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Astroquizzical: A Curious Journey Through Our Cosmic Family Tree
In this enthralling cosmic journey through space and time, astrophysicist Jillian Scudder locates our home planet within its own ‘family tree’. Our parent the Earth and its sibling planets in our solar system formed within the same gas cloud.
Without our grandparent the Sun, we would not exist, and the Sun in turn relies on the Milky Way as its home. The Milky Way rests in a larger web of galaxies that traces its origins right back to tiny fluctuations in the very early universe.
Following these cosmic connections, we discover the many ties that bind us to our universe.
Based around readers’ questions from the author’s popular blog ‘Astroquizzical’, the book provides a quirky guide to how things work in the universe and why things are the way they are, from shooting stars on Earth, to black holes, to entire galaxies.
For anyone interested in the ‘big picture’ of how the cosmos functions and how it is all connected, Jillian Scudder is the perfect guide.
Without our grandparent the Sun, we would not exist, and the Sun in turn relies on the Milky Way as its home. The Milky Way rests in a larger web of galaxies that traces its origins right back to tiny fluctuations in the very early universe.
Following these cosmic connections, we discover the many ties that bind us to our universe.
Based around readers’ questions from the author’s popular blog ‘Astroquizzical’, the book provides a quirky guide to how things work in the universe and why things are the way they are, from shooting stars on Earth, to black holes, to entire galaxies.
For anyone interested in the ‘big picture’ of how the cosmos functions and how it is all connected, Jillian Scudder is the perfect guide.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published March 8, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 24, 2022
I got this book freshman year of college as a birthday or Christmas gift, because my first year seminar was with Professor Scudder! It took me a while and a couple pick up’s and put down’s to finish this book. In the end, I enjoyed it. I think she struck the right balance for a pop sci book of explaining things, but not dumbing it down, and getting into bigger ideas without losing me. I do feel like I understand the universe a bit better now! I would have liked to see her zoom out a little more at the end and get a little more philosophical (though can you get more big picture than describing the universe?)
March 9, 2018
Described as a 'curious journey through our cosmic family tree', Jillian Scudder's Astroquizzical, takes the very positive inspiration of questions asked about the universe on Scudder's blog and gives us that 'curious journey' in light, readable prose. The family tree in question has Earth as our parent, the Sun as our grandparent, then the Milky Way and finally the universe. So we work outwards in a genuinely entertaining exploration of our cosmic habitat.
The book is pitched a beginner's level - but even though there was relatively little that was new to me as a reader, it was well-written enough to keep my interest. This was particularly helped when Scudder threw in an incentive in the form of a fascinating, quirky fact. For me, without doubt, the best was the discovery that mats of sulfur-loving bacteria (which could possibly survive in the atmosphere of Venus) that hang in caves are known as snottites or snoticles.
The book is at its best in the earlier sections. Scudder gives us an excellent balance of enthusiasm and facts when dealing with, for example, the Moon and the planets. It get's a little thin on the Milky Way and the universe - so, for example, dark matter only gets a footnote and the reference to the cosmic microwave background is so short it's not easy to follow why it's there. It's a shame there isn't a bit more in these later sections - the book is quite short and wouldn't have become overlong by extending them a little.
Interest is also kept by a good balance of illustrations - surprisingly good black and white in the inline photographs and two sections of colour plates to bring the whole picture to life. Although astronomy isn't all about pretty pictures, it's good to be reminded of what captures the imagination of many young astronomers, and Scudder is particularly good at explaining how the stunning colour images are multi-layered black and white images from different coloured filters, often highlighting the key wavelengths of particular elements.
As with the relative thinness of the later sections, my only real complaint is that we could do with a bit more. Interesting asides like the snoticles really make a book like this, and there could have been considerably more of them. Detail is what stimulates the reader's imagination. So, rather than just tell us that neutron stars are 'catastrophically dense', telling us how much mass there is in a teaspoonful (100 million tonnes) or something similar really brings it home. There's also the minor irritation that the book sometimes only gives US domestic units (for example, degrees Fahrenheit) which doesn't sit well with a scientific topic.
