The library has been acquired through donations from its members, the public, and from acquisitions made by the Association. The library includes books, periodicals and media that are all available for signing out by members free of charge.

Contact the Secretary to sign out library material.

A Field Guide to Deep-Sky Objects By Michael D. Inglis, Springer (2012)

Astronomical Spectroscopy for Amateurs By Ken M. Harrison, Springer (2011)

Choosing and Using a Refracting Telescope By Neil English, Springer (2010)

Deep-Sky Video Astronomy By Steve Massey, Springer (2009)

Meteors and How to Observe Them By Robert Lunsford, Springer Science+Business Media (2009)

Jupiter and How to Observe It By John W. McAnally, Springer Science+Business Media (2008)

Binocular Astronomy By Stephen Tonkin, Springer Science+Business Media (2007)

Human Vision and the Night Sky By Michael Borgia, Springer Science+Business Media (2006)

Real Astronomy with Small Telescopes: Step-by-Step Activities for Discovery By Michael Gainer, Springer (2006)

Destination Moon By Rod Pyle, Carlton Books (2005)

Double and Multiple Stars and How to Observe Them By James Mullaney, Springer Science+Business Media (2005)

Saturn and How to Observe It By Julius Benton, Springer (2005)

The Moon and How to Observe It By Peter Grego, Springer Science+Business Media (2005)

Observing and Measuring Visual Double Stars By Bob Argyle, Springer Science+Business Media (2004)

In the Blink of An Eye By Andrew Parke, Perseus Publishing (2003)

Star Watch By Philip Harrington, John Wiley & Sons (2003)

Celestial Delights: The Best Astronomical Events Through 2010 By Francis Reddy & Greg Walz-Chojnacki, Ten Speed Press (2002)

Solar Observing Techniques By Chris Kitchin, Springer Science+Business Media (2002)

The Caldwell Objects By Stephen James O'Meara, Cambridge University Press (2002)

The Hunt for Life on Mars By Donald Goldsmith, Plume Books (1998)

Hyper Space By Michio Kaku, Anchor Book (1995)

Solar Astronomy Handbook By Beck, Hilbrecht, Reinsch, Volker, Willmann-Bell (1995)

The Light at the Edge of the Universe By Michael Lemonick, Princeton University Press (1995)

Through a Universe Darkly By Marcia Bartusiak, Avon Book (1995)

Voyage to the Great Attractor By Alan Dressler, Vintage Books (1995)

Wrinkles in Time By George Smoot & Keay Davidson, Avon Book (1994)

Philips' Planisphere for Australia, New Zealand, and Southern Africa (10" diameter) By George Philip, George Philip (1993)

Cambridge Guide to Astronomical Discovery, The By William Liller, Cambridge University Press (1992)

Observing the Sun By Peter O. Taylor, Cambridge University (1991)

The Astronomers By Donald Goldsmith, St Martins (1991)

Stargazer's Companion By James Blum, Friedman (1990)

The Stargazer’s Companion By James Blum, Michael Friedman Publishing (1990)

Deep-Sky Observing With Small Telescopes By David J. Eicher, Enslow (1989)

The Astronomer's Library By John Man (Editor), Martin Wace (Editor), Carl Sagan (Foreword), Gallery Books (1989)

Manual of Advanced Celestial Photography, A By Brad Wallis & Robert Provin, Cambridge University (1988)

Race to Mars By Frank Miles & Nicholas Booth, Harper&Row (1988)

Astrophotography II By Patrick Martinez, Willmann-Bell (1987)

Halley, The once-in-a-lifetime comet By David & Carol Allen, Unwin (1986)

The Book of the Moon By Thomas Hockey, Prentice Hall (1986)

The Study of Variable Stars Using Small Telescopes By John Percy, Cambridge University Press (1986)

Astrophotography for the Amateur By Michael Covington, Cambridge University (1985)

Astrophotography, 2nd edition, Featuring the fx System of Exposure Determination By Barry Gordon, Willmann-Bell (1985)

Comet By Carl Sagan & Ann Druya, Random House (1985)

Comets, The Swords of Heaven By David Ritchie, Plume (1985)

Entering Space – An Astronaut's Odyssey By Joseph Allen, Stoddart (1985)

The Return of Halley’s Comet By Patrick Moore & John Mason, Lothian Publishing (1985)

How to Make a Telescope, 2nd edition By Jean Texereau, Willmann-Bell (1984)

Stars and Planets By Robin Kerrod, Arco Publishing (1984)

Astronomy Projects for Young Scientists By Necia Apfel, Prentice Hall (1983)

Philips' Planisphere for Australia, New Zealand, and Southern Africa (5" diameter) By George Philip, George Philip (1983)

Space By James Mitchener, Secker& Warburg (1982)

Binoculars and all purpose Telescopes By Henry Paul, AMPHOTO (1980)

One Two Three…..Infinity By George Gamow, Bantam Books (1972)

One Two Three…..Infinity By George Gamow, Bantam Books (1972)

