David H. Levy

David Levy brings these "ghostly apparitions" to life. With fascinating scenarios both real and imagined, he shows how comets have wreaked their special havoc on Earth and other planets. Beginning with ground zero as comets take form, we track the paths their icy, rocky masses take around our universe and investigate the enormous potential that future comets have to directly affect the way we live on this planet and what we might find as we travel to other planets. In this extraordinary volume, David Levy shines his expert light on a subject that has long captivated our imaginations and fears, and demonstrates the need for our continued and rapt attention.

Creators and Destroyers

Comets

Poets and Astronomers Read the Night Sky

More Things in Heaven and Earth

John O'Byrne

Offers an introduction to astronomy, and includes advice on observing the stars and planets

Skywatching

Larry A. Lebofsky

Nancy R. Lebofsky

Contrary to popular wisdom, the daytime sky, as well as the nighttime sky, contains riches to explore.

Sharing The Sky

Distinguished astronomy researcher, teacher, and lecturer, "Bart Bok always loved to talk about astronomy's big picture," observes David Levy, "and in his lifetime of commitment to the Milky Way, he had seen that picture evolve." Drawing on more than fifty interviews with Bok over the two years before his death, Levy's biography was first undertaken over Bok's protests but later gained his full cooperation. The book shows not only what made Bok an exceptional scientist but also what it was like to be an astronomer in an era of significant progress in that field.

A Biography of Bart Bok

The Man who Sold the Milky Way

The Sky in the Writings of Shakespeare, Tennyson, and Hopkins

Starlight Night

An Observing Manual Designed for the Newcomer to the Field of Amateur Astronomy

The Joy of Gazing

According to the world famous astronomer David Levy, an eclipse of the Sun "is a natural event with unnatural consequences. In fact a total eclipse of the Sun has the power to rip through to the core of your being." Levy should know, having experienced the power of the vanishing Sun first as a child and most recently in August, 1999, on a ship in the North Atlantic. It was that voyage to the darkness of the disappearing Sun, followed by a rendezvous with a brilliant display of the Northern Lights, that formed the inspiration for this book Levy describes the experience of being shipboard on a calm and quiet sea, watching a crescent Sun rise above the waves at dawn. Seeing a crescent Moon rising in the night sky is a common and often beautiful experience. Seeing the Sun come up as a mere sliver of itself can fill the heart with dread. Just a mere twenty minutes passed from the beginning of the event to totality, but Levy reveals that the actual experience is so powerful it can be mind-altering. In a manner accesible to all readers, David Levy recounts the story one of nature's most profound displays.

Voyage to Darkness and Light

Eclipse

Variable stars are fascinating objects to observe; found all over the sky, they change in brightness over time and can be seen with even the most basic of equipment. Variable star astronomy is one field in which amateur astronomers can still make significant contributions to science and in this highly accessible book David Levy teaches the reader how variable stars work, and how to observe them. Using simple, non-technical terms he explains how to get started with electronic (or CCD) observing, as well as how to observe variable stars through a small telescope or binoculars. Including a section on Southern hemisphere stars, the book covers various types of object that can be observed by amateur astronomers, including more exotic phenomena like gamma ray bursts, blazars, and polars. This book will serve to motivate anyone with even a basic interest in astronomy to begin observing these fascinating objects.

David Levy's Guide to Variable Stars

Meteors occur when a meteoroid, a speck of dust in space, enters the Earth's atmosphere. The heat generated when this happens causes the surrounding air to glow, resulting in 'shooting stars'. During the most spectacular meteor storms larger particles give rise to fireballs and firework-like displays! Meteors are a delightful observing field - they do not require a telescope, and they can be seen on any clear night of the year, even in bright twilight. It was the sight of a single meteor that inspired David Levy to go into astronomy, and in this book he encourages readers to go outside and witness these wonderful events for themselves. This book is a step-by-step guide to observing meteors and meteor showers. Any necessary science is explained simply and in clearly understandable terms. This is a perfect introduction to observing meteors, and is ideal for both seasoned and budding astronomers.

