Bad Astronomy

Advance praise for Philip Plait s Bad Astronomy
"Bad Astronomy is just plain good! Philip Plait clears up every misconception on astronomy and space you never knew you suffered from." --Stephen Maran, Author of Astronomy for Dummies and editor of The Astronomy and Astrophysics Encyclopedia
"Thank the cosmos for the bundle of star stuff named Philip Plait, who is the world s leading consumer advocate for quality science in space and on Earth. This important contribution to science will rest firmly on my reference library shelf, ready for easy access the next time an astrologer calls." --Dr. Michael Shermer, Publisher of Skeptic magazine, monthly columnist for Scientific American, and author of The Borderlands of Science
"Philip Plait has given us a readable, erudite, informative, useful, and entertaining book. Bad Astronomy is Good Science. Very good science. . ." --James "The Amazing" Randi, President, James Randi Educational Foundation, and author of An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural
"Bad Astronomy is a fun read. Plait is wonderfully witty and educational as he debunks the myths, legends, and 'conspiracies that abound in our society. 'The Truth Is Out There' and it's in this book. I loved it!" --Mike Mullane, Space Shuttle astronaut and author of Do Your Ears Pop in Space?

Introduction
PART I: Bad Astronomy Begins at Home
1. The Yolk's on You: Egg Balancing and the Equinox
2. Flushed with Embarrassment: The Coriolis Effect and Your Bathroom
3. Idiom's Delight: Bad Astronomy in Everyday Language
PART II: From the Earth to the Moon
4. Blue Skies Smiling at Me: Why the Sky Is Blue
5. A Dash of Seasons: Why Summer Turns to Fall
6. Phase the Nation: The Moon's Changing Face
7. The Gravity of the Situation: The Moon and the Tides
8. The Moon Hits Your Eye Like a Big Pizza Pie: The Big Moon Illusion
PART III: Skies at Night Are Big and Bright
9. Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star: Why Stars Appear to Twinkle
10. Star Light, Star White: Stars of Many Colors
11. Well, Well: The Difficulty of Daylight Star Sighting
12. The Brightest Star: Polaris-Just Another Face in the Crowd
13. Shadows in the Sky: Eclipses and Sun-Watching
14. The Disaster that Wasn't: The Great Planetary Alignment of 2000
15. Meteors, Meteoroids, and Meteorites, Oh My! : The Impact of Meteors and Asteroids
16. When the Universe Throws You a Curve: Misunderstanding the Beginning of It All
PART IV: Artificial Intelligence
17. Appalled at Apollo: Uncovering the Moon-Landing Hoax
18. Worlds in Derision: Velikovsky vs. Modern Science
19. In the Beginning: Creationism and Astronomy
20. Misidentified Flying Objects: UFOs and Illusions of the Mind and Eye
21. Mars Is in the Seventh House, But Venus Has Left the Building: Why Astrology Doesn't Work
PARTV: Beam Me Up
22. Hubble Trouble: Hubble Space Telescope Misconceptions
23. Star Hustlers: Star Naming for Dummies
24. Bad Astronomy Goes Hollywood: The Top-Ten Examples of Bad Astronomy in Major Motion Pictures
Recommended Reading.
Acknowledgments
Index