2017 GUIDE to the NIGHT SKY a Month-By-Month Guide to Exploring the Skies Above North America Storm Dunlop and Wil Tirion

ASTRONOMY 2017 GUIDE TO THE NIGHT SKY A Month-by-month Guide to Exploring the Skies Above North America Storm Dunlop and Wil Tirion The ideal resource for all sky events in 2017, including the full solar eclipse. On August 21, 2017, North Americans will have the opportunity to witness a momentous sky event. A total eclipse of the Sun will be visible from within a narrow corridor that traverses the United States. The path of the Moon’s umbral shadow will begin in the northern Pacic and cross the USA from west to east from Oregon to South Carolina. The Moon’s penumbral shadow will produce a partial eclipse visible from most of North America. In fact, the 2017 full eclipse is such an important sky event that sky watchers in Europe are already planning trips to view it. 2017 Guide to the Night Sky provides all of the information needed to view this exciting eclipse and track its path. The time zones and transit of the eclipse will be noted inside the book’s jacket for quick and easy reference. The night sky makes for exciting viewing any time of the year, and 2017 Guide to the Night Sky is the ideal guide to help amateur astronomers nd their way for the entire 12 months. With monthly charts and other diagrams set for a latitude of 40°N, it shows how the visible stars change from month to month and includes the many sky events that FIREFLY BOOKS 96 pages occur throughout the year. It is highly practical for beginning sky gazers 5¾ × 8¼ 978-1-77085-779-7 because the objects and events may be observed with the naked eye, paperback $14.95 color sky maps, tables, or nothing more complicated than a pair of binoculars. Ctn qty: and charts The month-by-month guides include sky activity charts and moon OCTOBER Rights: U.S. & Canada calendars; meteors (with dates of showers, including hourly rate of radiants); the Planets; ecliptic charts; diagrams of interesting events; plus sky and constellation maps throughout. An appendix includes a full glossary; the Greek Alphabet; the Also available: 978-1-77085-870-1 constellation genitives, abbreviations and English names; a table of 10-copy counterpack common asterisms; further information; recommended astronomy $149.50 journals, societies, institutions and organizations; software, and internet Ctn qty: sources. Especially useful for beginning sky watchers, this guide will be fully updated to 2017. Its small and light format makes it the ideal portable reference for backyard astronomers. Storm Dunlop is an author and translator, working mainly on material in the physical sciences and technology. Wil Tirion has been an uranographer (star-map maker) since 1977. His rst star maps were published by the British Astronomical Association, and he has since contributed maps to numerous books and atlases. He is a recipient of the Dr. J. van der Bilt Prize awarded to weather and astronomy amateurs and in 1993 the International Astronomical Union named an asteroid after him. FIREFLY BOOKS FALL 2016 1 ASTRONOMY BACK IN PRINT HUBBLE’S UNIVERSE Greatest Discoveries and Latest Images Terence Dickinson Praise for the rst edition: “Superbly well-produced. Any engagement with this ‘cosmic portfolio,’ from picture gazing to deep reading, is grandly rewarded.” — Booklist “The book’s precise descriptions and captions brilliantly complement the nearly 300 full-color Hubble images.... this is an amazing book.... Outstanding.” — Library Journal “A treasure map to the majesty of our universe.” — Publishers Weekly “A reminder that the nest telescope in space might also be the greatest camera ever created.” FIREFLY BOOKS 300 pages — Wall Street Journal 10 × 10 978-1-77085-433-8 over 300 color plastic-laminated The Hubble Space Telescope is now at the apex of its imaging photographs, resources, hardcover $29.95 capabilities yet until the publication of Hubble’s Universe, no other index Ctn qty: 10 popular book had presented the latest pictures taken by the new Wide Field Camera 3. For his most recent book, Terence Dickinson selected Rights: World AVAILABLE a breathtaking portfolio of Hubble pictures from a library of more than 700,000 images. Thanks to Dickinson’s familiarity with Hubble’s history and discoveries and his access to top Hubble scientists for insight and accuracy, the text includes facts and tidbits not found in any other book. Combined with more than 300 brilliant images, the clear, succinct and illuminating narrative brings to life the fascinating forces at work in the universe. Terence Dickinson is the author of 14 astronomy books, including the international bestseller NightWatch and The Backyard Astronomer’s Guide. 2 FIREFLY BOOKS FALL 2016 ASTRONOMY BACK IN PRINT AND UPDATED KENNEDY SPACE CENTER Gateway to Space David West Reynolds Praise for the hardcover edition: ★ “Extremely practical and enjoyable.