Forty Ways to Know a Star: Using Stars to Understand Astronomy

by Jillian Scudder

Explore the fascinating facts and visual wonder of stars in this easy-to-read and beautifully illustrated guide from astrophysicist and popular science blogger Dr. Jillian Scudder.

Stars, the building blocks of the universe, are simply luminous spheres of plasma held together by gravity, but there are many kinds and many remarkable examples. Astoundingly, there are at least 100 billion stars in our galaxy and an estimated two trillion galaxies in our visible universe. Understanding the birth, life, and death of stars is key to a knowledge of astronomy.

40 Ways to Know a Star offers forty short essays that explore everything from the Milky Way to planetary nebulae, from how a star is born to the colors of stars, each enhanced by a color illustration or graphic image. Dr. Scudder, whose popular Astroquizzical blog features an engaging "ask an astronomer" format, writes in a way that makes complex physics accessible. Magnificent imagery of the heavens, including ten color plates featuring NASA photographs, makes this space book as enticing as it is informative.

ASTROPHYSICS  Dr. Jillian Scudder is an astrophysicist and Associate Professor of Physics at Oberlin College, Ohio. She hosts and writes Astroquizzical, a blog in which she tackles some of the mysteries of the universe by answering space-related questions from the public.

ACCESSIBLE  This unique science book helps any reader understand our universe; it is full of charts and distinctive color illustrations that give clear and accessible explanations of the content and a resource page for further exploration.

ASTRONOMY  Beautifully designed inside and out, the book’s cover features gold foil to highlight the stellar content, making it an excellent coffee table book or gift for astronomy enthusiasts of all levels.

Perfect and space enthusiastsTeachers, librarians, and students seeking an instructive and accessible resourceGift-giving for graduation, birthday, retirement, Mother's Day, Father's Day, or any occasion for people interested in science and technologyFans of popular science books by Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye, NASA, and National Geographic

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Astronomy

192 pages, Hardcover

Published March 25, 2025

Reviews

[G Flores · Rating 5 out of 5]

In so many ways (though not quite forty), Forty Ways to Know a Star is everything that I want from a popular science book. It walks firmly in the nebulous Goldilocks zone of neither being too bogged down in mathematical science hard to follow for a scientific novice nor being too dumbed-down to the point where no real lasting knowledge is gained.

It must be said that success in this is due in no small part to the many incredibly helpful illustrations throughout which translate words on the page into much more tangible and easier-to-grasp graphics. Many times, I would read through a passage, think "I guess I get that," look at the accompanying graphic and audibly "ooohhhhh" as I proceeded to ACTUALLY get that. But of course, it is not just the pretty pictures (which by the way, many of the plates were absolutely stunning and well-appreciated) the drive the success of this work, but the obvious care and attention paid to the scaffolding of knowledge. Despite being told ostensibly in a series of 40 "fun-fact" like vignettes, each chapter builds on the previous one at an excellent pace that never feels too daunting or too easy.

Forty Ways to Know a Star is a fabulous journey from beginning to end. Simply put, Scudder's book is an absolute delight.

Thanks as always to NetGalley, Chronicle Books, and Princeton Architectural Press for access to this advanced reading copy. This book is to be published today, March 25, 2025 at time of writing.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5*

I enjoyed this book, however I would have liked a lot of the information expanded on - i was left with a lot of questions.

[GONZA · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no idea that starting from the stars, astronomy would be much more interesting. When you get to the formulas and don't start with them, as an average user I can say that I am much more willing to make an effort to understand, especially when you don't get into the mathematical details. Basically then, this was the perfect book for me, because it allowed me to understand and learn, without feeling stupid or inadequate. Clearly, it is a book for those who are interested in the subject and are almost clueless, certainly not for those who have been studying it for some time, however beautiful and/or useful certain photos and diagrams may still be.

Non immaginavo che partendo dalle stelle, l'astronomia sarebbe stata molto piú interessante. Quando alle formule ci si arriva e non ci si parte, come utente medio posso affermare che sono molto piú disponibile a sforzarmi di capire, specialmente quando non si scende nei dettagli matematici. Praticamente quindi, questo é stato per me il libro perfetto, perché mi ha permesso di capire e di imparare, senza sentirmi stupida o inadeguata. Chiaramente é un libro per chi si interessa all'argomento ed é quasi privo di nozioni, non certo per chi lo studia da tempo, per quanto certe foto e diagrammi possono essere comunque belli e/o utili.

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

[Paul Long · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good reading, but a little too textbookie for my tastes.