This is the kind of book that would be excellent to get either a teenage reader or an adult with limited exposure to astronomy interested in the field. It reads well and gives basic details without being patronising. It's a cosmic journey that I enjoyed.
The book is pitched a beginner's level - but even though there was relatively little that was new to me as a reader, it was well-written enough to keep my interest. This was particularly helped when Scudder threw in an incentive in the form of a fascinating, quirky fact. For me, without doubt, the best was the discovery that mats of sulfur-loving bacteria (which could possibly survive in the atmosphere of Venus) that hang in caves are known as snottites or snoticles.
The book is at its best in the earlier sections. Scudder gives us an excellent balance of enthusiasm and facts when dealing with, for example, the Moon and the planets. It get's a little thin on the Milky Way and the universe - so, for example, dark matter only gets a footnote and the reference to the cosmic microwave background is so short it's not easy to follow why it's there. It's a shame there isn't a bit more in these later sections - the book is quite short and wouldn't have become overlong by extending them a little.
Interest is also kept by a good balance of illustrations - surprisingly good black and white in the inline photographs and two sections of colour plates to bring the whole picture to life. Although astronomy isn't all about pretty pictures, it's good to be reminded of what captures the imagination of many young astronomers, and Scudder is particularly good at explaining how the stunning colour images are multi-layered black and white images from different coloured filters, often highlighting the key wavelengths of particular elements.
As with the relative thinness of the later sections, my only real complaint is that we could do with a bit more. Interesting asides like the snoticles really make a book like this, and there could have been considerably more of them. Detail is what stimulates the reader's imagination. So, rather than just tell us that neutron stars are 'catastrophically dense', telling us how much mass there is in a teaspoonful (100 million tonnes) or something similar really brings it home. There's also the minor irritation that the book sometimes only gives US domestic units (for example, degrees Fahrenheit) which doesn't sit well with a scientific topic.
This is the kind of book that would be excellent to get either a teenage reader or an adult with limited exposure to astronomy interested in the field. It reads well and gives basic details without being patronising. It's a cosmic journey that I enjoyed.
February 6, 2022
This gorgeous book is fun and fascinating, full of interesting facts that a layperson can understand. It is also overwhelming, since it really shows the immensity of our universe. It’s structured as a family tree, with Earth, the Sun, the Milky Way and so on until, possibly, infinity. The illustrations include beautiful pictures and informative diagrams. Surprisingly, it finally made me grasp many concepts that I had read about in other books, but that I had failed to grasp, including time in space. The author asks many questions about the universe. Some, she answers outright but most don’t have easy solutions so she provides different theories, A few of the issues she raises are unknowable, at least for now. This is the perfect book for people interested in space, regardless of your training or knowledge base.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/#The MIT Press!
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/#The MIT Press!
September 12, 2019
More like 2.5 out of 5. The parts I understood of this astronomy survey were fascinating: the earlier chapters for the most part, even after rereading sections over and over. I used the index to concentrate on items of most interest to me. I did glean some facts and explanations for our own earth, the moon, sun, planets and dwarf planets. I liked the colored plates and the author's directing us to websites. From dying stars to the end, I skipped entirely; after starting, there was too much complicated astrophysics for my taste.
Supposedly written for laypeople, this was still as a whole too complicated for me. Maybe the author should have concentrated on an astronomy book for young people. [I've often found nonfiction books for youth are much more understandable.]
I thank LibaryThing for an ARC.
Supposedly written for laypeople, this was still as a whole too complicated for me. Maybe the author should have concentrated on an astronomy book for young people. [I've often found nonfiction books for youth are much more understandable.]
I thank LibaryThing for an ARC.
September 18, 2019
This book is perfect for people with an interest in space at all scales. It’s an ideal science book for a teenager who devours everything to do with space, a college student thinking about taking astronomy 101 and needing a grounding, or for any adult wanting to find out what parts of the Universe whets their appetite the most without being overwhelmed by numbers.
Starting on terra firma, Dr Scudder takes us through Earth’s story; from the planet itself, to the Solar System, the Milky Way galaxy and the Universe at large, and all the components that make them up. It builds beautifully, taking us through planetary formation, stellar evolution and the more recent work on gravitational waves with black hole mergers to name a few of the many topics covered.
