Astronomy (Space)

Maybe it's just us, but we think there's a lot of interest in astronomy. It could just be that we have a nearly full bookcase of astronomy books, or that Apologia's Exploring Creation with Astronomy is one of our best-sellers. But whatever it is, the interest never seems to go away, and summer, with its many balmy nights of cloudless skies is a perfect time to explore the topic. 

Astronomy, a natural science, is the study of celestial objects (stars, galaxies, planets, moons, asteroids, comets and nebulae), processes (such as supernovae explosions, gamma ray bursts, and cosmic microwave background radiation), the physics, chemistry, and evolution of such objects and processes, and more generally all phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth. Studying the universe as a whole, technically called "physical cosmology" is a related but distinct subject.

Astronomy, which comes from the Greek astron (star) and nomia (law or culture), is certainly one of the earliest sciences. As early as Genesis 1:14, we are told the purpose for the Sun, Moon and stars is... for signs and seasons, and days and years. We know that many early civilizations in recorded history (Babylonians, Greeks, Egyptians, Chinese, Maya, and more) performed methodical observations of the night sky. In what might be termed "Classical Astronomy," the topic has historically included disciplines as diverse as astrometry, celestial navigation, observational astronomy and the making of calendars. We carry a course called Signs and Seasons, which helps bring out the practicality of astronomy.

Although astronomy should not be confused with astrology (the belief system which claims that human affairs are correlated with the positions of celestial objects) it does have a similar origin. One word mentioned only in Job 38—mazzaroth—has to do with constellations and the biblical story in the stars. It's a fascinating topic, and Lift Up Your Eyes on High, an astronomy course for high school or adult students, references this with more depth than we've seen elsewhere.

Now considered nearly synonymous with astrophysics, modern professional astronomy uses principles of physics and chemistry "to ascertain the nature of the heavenly bodies, rather than their positions or motions in space." During the 20th century, astronomy split into two branches. Observational astronomy focuses on observing astronomical objects and acquiring data, then analyzing that data using basic principles of physics. Theoretical astronomy is oriented toward the development of computer or analytical models to describe astronomical objects and phenomena. The two fields complement each other, with theoretical astronomy seeking to explain the observational results and observations being used to confirm theoretical results.

While none of these books will fully prepare students for a professional career in astronomy, most will spark their interest in our vast, strange, and fantastic universe.