Planets Stars and Galaxies By A.E. Fanning, Dover (1966)

Photography through Monoculars, Binoculars and Telescopes (Third Edition) By Joseph D. Cooper, Universal Photo Books (1965)

Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes, Volume I, The Solar System By The Rev. T. W. Webb & Margaret Mayall, Dover (1962)

Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes, Volume II, The Stars By The Rev. T. W. Webb & Margaret Mayall, Dover (1962)

Amateur Telescope Making, Book One By Albert Ingalls, Scientific American (1957)

Amateur Telescope Making By Albert Ingalls, Scientific American (1946)

RASC Observer's Handbook 1988

RASC Observer's Handbook 1989

RASC Observer's Handbook 1990

RASC Observer's Handbook 1991

RASC Observer's Handbook 1992

RASC Observer's Handbook 1993

RASC Observer's Handbook 1994

RASC Observer's Handbook 1995

RASC Observer's Handbook 2002

Coming Soon...

Constellations in the Night Sky - Star maps Author: Educational Graphics Publisher: MMI Corporation Year: 2006 Running Time: N / A Description: This series aids in the understanding of the changes that occur in the night sky. The use of stars as pointers is shown and the use of constellations to map the night sky is illustrated in detail. The CD-ROM contains images that are suitable for either digital (LCD) projection or viewing on a computer monitor screen. The file formats are 300 dpi RGB TIFF and JPEG fi les. The image size of these files is 7.5 x 10 inches, suitable for insertion in a Powerpoint presentation and ideal for full page output. User’s notes are presented in PDF format in a clear manner, with a thumbnail of each image displayed together with the notes for that image.

Constellations in the Night Sky - Traditional and Ancient Constellations Author: Educational Graphics Publisher: MMI Corporation Year: 2006 Running Time: N / A Description: The Traditional set of slides includes 49 of the most common constellations, consisting of three images for each constellation: as a geometric star pattern, a mythological figure, and then with the mythological figure superimposed over the geometric pattern. The mythological figures are illustrated in a traditional manner. The geometric figure for each constellation includes stars doen to magnitude 5 of brightness, naming the major stars. The Greek alphabetical designations for the stars are also given. The Ancient series is patterned after the plates illustrated by Johann Hevelius in Uranografia (1690) and Sir John Flamsteed in Atlas Coelestis (1753). This set of over 50 constellations shows the ancient constellation illustration superimposed over the star pattern. The CD-ROM contains images that are suitable for either digital (LCD) projection or viewing on a computer monitor screen. The file formats are 300 dpi RGB TIFF and JPEG fi les. The image size of these files is 7.5 x 10 inches, suitable for insertion in a Powerpoint presentation and ideal for full page output. User’s notes are presented in PDF format in a clear manner, with a thumbnail of each image displayed together with the notes for that image.

Deep Space Interactive CD Author: Findlay-Holiday Film Corporation Publisher: Year: 2005 Running Time: N/A Description: Filled with hundreds of awesome images and amazing facts, this multimedia program offers the best images of deep space from the Hubble Space Telescope. View spectacular images of deep sky objects presented with educational narration and inspiring music. Or scroll through the program’s extensive image bank of deep space objects w/ detailed data screens. Selectable categories include: Nebulas, galaxies, star clusters, black holes, supernovas, comets, asteroids, starbirth, life of a star, planets, constellations, & more.

Fireballs From Space Author: Discovery Communications Publisher: Films Media Group Year: 2001 Running Time: 52 minutes Description: The same kind of catastrophe that is believed to have wiped out the dinosaurs—a giant meteorite or comet’s impact—may have started life on Earth in the first place. And such an impact could happen again. This program explores many fascinating aspects concerning meteors and comets, from the Oort Cloud beyond Pluto where comets are formed to the most recent meteorites recovered for study. The effects of a large impact are seen in a computer simulation and from experiments at the NASA Ames Vertical Gun Range. Research into space debris reaches a new level as NASA scientists land the NEAR satellite on the surface of an asteroid. A Discovery Channel Production.

Hubble - 15 years of Discovery Author: Martin Kornmesser & Cornel Swoboda, ESA/ESO Publisher: European Space Agency Year: 2005 Running Time: 83 minutes Description: This anniversary film covers all aspects of the Hubble Space Telescope project - a journey through the history, the troubled early life and the ultimate scientific successes of Hubble. This portrait, directed by Lars Lindberg Christensen, contains large amounts of previously unpublished footage of superb quality. Hubble's spectacular visual images make a stunning backdrop throughout the film, bringing an immediacy and vitality as the narrative reveals the new insights Hubble has inspired in all fields of astronomy from exoplanets to black holes. Complex though the science behind the telescope’s images often is, Art Director Martin Kornmesser has developed a unique style of elaborate 3D animation that enhances and vividly clarifies the underlying science. The movie is presented by an ESA scientist, Dr. Robert (Bob) Fosbury, who has himself used Hubble for his own research on many occasions. There are nine (9) chapters in the movie, each running 5 to 12 minutes in length as follows: The Hubble Story; Hubble Up Close; Planetary Tales; The Lives of Stars; Cosmic Collisions; Monsters in Space; Gravitational Illusions; Birth and Death of the Universe; and Looking to the end of time.