David Levy's Guide to Observing Meteor Showers

It was a lucky twist of fate when in the early1980s David Levy, a writer and amateur astronomer, joined up with the famous scientist Eugene Shoemaker and his wife, Carolyn, to search for comets from an observation post on Palomar Mountain in Southern California. Their collaboration would lead to the 1993 discovery of the most remarkable comet ever recorded, Shoemaker-Levy 9, with its several nuclei, five tails, and two sheets of debris spread out in its orbit plane. A year later, Levy would be by the Shoemakers' side again when their comet ended its four-billion-year-long journey through the solar system and collided with Jupiter in the most stunning astronomical display of the century. Not only did this collision revolutionize our understanding of the history of the solar system, but it also offered a spectacular confirmation of one scientist's life work. As a close friend and colleague of Shoemaker (who died in 1997 at the age of 69), Levy offers a uniquely insightful account of his life and the way it has shaped our thinking about the universe. Early in his training as a geologist, Shoemaker suspected that it wasn't volcanic activity but rather collisions with comets and asteroids that created most of the craters on the moon and most other bodies in the solar system. Convincing the scientific community of the plausibility of "impact theory," and revealing its power for penetrating mysteries such as the extinction of the dinosaurs and the timing of the Earth's eventual demise, became Shoemaker's mission. Through conversations with Shoemaker and his family, Levy reconstructs the journey that began with a young geologist's serious desire to go to the moon in the late1940s. Sent by the government to find a way to harvest plutonium, Shoemaker instead found evidence in desert craters for what became his impact theory. While he never became an astronaut, he did become the first geologist hired by NASA and subsequently set the research agenda for the first manned lunar landing. After a series of victories and setbacks for Shoemaker, the collision of Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter provided the most convincing proof to date of the role of impacts in our solar system. Levy's explanation of the scientific reasoning that guided Shoemaker in his career up to this dramatic point--as well as his personal portrait of a man who found white-water rafting to be an easy way to relax--sets these fascinating events in a human scale. This biography shows what Shoemaker's legacy will be for our understanding of the story of the Earth well into the twenty-first century.

Shoemaker by Levy - The Man Who Made an Impact

The Man Who Sold the Milky Way

In this simple guide, David Levy inspires readers to experience the wonder of eclipses and other transient astronomical events for themselves. Covering both solar and lunar eclipses, he gives step-by-step instructions on how to observe and photograph eclipses. As well as explaining the science behind eclipses, the book also gives their historical background, discussing how they were observed in the past and what we have learned from them. This personal account contains examples from the 77 eclipses the author has witnessed himself. The guide also includes chapters on occultations of stars and planets by the Moon and of asteroids by stars, and the transits of Mercury and Venus. Tables of future eclipses make this invaluable for anyone, from beginners to practised observers, wanting to learn more about these fascinating events.

David Levy's Guide to Eclipses, Transits, and Occultations

A introduction to the magic and mysteries of the constellations, galaxies, and wonders of the night sky.

A Guide to Skywatching

This is an ideal book for starting astronomy. It stirs the imagination, and puts observation of the sky into the framework of leisure activity as well as a personal adventure. Written by an award winning astronomer, it is a non-technical guide to the night sky, full of practical hints. The author's lively style enthuses, entertains and informs. • know the constellations, even if you live in a large city • observe the Sun safely • find out how comets are discovered • watch a star vary in brightness from week to week • explore star clusters and remote galaxies Author David Levy is one of the world's foremost amateur astronomers. He has discovered 17 comets. Minor Planet 3673 Levy is named in his honour. An English graduate, Levy has written a beautiful introduction to the glories of the observable universe of constellations, stars and galaxies.

A User's Guide

The Sky

Shows how to observe the sun safely, explore the Moon's craters, and locate constellations, planets, and stars in the night sky

A Parent’s and Teacher’s Guide to Astronomy

Sharing the Sky

Inroduces beginners to amateur astronomy, describes what to look for and when--beginning with the solar system and moving on to the stars--and offers suggestions for better observations.

David Levy's Guide to the Night Sky

Aimed at the enthusiast, this book gives a thorough account of all aspects of variable star observation.

A Guide for the Beginner

Observing Variable Stars

David Levy has held a lifelong passion for comets, and is one of the most successful comet discoverers in history. In this book he describes the observing techniques that have been developed over the years--from visual observations and searching, to photography, through to electronic charge-coupled devices (CCDs). He combines the history of comet hunting with the latest techniques, showing how our understanding of comets has evolved over time. This practical handbook is suitable for amateur astronomers, from those who are casually interested in comets and how to observe them, to those who want to begin and expand an observing program of their own. Drawing widely from his own extensive experience, Levy describes how enthusiastic amateurs can observe comets and try to make new discoveries themselves. David H. Levy is one of the word's foremost amateur astronomers. He has discovered seventeen comets, seven using a telescope in his own backyard, and had a minor planet, Asteroid 3673 Levy named in his honor. He is best known as the co-discoverer of the famous 1994 Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet. Levy is frequently interviewed in the media and succeeded Carl Sagan as science columnist for Parade magazine. He has written and contributed to a number of books, most recently David Levy's Guide to the Night Sky (Cambridge, 2001).

David H. Levy

Books

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