The author has a warm voice and a great sense of dry humour peeking through the lines. She carries you effortlessly through the story of Earth and our Solar System’s evolution. Every technical term used is explained in simple, but no less accurate language. In other words, the text is accessible, not patronising in the slightest. The author’s long-standing background in both astronomy and science communication shines through here at keeping the book interesting without bogging the reader down in minute details, and where numbers are given there’s a sense of proportion and scale explained with them to help you grasp their significance. There are a few equations mentioned, but they’re more for interest rather than integral to the understanding of the book.
The author supplements the key facts by making a number of deep dives, answering questions using mathematics (what would happen if we had a portal to the moon? What would happen if you split the Sun in two?) that sound as though they could have come from the author’s original Astroquizzical blog. These are really fun thought experiments, and even if you are an old-hat at astronomy pop-science these will be new to you, and may spark questions of your own.
As the book is very broad in scope, some readers may not find their favourite parts of the Universe talked about in the detail they want (i.e. their favourite planet – note for Pluto fans, Pluto the dwarf planet /is/ talked about in detail!) so if readers are looking for every fact and every mission this isn’t the right book for them. But that’s where this book shines. It’s not a transcribed table of facts but a cosy and comprehensive overview text to give you a flavour of everything in space. There’s just enough information to get your brain whirring, and the book lets you wander off with that grounding to devour more.
Starting on terra firma, Dr Scudder takes us through Earth’s story; from the planet itself, to the Solar System, the Milky Way galaxy and the Universe at large, and all the components that make them up. It builds beautifully, taking us through planetary formation, stellar evolution and the more recent work on gravitational waves with black hole mergers to name a few of the many topics covered.
The author has a warm voice and a great sense of dry humour peeking through the lines. She carries you effortlessly through the story of Earth and our Solar System’s evolution. Every technical term used is explained in simple, but no less accurate language. In other words, the text is accessible, not patronising in the slightest. The author’s long-standing background in both astronomy and science communication shines through here at keeping the book interesting without bogging the reader down in minute details, and where numbers are given there’s a sense of proportion and scale explained with them to help you grasp their significance. There are a few equations mentioned, but they’re more for interest rather than integral to the understanding of the book.
The author supplements the key facts by making a number of deep dives, answering questions using mathematics (what would happen if we had a portal to the moon? What would happen if you split the Sun in two?) that sound as though they could have come from the author’s original Astroquizzical blog. These are really fun thought experiments, and even if you are an old-hat at astronomy pop-science these will be new to you, and may spark questions of your own.
As the book is very broad in scope, some readers may not find their favourite parts of the Universe talked about in the detail they want (i.e. their favourite planet – note for Pluto fans, Pluto the dwarf planet /is/ talked about in detail!) so if readers are looking for every fact and every mission this isn’t the right book for them. But that’s where this book shines. It’s not a transcribed table of facts but a cosy and comprehensive overview text to give you a flavour of everything in space. There’s just enough information to get your brain whirring, and the book lets you wander off with that grounding to devour more.
January 28, 2019
Astroquzzical is an interesting book which takes you on a cosmic journey through space and time to discover how the earth, planets and stars came to be. Are we the only known life form out here in space? Or, is there life yet to be discovered beyond our human comprehension?
I’m not a space nerd and thought this read would be a little heavy going and science heavy for me. But, it was pleasing to see Jillian Scudder writes in a very plain english way. Which is handy when you’re trying to get your head around some of life’s big questions and the enormous billion-year timelines of our planet.
What does Astroquizzical teach?
There were a couple of facts about the moon and stars I had no idea about. For example; when you look up to the night sky and see stars ‘twinkling’, it is not the stars themselves. It’s actually the effect of our atmosphere on them. I had no clue, and for some reason always thought the stars were twinkling away at us. I also learnt about the importance of the moon when it came to gravitational pull, phases and the tides of the oceans.
There are some truly amazing photos and diagrams to pour over in the pages and I loved seeing some of the old space images from the 1960’s. Along with these images there interesting topics such as constellations, white dwarfs and even the demise of our planet (don’t worry, you won’t be around for it).
