Deep space Beyond the solar system to the edge of the universe and the beginning of time

Award-winning astronomy writer Shilling (Constellations) updates his book initially published in 2014 with this broad-brushed exploration of the universe. He begins with a look around the earth's planetary backyard and then takes a mind-bending journey into the realm of stars and nebulae, pulsars and stellar clusters, supernova explosions, black holes, galaxies, and galaxy clusters. Celestial cartographer Wil Tirion (coauthor, Night Sky Almanac 2023) adds a valuable atlas of known stars visible to the naked eye and a list of the 88 constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union. This impressive book is filled with hundreds of gorgeous full-color photographs on glossy black paper that emulate looking into deep space. There are also eye-opening facts about the vast expanse of the universe--an estimated 10 quintillion stars. Astronomers speculate that most of these stars contain solar systems that likely include livable zones called "Goldilocks" planets. VERDICT A stunning and essential coffee-table book. Targeted at amateur astronomers, the book takes advantage of today's advanced astronomy research that provides exciting new information from the sensitive eyes of modern large telescopes, both in space and on the ground. Nicely supplements Erich Karkoschka's Observer's Sky Atlas and the National Geographic Stargazer's Atlas.--Dale Farris