On october 17, 2012, i called my friend phil plait, creator of the bad astronomy site, writer of the bad astronomy blog for discover magazine, and author of awesome science books. The bad astronomy web pages are devoted to airing out myths and misconceptions in astronomy and related topics. Hes also written three books bad astronomy, death from the skies. Careers blog about amazon press center investor relations amazon devices amazon tours. These books and papers cover all the areas of astrophysics, cosmology, galactic and extragalactic astronomy, solar and stellar physics, celestial mechanics, planetary science, astrobiology, as well as some popular works. He writes the bad astronomy blog for, one of the most popular science blogs in the world. At the moment, i have no desire to tackle here such thorny topics as astrology, alternate views of the universe that are clearly in contradiction to observations, and the like. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading bad astronomy.
Philip plait is an astronomer who also runs the excellent bad astronomy website. Misconceptions and misuses revealed, from astrology to the moon landing hoax. You can also take a look at his blog, and see if it catches if you are familiar with documentaries. Advance praise for philip plait s bad astronomy bad astronomy is just plain good. We did this because we were suddenly getting tons of bad press, and had to do something about this pr disaster, so we can can make it look like were being all. Iraqi major general jehad aljabiri, who is the head of the ministry of the interiors general directorate for combating explosives, is.
Bad astronomys phil plait on worm holes, the hubble. The book discussed two topics which i was interested in. There are chapters about ufos, astrology and creationism, why you cant see stars during the day, and why small meteorites are cold when they hit the ground, not hot. Plait, 9780471409762, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Plait, a science writer who works in the physics and. Astronomy, space exploration, the effect of politics on science. Dont be fooled by the nickname when i first started outback in the 1990s holy wow even writing that makes me feel like im turning to dust, i wrote mostly about myths and misconceptions people had about astronomy.
Bad astronomy is actually plaits first book, and grew out of his blog by the same name where he debunked bad science and pseudoscience in the area of astronomy. The book was published in 2002 and deals with various misunderstandings about space and astronomy, such as sounds being audible in space. The first part is about things like tides, eclipses. After three years of long weekends, feverish midnight typing and not seeing my family except on my way to get more coffee, i have finally produced a book that goes with this website. A chat with the wonderful science blogger phil plait.
Phil plait is an astronomer best known for his website, bad astronomy. Besides new material on old bad astronomy, there is also quite a bit of new bad astronomy. Misconceptions and misuses revealed, from astrology to the moon landing hoax is a nonfiction book by the american astronomer phil plait. Bad astronomy by philip plait goodreads share book. In short chapters, plait tackles misperceptions about why the moon looks larger on the horizon and why stars twinkle before moving. Then the book moves on to things like astrology and the purported moon landing hoax. This idea got picked up by astronomersauthors peter ward and donald brownlee in their book rare earth, cementing it. James the amazing randi, president, james randi educational foundation, and author of an encyclopedia of claims, frauds, and hoaxes of the occult and supernatural bad astronomy is a fun read. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. The name bad astronomyseemed appropriate, and it just sorta stuck. Orbiting frog the orbiting frog blog is run by robert simpson, keen to share his passion for astronomy bad astronomy a very regularly updated blog written by astron. But this is one corner of one country on one continent on one planet thats a corner of a galaxy thats a corner of a universe that is forever growing and shrinking and creating and destroying and never remaining the same for a single millisecond, and there is. When i last wrote about texas, things were improving.
This is the updated list of astronomy books available for free download or online reading. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. His bad astronomy blog is always entertaining and educational and he is a prolific tweeter. Cosmos by carl sagan, a brief history of time by stephen hawking, astrophysics for people in a hurry by neil degrasse tyson. Plait is a born skeptic his blog regularly battles the misuses of science in daily life, in addition. If youre a fan of my friend randall munroes xkcd web comic, then you want to buy his new book if youre not, then i suggest you read a couple. The universe is a big place, but these blogs are a great place to start exploring. The book was published in 2002 and deals with various misunderstandings about space and astronomy. Its impossible to overstress how bad this situation is. Bad astronomy blogger takes on ken ham answers in genesis. Science is a tapestry, a vast complex fabric interwoven with countless threads. Nightwatch is the perfect introduction to astronomy and. The bad astronomy blog is all about realworld science it covers the entire universe, from subatomic particles to the big bang itself.