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2000 Years of Space Travel
by Russell Freedman
from Holiday House
for 7th-10th grade
in History of Science & Mathematics (Location: SCI-HIS)
Album of Astronomy
by Tom McGowen, illustrated by Rod Ruth
from Rand McNally
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Album of Spaceflight
by Tom McGowen, illustrated by Lee Brubaker
from Rand McNally
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
All About Rockets and Jets
All About Books #13
by Fletcher Pratt
2nd edition from Random House
for 3rd-6th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About Satellites and Space Ships
All About Books #28
by David Dietz
from Random House
for 4th-6th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About Satellites and Space Ships
All About Books #28
by David Dietz
Revised edition from Random House
for 4th-6th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About the Planet Earth
All About Books #46
by Patricia Lauber, illustrated by Lee Ames
from Random House
for 3rd-6th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About the Planets
All About Books #33
by Patricia Lauber
from Random House
for 3rd-6th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About the Stars
All About Books #7
by Anne Terry White
from Random House
for 3rd-6th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About the Universe
All About Books #55
by David Dietz, illustrated by John Polgreen
from Random House
for 3rd-8th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
Americans in Space
by John Dille
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 6th-10th grade
in American Heritage Junior Library (Location: VIN-HIS)
Americans Into Orbit
Landmark #101
by Gene Gurney
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage & Collectible (Location: VIN-COL)
Ancient Astronomy
Isaac Asimov's Library of the Universe
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
Answers Book for Kids Volume 5
by Bodie Hodge, Ken Ham
from Master Books
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Worldview & Apologetics for Kids (Location: BIBWV-APK)
$6.39
Apollo on the Moon
by Henry S. F. Cooper, Jr.
from Dial Press
for 6th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Armstrong
by Torben Kuhlmann, Translated by David Henry Wilson
from NorthSouth
for 2nd-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Asteroids
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
Astronauts on the Moon - Hallmark Pop-Up Book
by Al Muenchen and Stanley Hendricks
from Hallmark Publications
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Astronomy Today
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
Backyard Astronomer's Guide
by Terence Dickinson & Alan Dyer
Revised from Firefly Books
for 9th-Adult
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Bright Star
by Gary Crew
from Kane Miller
for 3rd-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Colonization of the Moon
by D. S. Halacy, Jr.
from Van Nostrand Reinhold Co.
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Colonizing the Planets and Stars
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Space Race & Exploration (Location: HISA-20SPR)
Comets and Meteors
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
Did Comets Kill the Dinosaurs?
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
DK Eyewitness: Astronomy
by Kristen Lippincott
from DK Children
for 3rd-8th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewonder: Space
by Carole Stott
from DK Publishing
for 1st-6th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$5.50 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewonder: Space
DK Eyewonder
from DK Publishing
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$10.99
Earth's Moon
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Our Solar System (Location: SCI-AST)
Earth, The
Exploring Our Universe
by Franklyn M. Branley, illustrated by Helmut K. Wimmer
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Earth: Our Home Base
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
Experiments in Sky Watching
by Franklyn M. Branley, illustrated by Helmut K. Wimmer
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Exploring Creation With Astronomy
Young Explorer Series
by Jeannie Fulbright
2nd ed. from Apologia Educational Ministries
for 3rd-6th grade
in Apologia Young Explorer (Location: SCICUR-AEM)
$39.20
Exploring Creation With Astronomy (old)
Young Explorer Series
by Jeannie Fulbright
from Apologia Educational Ministries
for 3rd-6th grade
in Apologia Science (Old Versions only) (Location: OSCI-AEM)
$12.00 (2 in stock)
Fly the Space Shuttle
by Carole Stott
1st American ed from DK Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Space Race & Exploration (Location: HISA-20SPR)
Galaxies
by Seymour Simon
from Morrow Junior Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Galileo
by Mitch Stokes
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 7th-Adult
in Christian Encounters (Location: BIO-CE)
Galileo
by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Macmillan
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Golden Book of Space Exploration
by Dinah L. Moche
from Golden Books
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Space Race & Exploration (Location: HISA-20SPR)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Halley: Comet 1986
by Franklyn M. Branley
from Lodestar Books
for 8th-10th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
How and Why Wonder Book of Stars
by Norman Hoss, illustrated by James Ponter
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in How and Why Wonder Books (Location: VIN-H&W)
How Was the Universe Born?
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
How We Learned the Earth is Round
by Patricia Lauber, illustrated by Megan Lloyd
from HarperCollins
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Our Solar System (Location: SCI-AST)
I Explore the Extraordinary Truth About Space w/ 3-D Glasses
from Castle Street Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
If You Decide to Go to the Moon
by Faith McNulty
from Scholastic Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Space Race & Exploration (Location: HISA-20SPR)
Jupiter: The Spotted Giant
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Our Solar System (Location: SCI-AST)
Living in Space
by Katie Daynes
from Usborne
for 1st-2nd grade
in Usborne Beginners (Location: SCI-USBREA)
Man Who Went to the Far Side of the Moon
by Bea Uusma Schyffert
from Chronicle Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Space Race & Exploration (Location: HISA-20SPR)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Mars: Our Mysterious Neighbor
