জ্যোতির্বিদ্যার খোশখবর

by Yakov Perelman, Shubhomoy Ghosh (Translator )

Astronomy is a fortunate science; it needs no embellishments, said the French savant Arago. So fascinating are its achievements that no special effort is needed to attract attention. Nonetheless, the science of the heavens is not only a collection of astonishing revelations and daring theories. Ordinary facts, things that happen, day by day, are its substance. Most laymen have, generally speaking, a rather hazy notion of this prosaic aspect of astronomy. They find it of little interest, for it is indeed hard to concentrate on what is always before the eye.

Everyday happenings in the sky are the contents of this book, free from professional terminology with easy reading. Its purpose is to initiate the reader into the basic facts of astronomy. Ordinary facts with which you may be acquainted are couched here in unexpected paradoxes, or slanted from an odd and unexpected angle solely to excite the imagination and quicken your interest. The daily aspect of the science of the skies, its beginnings, not later findings that mainly form the contents of Astronomy for Entertainment. The purpose of the book is to initiate the reader into the basic facts of astronomy. Ordinary facts with which you may be acquainted are couched here in unexpected paradoxes, or slanted from an odd and unexpected angle. The theme is, as far as possible, free from "terminology" and technical paraphernalia that so often make the reader shy of books on astronomy.

Books on popular science are often rebuked for not being sufficiently serious. In a way the rebuke is just, and support for it can be found (if one has in mind the exact natural sciences) in the tendency to avoid calculations in any shape or form. And yet the reader can really master his subject only by learing how to reckon, even though in a rudimentary fashion. Hence, both in Astronomy for Entertainment and in other books of this series, the aurhor has not attempted to avoid the simplest of calculations. True, he has taken care to present them in an easy form, well within the reach of all who have studied mathematics at school. It is his conviction that these exercises help not only retain the knowledge acquired; they are also a useful introduction to more serious reading.

This book contains chapters relating to the Earth, the Moon, planets, stars and gravitation. The author has concentated in the main on materials not usually discussed in works of this nature. Subjects omitted in the present book, will, he hopes, be treated in a second volume. The book, it should be said, makes no attempt to analyze in detail the rich content of modern astronomy.

Unfortunately Y. Perelman never wrote the continuation he had planned for this book, as untimely death in warbound Leningrad in 1942 interruped his labours.

Genres: Physics, Science, Nonfiction, Astronomy, Popular Science

196 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1929

About the author

Yakov Isidorovich Perelman (Russian: Яков Исидорович Перельман; December 4, 1882 – March 16, 1942) was a Russian and Soviet science writer and author of many popular science books, including Physics Can Be Fun and Mathematics Can Be Fun (both translated from Russian into English).

Reviews

[Aliaksei Ivanou · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Занимательная астрономия" Якова Перельмана - отличный старт для тех, кто ранее не изучал астрономию. Книга легко и понятно рассказывает о множестве явлений, которые мы наблюдаем каждый день, - движение Солнца и Луны, изменение дня и ночи; автор также освещает силу тяготения, дает краткую характеристику планет Солнечной Системы. В целом очень доходчиво, есть место и формулам в книге. Важно учесть, что книга написана давно, и некоторая информация может быть устаревшей. Но, в целом, это отличный источник базовых знаний о космосе.

[Biondy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Title: Astronomy for Entertainment
Author: Y. Perelman
Publisher: Foreign Language Publishing House
Pages: 194 pages
Published: 1958

The book is interesting. There are numerous things that I learned or made me go "Oohh..." while reading. For example: the fact that the straight line is not the shortest way to get from Japan to Panama Canal. Instead, the curvy line between the 2 points is the shortest. I wonder if Madeleine L'Engle had read this book when she said that "A straight line is not the shortest distance between two points" when she wrote it in A Wrinkle in Time.

However, this book is not that "easy" to read due to some math and physic explanations. Yes, they include numbers and formulas, which I usually skip, since I don't really understand *grin.

Neverthless, the book is interesting and fun to read.

This book is for the following reading challenge:
- 2013 Nerdy Non-Fiction Reading Challenge

[Yuliya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Замечательная книга для тех, кто не очень хорошо понимает или помнит алгебру, но желает больше узнать о движении и удивительной жизни небесных тел!
Лёгкий язык повествования, понятные объяснения и хорошие картинки создают атмосферу уюта: как будто о земном притяжении рассказывает дедушка, когда вы холодным вечером устроились у камина.

[Paky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Resulta entretenido, con estos libros siempre uno aprende y se sorprende. No obstante, hay que tener en cuenta que se escribió en 1929, antes de que fueran lanzados los primeros cohetes soviéticos. Aún así, resulta útil para conocer algunas curiosidades de nuestro mundo y ver cómo avanza el conocimiento del universo.

[tomsyak]

Читалось нормально, а потом я узнала, что сын автора погиб на фронте в 41-м, а он сам умер в блокадном ленинграде, пережив жену на два месяца.

[Viktor Malafey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Спочатку книга трохи важкувата, коли розповідь йде про Землю. Але потім як автор переносить нас на інші планети й зорі, то стає цікаво.
Викладено все ясно, прозоро і доступно. Як завжди у Перельмана.