Where's the Big Dipper

by Sidney Rosen, Dean Lindberg (Illustrator)

A question and answer format teaches readers about the constellations, how they were named, and how they are used to tell time and direction, and provides instructions for locating various constellations

40 pages, Library Binding

First published November 1, 1995

About the author

Sid Rosen, a UI professor emeritus of astronomy (1958-94), grew up Jewish in Boston’s West End, and his father worked in the garment industry.

Married to Dorothy Rosen they write the mystery series starring Belle Appleman, a Jewish immigrant who lives in Boston's West End during the 1930s.

Sidney Rosen wrote the popular children’s book "Galileo and the Magic Numbers," published in 1958 and which still remains in print and in libraries all over the country. Rosen also has a series of children’s science books.

Reviews

[一般樓 · Rating 4 out of 5]

觀測星座。
星座什麼的，對我而言有點太孩子氣了(缺乏想像力)。所以，我如果出生在古代，必定做不了史官或曆法專家。幸好這只是本童書，內容也大約只強調一個「北斗七星」。仰望台北星空，要認清星座恐怕有點為難。但無論身在何處，夜空的「黑」，卻是任何人的視覺都無法逃避的。
夜空為什麼是黑的？這問題的完整表述可訴諸所謂的「奧伯斯佯謬」。這個問題還可以從牛頓的重力理論談起。那時，牛頓曾接到神職人員班特利的信。班特利說，「若重力只有引力而不會相互排斥，那麼任何靜止的星球系統勢必會使自己崩塌。」這真是一針見血！牛頓思考後，回信給班特利說：「宇宙若要避免這種崩塌，則必須具備無限、均勻的星球集合。若宇宙確實是無限的，那麼每個星球在每個方向受拉力均勻，如此一來，縱使重力完全是引力，宇宙也能保持穩定。」(引自加來道雄《愛因斯坦的宇宙》)
正因牛頓提出了宇宙無限且均勻這兩個假設，才導致了「奧伯斯佯謬」。加來道雄說：「如果宇宙果真是無限、靜止與統一的，那麼無論往哪裡看，視線最後都會遇上一顆星球，也就是說應該會有無限的星光從各方向射入眼睛裡，所以夜空也應該是白亮而非黑暗的。因此，假若宇宙是均勻而有限的，則宇宙將會崩塌；若宇宙是無限的，則天空應該是亮得不得了。」但或許有某處太空是均勻明亮的？至少在《星際爭霸戰》等電影中並非此。電影中，宇宙飛船所到之處，太空似乎都是黑的。

[Jennifer Oaks · Rating 3 out of 5]

This picture books offers a great deal about the history of the Constellations. It has interesting facts and it is written in a question and answer format. This makes the book very engaging and reflective for the student reading it.