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Our Solar System (Location: SCI-AST)
Mercury: The Quick Planet
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Our Solar System (Location: SCI-AST)
Mission Control, This Is Apollo
by Andrew Chaikin, Victoria Kohl
from Viking Press
for 4th-9th grade
in Space Race & Exploration (Location: HISA-20SPR)
Moon, The
Exploring Our Universe
by Franklyn M. Branley, illustrated by Helmut K. Wimmer
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Moonfinder
by Jay Ryan
from Fourth Day Press
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Our Solar System (Location: SCI-AST)
Moons & Planets
by William K. Hartmann
4th edition from Wadsworth Publishing Company
for 9th-12th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Moonshot
by Brian Floca
1st edition from Atheneum
for 1st-3rd grade
2010 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
Moonshot
by Brian Floca
Expanded Edition from Atheneum
for 1st-5th grade
2010 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$19.99
Mythology and the Universe
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
New Astronomy Book
Wonders of Creation Series
by Jonathan Henry
2nd edition from Master Books
for 4th-10th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$15.19
On the Moon
Usborne First Reading Level 1
by Anna Milbourne, illustrated by Benji Davies
from Usborne
for Preschool-1st grade
in Usborne Beginners (Location: SCI-USBREA)
$2.70 (1 in stock)
One Giant Leap
by Charles Pappas
from Lyons Press
for 9th-Adult
in Space Race & Exploration (Location: HISA-20SPR)
$13.00 (1 in stock)
Our Created Moon
by Don DeYoung & John Whitcomb
Upd Rev from New Leaf Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Our Solar System (Location: SCI-AST)
$17.99
Our Milky Way and Other Galaxies
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Our Solar System (Location: SCI-AST)
Past and Present Space Junk
Isaac Asimov's 21st Century Library of the Universe
by Isaac Asimov, revised and updated by Richard Hantula
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 2nd-4th grade
in Space Race & Exploration (Location: HISA-20SPR)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Planets, The
by Dava Sobel
from Viking Press
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Pluto: A Double Planet?
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Our Solar System (Location: SCI-AST)
Practical Astronomer
by Colin A. Ronan
from Crescent Books
for 7th-12th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Quasars, Pulsars, & Black Holes
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
Real Book About Space Travel
by Samuel Epstein
from Garden City Books
for 5th-8th grade
in Real Books series (Location: VIN-RBA)
Real Book About Stars
by Hal Goodwin, illustrated by Paul Wenck
from Garden City Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Real Books series (Location: VIN-RBA)
Rockets, Probes, & Satellites
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Space Race & Exploration (Location: HISA-20SPR)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Saturn: The Ringed Beauty
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Our Solar System (Location: SCI-AST)
Science Book of Space Travel
by Harold Leland Goodwin, illustrated by Jack Coggins
First Printing from Franklin Watts
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Science Fiction, Science Fact
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
Shine-A-Light: On the Space Station
Shine-A-Light
by Carron Brown and Illustrated by Bee Johnson
from Kane Miller
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Signs & Seasons
by Jay Ryan
from Fourth Day Press
for 5th-9th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
Solar System
Usborne Beginners
by Emily Bone
from Usborne
for 1st-2nd grade
in Usborne Beginners (Location: SCI-USBREA)
Solar System
from Black Dog & Leventhal
in Our Solar System (Location: SCI-AST)
$29.95
Space Garbage
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Space Race & Exploration (Location: HISA-20SPR)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Space Shuttle: A Photographic History
by Philip S. Harrington
from Browntrout Publishers
for 4th-10th grade
in Clearance: Science & Health (Location: ZCLE-SCI)
Space Spotter's Guide
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
Spacecraft at Work
by Mary Elting, illustrated by Ursula Koering
from Harvey House, Inc., Publishers
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Apollo 11
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein & David J. Catrow III
from Children's Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the Challenger Disaster
Cornerstones of Freedom
by Zachary Kent
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Story of the Moon Landing
by R. Conrad Stein
2nd edition from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
Sun, Moon and Stars
Usborne Beginners
by Stephanie Turnbull
from Usborne
for 1st-2nd grade
in Usborne Beginners (Location: SCI-USBREA)
$2.70 (1 in stock)
The Sun
Isaac Asimov's Library of the Universe
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Our Solar System (Location: SCI-AST)
The Universe
Life Nature Library
by David Bergamini
from Time-Life Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Unidentified Flying Objects
Isaac Asimov's Library of the Universe
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
Uranus: The Sideways Planet
Isaac Asimov's Library of the Universe
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Our Solar System (Location: SCI-AST)
Usborne Astronomy and Space Reference Book
by Emily Bone and Hazel Maskell, illustrated by Paul Weston and Adam Larkum
from Usborne
for 1st-4th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Usborne Big Book of Rockets and Spacecraft
from Usborne
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Space Race & Exploration (Location: HISA-20SPR)
$6.30 (1 in stock)
Usborne First Guide to the Universe
by Jane Chisholm
from Usborne
for Grades 1st-3rd
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$6.75 (3 in stock)
Visual Dictionary of the Universe
DK Visual Dictionaries
by Paul Docherty, ed.
from DK Publishing
for 8th-Adult
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Voyage of the Ruslan
by Joshua Stoff
from Atheneum
for 3rd-6th grade
in Space Race & Exploration (Location: HISA-20SPR)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Walk in Space: The Story of Project Gemini
Landmark #117
by Gene Gurney
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage & Collectible (Location: VIN-COL)
You Will Go to the Moon
by Mae & Ira Freeman, illustrated by Robert Patterson
from Random House
for 1st-3rd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)