IN THE SHOPS: BOOKS

Pick your next read from this excellent space-themed selection

The Human Cosmos: A Secret History of the Stars

Cost: £16.99 / $20

From: Canongate Books

1 Prepare for a cosmic view of our place in universal history with this enlightening volume where celestial cycles permeate our Earthly lives. Jo Marchant’s book delves into our centuries-old relationship with the stars that shaped our personalities, religious beliefs, power structures, scientific advances and even our biology. Over the last few centuries, we seem to have distanced ourselves from the universe that surrounds us, and that’s the topic she focuses on here. Marchant guides readers on a tour through the history of humanity’s relationship with the heavens and the cost of our separation from its influence. From the Hall of Bulls in Lascaux to a visit with Medieval monks grappling with the nature of time and native Tahitian sailors navigating by the stars, it’s a re-examination of the potential of the universe we inhabit, its wonder and its effect on our health.

Constellations: The Story of Space Told Through the 88 Known Star Patterns in the Night Sky

Cost: £25 / $29.99 From: Black Dog & Leventhal

2 This lavishly adorned guide to all 88 constellations in the night sky, complete with an illustrated star map for each one by esteemed uranographer Wil Tirion, provides the exact location of every constellation, the details of its structure and data on its surrounding astronomical neighbours. Award-winning astronomy writer Govert Schilling takes us on this splendid visual tour, offering a complete history of astronomy via the lens of the constellations themselves. Organised alphabetically, his stargazing companion profiles each shining formation and includes basic information such as size, visibility and number of stars, as well as information on the discovery and official naming of the constellations and the myths and legends surrounding them.

Missions to Mars: A New Era of Rover and Spacecraft Discovery on the Red Planet

Cost: £25 / $35

From: HarperCollins

3 With all the recent attention paid to the Red Planet, it’s nice to see a book detailing all the excursions humankind has made to our ruddy-coloured neighbour. This insider account of NASA’s most important missions to Mars is injected with fullcolour photographs and satellite imagery chronicling our voyage of discovery and the search for evidence of organic life on the planet. Author Larry Crumpler is one of the long-term planning leads for the Mars Exploration Rover project, where he assisted in the daily communications between NASA and the rovers crawling around the planet to collect scientific data. In this informative planetary biography, Crumpler recounts the history of the Red Planet from ancient times to pioneering discoveries being revealed by modern technology, including some of the first images from the Perseverance rover.

Stars and Planets

Cost: £19.99 / $22.95 From: HarperCollins

4Here’s an indispensable book for those of us who venture out in the early hours of the morning to catch a glimpse of a rising planet or shimmering star. In this updated and expanded edition of their classic compendium, Ian Ridpath and Wil Tirion offer stargazers and astronomers the most informative, comprehensive and authoritative celestial field guide available. It’s the work of a 30-year collaboration between one of the world’s leading astronomy experts and the planet’s foremost celestial mapmaker and spotlights vivid colour sky charts, diagrams and photographs with clear writing, an attractive design and an easy-to-carry compact size. It includes the latest on stars, a revised chapter on recent research on exoplanets, revised charts, new photographs covering all 88 constellations in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and detailed Moon maps. It even has top tips on choosing and using binoculars and telescopes.

The Mysteries of the Universe

Cost: £20 / $21.99 From: Dorling Kindersley

5This beautifully illustrated and alluring volume is aimed at younger minds interested in astronomy and the universe. Within this guide’s pages, children can encounter strange planets, distant stars and elaborate galaxies. From asteroids and comets to black holes, each page of this entertaining book reveals the secrets behind more than 100 celestial objects. Your little astronauts can embark on a journey out into the far reaches of the universe courtesy of storybook-style descriptions and simple text that delivers cool facts, myths and key discoveries in a fun way. Its 224 pages are arranged to present heavenly objects from the closest to Earth to those farthest away, all matched with colourful, out-of-this-world pictures. It’s a book ideal for an educational astronomy-style bedtime.

The Astrophotography Manual

Cost: £46.99 / $63.99

From: Taylor & Francis

6 Drop down the celestial rabbit hole with this revised second edition of The Astrophotography Manual, perfect for photographers ready to leap beyond standard SLR cameras and editing software to craft indelible images of nebulae, galaxies, clusters and the stars. Author Chris Woodhouse starts with a brief astronomy primer, then marches readers on through the entire astrophotography process – from choosing equipment to capturing, calibrating and processing. Encompassing both technical and handson approaches, this edition also houses more than 170 pages of new content inside 22 new chapters, with 600 fullcolour illustrations covering a wide range of hardware, including mobile devices, remote controls and new technologies. Also provided are useful insights into leading software, including Sequence Generator Pro and PixInsight.