Astroquizzical is a good all-round non fiction book. I got a lot out of it and didn’t feel intimidated by some of the larger topics up for discussion. If you’re a rocket scientist with qualifications about astrophysics under your belt, you may find Astroquizzical a basic and dumbed down. But, for me, the balance was just right and I enjoyed thumbing through the book.
I’m not a space nerd and thought this read would be a little heavy going and science heavy for me. But, it was pleasing to see Jillian Scudder writes in a very plain english way. Which is handy when you’re trying to get your head around some of life’s big questions and the enormous billion-year timelines of our planet.
What does Astroquizzical teach?
There were a couple of facts about the moon and stars I had no idea about. For example; when you look up to the night sky and see stars ‘twinkling’, it is not the stars themselves. It’s actually the effect of our atmosphere on them. I had no clue, and for some reason always thought the stars were twinkling away at us. I also learnt about the importance of the moon when it came to gravitational pull, phases and the tides of the oceans.
There are some truly amazing photos and diagrams to pour over in the pages and I loved seeing some of the old space images from the 1960’s. Along with these images there interesting topics such as constellations, white dwarfs and even the demise of our planet (don’t worry, you won’t be around for it).
Astroquizzical is a good all-round non fiction book. I got a lot out of it and didn’t feel intimidated by some of the larger topics up for discussion. If you’re a rocket scientist with qualifications about astrophysics under your belt, you may find Astroquizzical a basic and dumbed down. But, for me, the balance was just right and I enjoyed thumbing through the book.
November 25, 2023
Dr. Jillian Scudder takes the clarity of Neil deGrasse Tyson, minus his soliloquy (harmless notwithstanding, it is most appealing when you know who he is, when most novices don’t). In so doing the book has essentially leapt over the page limit to cover as many things as possible, in a way only more profound than otherwise.
Just when I thought enough was said about the elementary stuff, I got ahead of myself again. Never should anyone be too self-confident about the distant memory of some astronomy class years ago. From the tides of our oceans and atmosphere to the cold hard ‘fates’ of the stars out there, the expanse of content is truly transdimensional.
Juxtaposed with more star-studded images in another enlarged, illustrated edition, this is what we call a perfect book for dummies (and pub quizzers).
Just when I thought enough was said about the elementary stuff, I got ahead of myself again. Never should anyone be too self-confident about the distant memory of some astronomy class years ago. From the tides of our oceans and atmosphere to the cold hard ‘fates’ of the stars out there, the expanse of content is truly transdimensional.
Juxtaposed with more star-studded images in another enlarged, illustrated edition, this is what we call a perfect book for dummies (and pub quizzers).
November 23, 2018
Excellent Astronomy Book
Jillian Scherer is an excellent organizer and writer. I would at least start any other book she wrote. This book is a very ordered and wonderfully explained four through universe!
Jillian Scherer is an excellent organizer and writer. I would at least start any other book she wrote. This book is a very ordered and wonderfully explained four through universe!
June 18, 2022
This is an excellent book that discusses at a layman's level numerous aspects of the earth, the planets in our solar system, our sun, other stars, galaxies and the cosmos. Because the book includes many eye-catching photos of the celestial phenomena, it is only available in a hard copy.
August 4, 2019
I had hoped that this book would enlighten me. I am a scientist by profession, but I must confess to remaining substantially unenlightened. The author writes well, and reduces the findings of highly complex mathematics to an almost readable level, but the subject matter is so abstruse that mental anaesthesia sets in quite quickly. It is a valiant effort, but I am by no means certain that such a very theoretical subject can ever be conveyed to a 'lay' reader.
April 26, 2022
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
She does a very good job of making things understandable. She uses good illustrations to help you get a idea in your mind at a more human level.
The book included pictures.
The author also has a web site which I checked out an enjoyed. I will continue to look at the web site
She does a very good job of making things understandable. She uses good illustrations to help you get a idea in your mind at a more human level.
The book included pictures.
The author also has a web site which I checked out an enjoyed. I will continue to look at the web site
September 28, 2019
Reading a book based on a blog is easier than reading a blog, I suppose. Otherwise, nothing new for readers of popular science other than a thought experiment or two.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews