's Atlas invites readers to roam the night sky for constellations, planets and moons, eclipses, comets and meteor showers, auroras, and deep-sky treasures including nebulae and galaxies—many visible to the naked eye and all with binoculars or a backyard telescope.

Beginning with basic space science and including a complete set of night sky maps for all four seasons in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, this fascinating book guides the reader toward the most rewarding observations. A unique chapter on astrotourism highlights ancient observatories, dark-sky preserves, and other global destinations for the sky-seeking traveler; a final chapter details current and future space missions and what they might discover.

Richly illustrated with awe-inspiring imagery—including photos from space missions and telescopes, science-based artists’ interpretations, and explanatory graphics—the book also contains 170 maps and charts of planets, moons, and constellations, from Earth’s moon to moons of Saturn. Practical advice throughout helps readers see what they have been reading about, building key observational skills such as “star hopping” from easy-to-find stars to fainter deep-sky objects and focusing on “deep sky treasures:” areas rich in observable phenomena.

Approachable and authoritative, gorgeous and fascinating, National Geographic Stargazer's Atlas will intrigue all who love to gaze up in wonder at the night sky—and find themselves wanting to know more.

my thoughts:

Looking up at the stars and wondering about the cosmos - talk about a fascinating way to spend your night. I absolutely love the memories I have of looking up at the night sky and imagining what the stars looked like up close and the planets filled with the unknown. It was exciting, scary, and so much fun.  The vastness that is the sky mixed with the darkness that creates night - the planet rotating and moving at its own speed as we sleep and dream.  Talk about fascinating food for thought.  And so, when I was given the opportunity to read National Geographic's latest book, Stargazer's Atlas: The Ultimate Guide To The Night Sky, I immediately said "yes."   I was so excited when I got my copy and grabbed a cuppa so I could settle in and learn about comets, constellations, planets, and all the things that have kept my imagination running wild for years.

Chock full of photographs, graphics, tips, and information - this book is THE book to read if you want to learn about watching the night sky and what's in it. You can find out about what telescope to use and the various star patterns that make up the constellations. Its so interesting, you can't help but get lost in the pages of this book - learning so much about the beautiful night sky that mesmerizes us.  I found myself completely engaged in this book - it was so much fun to read. I loved it!

I would happily recommend Stargazer's Atlas to fans of National Geographic and to budding astronomers/fans of stargazing - you will LOVE this book to bits!!

Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

(Thank you to the publisher, HarperCollins, and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book for review!!)

about book:

The phenomenal true story of the black female mathematicians at NASA whose calculations helped fuel some of America’s greatest achievements in space. Soon to be a major motion picture starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kirsten Dunst, and Kevin Costner.

Before John Glenn orbited the earth, or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as “human computers” used pencils, slide rules and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space.

Among these problem-solvers were a group of exceptionally talented African American women, some of the brightest minds of their generation. Originally relegated to teaching math in the South’s segregated public schools, they were called into service during the labor shortages of World War II, when America’s aeronautics industry was in dire need of anyone who had the right stuff. Suddenly, these overlooked math whizzes had a shot at jobs worthy of their skills, and they answered Uncle Sam’s call, moving to Hampton, Virginia and the fascinating, high-energy world of the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory.

Even as Virginia’s Jim Crow laws required them to be segregated from their white counterparts, the women of Langley’s all-black “West Computing” group helped America achieve one of the things it desired most: a decisive victory over the Soviet Union in the Cold War, and complete domination of the heavens.

Starting in World War II and moving through to the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement and the Space Race, Hidden Figures follows the interwoven accounts of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson and Christine Darden, four African American women who participated in some of NASA’s greatest successes. It chronicles their careers over nearly three decades they faced challenges, forged alliances and used their intellect to change their own lives, and their country’s future.

my thoughts:

Wow! Talk about a MUST-READ!!  Hidden Figures is a history lesson for us all about the 'hidden figures' involved in Langley's research and work about Space aka reaching the heavens.  These 'hidden figures' are not just the super complex mathematical figures needed to create and improve airplanes and rockets, but they are also the human 'computers' who worked tirelessly and wholeheartedly on getting America into Space.  They are the Black women who worked at NACA/NASA and whose contributions helped in so many HUGE ways in aiding our country to succeed and dominate within the aeronautical world.  They are inspiring, intelligent, and unforgettable - the role models we want for children.  Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly's book tells the stories of four of these great women: Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson and Christine Darden. And let me just say, their stories are awe-inspiring!

Shettery's book, Hidden Figures, is a well written tome that is chock full of detailed and important historical information.  Its obvious the extensive and exhaustive research that Shetterly executed in order to gather so much fascinating information about these four extraordinary women.  This book is just so informative and interesting - I didn't want to put it down!  I will admit that while reading it, I couldn't help but imagine Taraji P. Henson as Katherine Johnson.  Why?  She's playing the mathematician in the film version of the book!  Yes, there's going to a be a movie and it looks great - I can't wait to see it!  I loved learning about these amazing women - they were so damn smart and capable.  They were hardworking in every which way - their families, their work, their communities and their country.  I was fascinated by their stories and the roles they played in American history - its just so awesome!  Not only do these women have to deal with being female in a predominately male academic arena, but they also have to endure the racist actions and speech of their fellow countrymen.  Its infuriating, horrifying, and simply awful.  And yet, these women persevered.  They refused to be limited in any way by anyone. They were confident and secure in their knowledge and knew that what they contributed at Langley was imperative to America's success in sending someone into outer Space.  These women knew that what they were creating was history, and so they worked harder and faster than anyone else to make sure their input was included, valued, and noted. It wasn't easy, by any means, but they wanted to achieve their goals and so they did.  These four women are the epitome of what brains and hard work can get you - success in family, career, and life.  I found them  to be awe-inspiring. 

Hidden Figures is an important book and I'm so glad to have read it.  I would happily recommend it to anyone and everyone interested in nonfiction books about American history, especially about NASA and women in Math and Science.  Hidden Figures is a must-read book!  Anyone would reads it will LOVE it.  Definitely check it out!!

Here's the link to the TLC Book Tour schedule for: Hidden Figures

Thank you to the publisher, HarperCollins, and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book for review!!