The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Sun

The Sun is our powerhouse, sustaining life on Earth, energizing our planet, and fueling the engine of life. Its warmth drives our weather, lifting water from the seas, and producing winds that drive clouds over the continents. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Sun is the fundamental, up-to-date reference source of information about this life-enhancing star, covering everything from basic facts to detailed concepts. Organized thematically, chapters feature: -the properties of the Sun as a star -the Sun's place in the Galaxy and the Universe -the science of the Sun's interior -the sun's visible disk -what makes the sun shine. Kenneth Lang also explains solar flares and the solar wind, and their impact on the Earth. Many full-color figures and photographs throughout the book make all the information highly accessible. Kenneth R. Lang is a professor of astronomy in the Physics and Astronomy Department at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. He is the author of several astrophysics books including Wanderers in Space (Cambridge, 1991), Sun, Earth and Sky (Copernicus, 1997), and The Sun from Space (Springer Verlag, 2000).

Everything you ever wanted to know about the sun, the powerhouse of our galaxy, sustaining life on earth, driving the weather, providing warmth and light--and, directly or indirectly, almost all the energy that plants and animals use.

Less a classic encyclopedia than a topic-by-topic textbook introducing readers to all things solar, astronomer Lang's compendium offers the very latest scientific views on a range of matters, from fundamental constants to the composition of sunlight, from the role of sunspots in terrestrial weather and human history to the methods scientists use to forecast such phenomena today, from the origins of the universe to days to come--when, 7 billion years from now, the "aging Sun will swell up to become a giant star," one that will spread to occupy the space the earth now occupies, and far beyond. Abundant photographs, charts, and line drawings, all very well made, accompany the text, which also includes a recent bibliography and a glossary of current terms.

Highly useful for students of astronomy and space science, this attractive volume will require little updating for years to come, and it serves as the best single general reference work on the subject. --Gregory McNamee