The Heavens Above: A Popular Handbook of Astronomy

A concise, accessible survey of observational and theoretical astronomy for general readers, explaining the celestial sphere, models of the solar system, and methods used by astronomers. It describes Earth's motions, tides, seasons, the Moon's properties and surface, and the planets with their groups, moons, rings, and known physical characteristics. The Sun's structure, spectra, sunspots, chromosphere, prominences, corona, and eclipses are examined alongside instruments such as telescopes and spectroscopes. Comets, meteors, zodiacal light, stars, nebulae, clustering, variable and multiple stars, distances, and the nebular hypothesis conclude with discussion of the large-scale stellar structure.