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) “[Will be] devoured by history or space enthusiasts from eight to eighty.” — VOYA “The foreword grabbed me, and by the prologue I was hooked.” — The Science Teacher NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center set the stage for the American adventure into space and went on to host a succession of rocket launches that have helped to form our understanding of the nature of the universe. The Kennedy Space Center is a major tourist attraction in Florida, FIREFLY BOOKS 248 pages but most of its doors remain locked to the public. This abundantly 9 × 11 illustrated book is an insider’s history of the heart of America’s space 978-1-55407-643-7 program, including detailed information on: paperback $24.95 over 150 color and Ctn qty: 10 black-and-white images, further reading, • The earliest development of rockets in the United States and Germany AUGUST bibliography, up-to-date web references, index • The development of rockets and their launch facilities • The missile race and the U.S.-Soviet rivalry to be rst in space Rights: World • The great Apollo program and the race to the moon • The shuttle program, the Space Station and the Hubble Telescope • The future of space exploration. Kennedy Space Center is clearly written, meticulously researched and packed with more than 150 spectacular images — the one and only complete history of this important site. David West Reynolds is the author of 10 books, and combined they have sold over two million copies in nine languages. He has a PhD from the University of Michigan and is an expert in space exploration and its history. He has made numerous television appearances and his writings, diagrams, illustrations and photographs have appeared in scientic journals, books, magazines and other publications, including National Geographic’s best-selling Epic Rivalry: The Inside Story of the Soviet and American Space Race. He is also the author of Apollo: The Epic Journey to the Moon, 1963-1972 and many Star Wars titles. FIREFLY BOOKS FALL 2016 3 NATURE WATER Exploring the Blue Planet Markus Eisl, Gerald Mansberger, Paul Schreilechner Remarkable satellite photographs show where water is — or isn’t — and how we are using it. Water is in crisis. We are in crisis. All life depends on water and we are running out of it, but where exactly is the water and where is it going? This book provides new insight into the world of water and contributes to a wider understanding of the current predicament. Water: Exploring the Blue Planet is essentially a map of water. It features astonishingly detailed photographs that reveal the watery health of the Blue Planet. Readers are taken aboard satellites circling the Earth from where the most technologically advanced cameras and remote sensors capture what lies below. The photographs are accompanied by descriptions and organized in thematic chapters. Water reveals the damage wrought by nature — cyclones, volcanoes, oods — and the destruction wrought by humans — vanishing reservoirs, receding glaciers, melting ice sheets. And what of our attempts to control water? How do the hydropower dams, shore stabilization structures and desert oases we build affect the FIREFLY BOOKS 304 pages movement and availability of water? How does our insatiable thirst 9¼ × 11¾ 978-1-77085-813-8 and recklessness cause poisonous salination, desertication and the plastic-laminated more than 150 full color disappearance of seas, lakes, reservoirs, islands and shorelines? hardcover with jacket photographs $49.95 In the text and captions, the expert authors explain current knowledge Rights: World English Ctn qty: of life’s essential element, from the biodiversity of the oceans to the inestimable value of drinking water. Readers can follow the tracings OCTOBER of Earth’s most important resource as it travels around the globe, and acquire a new and deeper understanding of the water crisis. They will also marvel at the utter beauty of Earth. 4 FIREFLY BOOKS FALL 2016 NATURE The photographs in Water are produced by the highest caliber satellite and remote-sensor imagery that current technology allows. The observation-based data covers 1.5 billion square miles (4 billion sq. km) and comprises a real-time map of the world’s water. These maps are used to support decision-makers in areas such as public safety, environmental monitoring, oil and gas exploration, and infrastructure management. At the exceptional price of just $49.95, this important book is an essential purchase for academic collections (especially earth sciences, hydrology, environment, ecology, sustainability, economic development, cartography and remote sensing), for public libraries seeking an up-to- date reference, and for interested general readers. Markus Eisl is a physicist and remote sensing expert. Fascinated by the combination of technology and aesthetics, he has been an analyst of Earth-surface imagery since 1995. Gerald Mansberger studied at Vienna University’s Institute of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, one of the leading research groups in radar remote sensing for soil moisture retrieval and monitoring of other land-surface hydrologic processes.

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