Im currently teaching a 2 week may term class in which we watch 8 astronomy based movies and discuss the bad science in them. Advance praise for philip plait s bad astronomybad astronomy is just plain good. Bad astronomy is the work of phil plait, a good astronomer who used to work on the hubble space telescope, a device which started off bad but ended up good. Best astronomy and astrophysics books to read in 2019 space. A really big event the use of a dirty bomb, poisoning of a water system, or some other cheery thing. What are some of the best blogs to read astronomy and. Packed with amazing facts, beautiful illustrations, and star charts for all four seasons, the orionexclusive 48page exploring the cosmos book is a great introduction to the night sky. In short chapters, plait tackles misperceptions about why the moon looks larger on the horizon and why stars twinkle before moving on, dismantling conspiracy kooks who doubt the moon.
According to dan, the blog for the website is always very current, very fascinating, and can be on anything related to the whole general field of astronomy. That is, if an attack is on the same scale as previous ones. Find out whats new in spaceflight, with an astronomy angle. Phil plait the bad astronomer celestron telescopes. Misconceptions and misuses revealed, from astrology to the moon landing hoax is a nonfiction book by the american astronomer phil plait, also known as the bad astronomer. Discover satisfies everyday curiosity with relevant and approachable science news, feature articles, photos and more.
Philip plait clears up every misconception on astronomy and space you never knew. Thats probably why the glass was prevent reflections from the lighting. Spark your childs interest in space and astronomy today. Plait is wonderfully witty and educational as he debunks the myths, legends, and conspiracies that abound in our society. The academic levels vary from post to post, book to book and tweet to tweet, so one could be a little apprehensive about what level of astronomy understanding one would need to appreciate this book. Misconceptions and misuses revealed, from astrology to the moon landing hoax bad science book online at best prices in india on. Astronomer michelle thaller has described, as well as plaits book and essays called bad astronomy, as a monumental service to the spacescience community. X website access code enter your access code into the form field below.
If youre curious for more, i have a lot more detail about asteroid and comet impacts in my book. These range from his opening chapter on balancing eggs on the equinox to bad science in movies. Philip plait clears up every misconception on astronomy and space you never knew you suffered from. A set of science standards for schools had been drafted that removed creationist weasel words about. Misconceptions and misuses revealed, from astrology to the moon landing hoax bad science by plait, philip c. Slate magazine blog site, but plait explores them in greater depth in the book. A second volume, bad medicine, by christopher wanjek, was. Hes been at it on the web for years, and it came as no surprise to me when i found out there was a book deal in the works. Along the way, he discusses questions such as why the moon looks bigger near the horizon, whether toilets swirl different. So, welcome to bad astronomy, my blog on syfy wire. The bright light coming from a few degrees from where they are looking and the scope is pointed probably wont help with meteor visibility. Stephen maran, author of astronomy for dummies and editor of the astronomy and astrophysics encyclopedia thank the cosmos for the bundle of star stuff named philip plait, who is the world s.
Plait blogged about some of ken hams recent tweets. In july 2008, it moved to a new host, discover magazine. Misconceptions and misuses revealed, from astrology to the moon landing hoax has been. I am quite pleased to announce that my book, bad astronomy. In short chapters, plait tackles misperceptions about why the moon looks larger on the horizon and why stars twinkle before moving on, dismantling conspiracy kooks who doubt the moon landing and offering a top 10 list of bad science moments in movie history. For example, various false explanations to why the sky is blue are talked about. For a wonderful and informative discussion of this image of saturn and its moon, visit bad astronomy, and as phil plait so eloquently reminds us towards the end of his post, in science, theres no such thing as just a pretty picture. First was it explained many astronomical topics in detail to give the real science like why the sky is blue and how tides are created.
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