Review of the World's Easiest Astronomy Book

Many children and adults are interested in space. We may think of outer space as the Heavens, or a source of exploration with infinite possibilities, or a place where discoveries are waiting to be made. According to Space.com: "Astronomy is defined as the scientific study of matter in outer space; particularly the positions, dimensions, distribution, motion, composition, energy, and evolution of celestial bodies (planets, stars) and other phenomena."

The World's Easiest Astronomy Book is a must have for anyone whose imagination is peaked by the universe. It is especially a must for those with children or grandchildren. Nakagawa covers a number of topics including: do aliens really exist; living at light speed; temperature in space; is there wind in space; the centrifugal force of the earth; and so much more. And, he explains the topics with easy to understand content.

This 111 page book is jammed packed with tidbits of information about space. Information that I find fascinating and I know my very young grandsons, when they're a bit older, will enjoy learning about also. One of the most interesting topics, to me, was, Everything We See is in the Past. The author explains that: "The speed of light is 300,000 km (186,000 miles) per second, meaning that light could circle the Earth seven and a half times in a single second. Even at this incredible speed it still takes light from the Sun 8 minutes to reach the Earth."

So, how does this relate to the title of the topic? Well, according to Nakagawa: "Light is reflected by objects, and shortly afterwards arrives at your eyes allowing you to see it. The same is true even for this book. Hold this book 12 inches from your eyes and you're looking at an image of this book 0.000 000001 seconds in the past."

Nakagawa also touches on man-made space debris and space station garbage. It appears we are not only polluting the Earth, but we've managed to bring pollution above and beyond. The debris from satellites and launching rockets is not only littering the heavens, it can also be problematic for spacecrafts and satellites. Debris between 1 cm and 10 cm can do damage to a spacecraft if it hits. Fragments larger than 10 cm are even more dangerous and are tracked by The Space Control Center, part of United Stares Strategic Command.

The World's Easiest Astronomy Book sheds light on some very complex subjects with easy to understand explanations. While one or two topics, at the most, could have used a bit more clarity, and the book does not have an index, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and highly recommend it.

About the author: Hiroshi Nakagawa is a former JAXA space exploration officer. After studying in America he returned to Japan and taught in an American university before assisting the Japanese space development program. He now lives in Osaka and teaches at a High School.

Karen Cioffi is an author and freelance writer. She is a book reviewer for BookPleasures.com; on the team of DKV Writing 4 U (http://dkvwriting4u.com); a co-moderator of a children's critique group; and the creator and manager of VBT - Writers on the Move (a marketing group of author who cross-promote).

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