Exploring the Cosmos (Part of the series Big Ideas) Author: Films for the Humanities & Sciences Publisher: Films Media Group Year: 2003 Running Time: 57 minutes Description: This program features Freeman Dyson, an elder statesman of the scientific community whose ideas are so original in scope that his colleagues coined the term "Dysonian" to describe any highly imaginative idea. Joining him are astrophysicist Sara Seagar, a rising star in planetary system research who studies large extra-solar planets; John Bahcall, a pioneer in neutrino astrophysics and the driving force behind the construction of the Hubble Space Telescope; and Feryal Ozel, a specialist on the subjects of neutron stars and black holes. Their discussion of space, ranging from extraterrestrial life to comets on a collision course with Earth, is out of this world.

Encyclopedia Galactica / Who Speaks For Earth? (Part of the series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage) Author: Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan, and Steven Soter Publisher: Cosmos Studios Year: 1980 Running Time: 2 x 60 minutes Description: "Encyclopedia Galactica" as the questions, "Are there alien intelligences?" and "How could we communicate with them?", "What about UFOs?". The answers to these questions take us to Egypt to decode ancient hieroglyphics, to the largest radio telescope on Earth and, in the Spaceship of the Imagination, to visit other civilizations in space. Dr. Sagan answers questions such as: "What is the lifespan of a planetary civilization? Will we one day hook up with a network of civilizations in the Milky Way Galaxy? In "Who Speaks for Earth?", startling special effects retrace the 15 billion year journey from the Big bang to the present. The tragic story of the martyrdom of Hypatia, the women scientist of ancient Alexandria, is told. This is the famous Cosmos episode on nuclear war in which Dr. Sagan argues that our responsibility for survival is owed not just to ourselves, but also to the Cosmos, ancient and vast, from which we spring.

Heaven and Hell / Blues For A Red Planet (Part of the series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage) Author: Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan, and Steven Soter Publisher: Cosmos Studios Year: 1980 Running Time: 2 x 60 minutes Description: In "Heaven and Hell", a descent the the hellish atmosphere of Venus to explore the broiling surface serves as a warning for our world about the possible consequences of the increasing greenhouse effect. Then Dr. Sagan leads viewers on a tour of the Solar System to see how other heavenly bodies have suffered from various cosmic catastrophes. "Blues for a Red Planet" asks, is there life on Mars? Dr Dagan leads viewers on a never-before-seen look at the red planet through the eyes of science fiction authors and then through the unblinking eyes of two Viking spacecrafts that have sent thousands of pictures of the stunning Martian landscape back to Earth since 1976.

One Voice In the Cosmic Fugue / The Harmony of the Worlds (Part of the series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage) Author: Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan, and Steven Soter Publisher: Cosmos Studios Year: 1980 Running Time: 2 x 60 minutes Description: In "One Voice in the Cosmic Fugue", Dr. Sagan's Cosmic Calendar makes the 15 billion year history of the Universe understandable and frames the origin of the Earth and the evolution of life. We see the steps from microbes to humans. Our understanding of how life developed on Earth enables us to venture to other worlds for imaginative speculations on what forms life might take elsewhere in the Cosmos. The "The Harmony of the Worlds" provides a historical re-creation of the life and time of Johannes Kepler - the last "scientific astrologer", the first astronomer, and the author of the first science fiction novel. Kepler provided the insight into how the Moon and the planets move in their orbits and ultimately how to journey to them.

The Edge Of Forever / The Persistence Of Memory (Part of the series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage) Author: Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan, and Steven Soter Publisher: Cosmos Studios Year: 1980 Running Time: 2 x 60 minutes Description: In "The Edge of Forever", Dr. Sagan leads viewers on awesome trips - to a time when galaxies were beginning to form, to India to explore the infinite cycles of Hindu cosmology, and to show how humans of this century discovered the expanding universe and its origin in the big bang. He disappears down a black hole and reappears in New Mexico to show viewers an array of 17 telescopes probing the furthest reaches of space. In "The Persistence of Memory", the brain is the focus of this fascinating portion of our journey as Dr. Sagan examines another of the intelligent creatures with whom we share the planet Earth - the whales. Then we wind through the maze of the human brain to witness the architecture of thought. We see how genes, brains, and books store the information necessary to human survival.

The Shores Of the Cosmos (Part of the series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage) Author: Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan, and Steven Soter Publisher: Cosmos Studios Year: 1980 Running Time: 60 minutes Description: At the beginning of this awe-inspiring cosmic journey. Cosmos host Dr. Carl Sagan takes viewers to the edge of the Universe aboard the Spaceship of the Imagination. Through beautiful and accurate special effects, we witness quasars, exploding galaxies, star clusters, supernovas and pulsars. Returning to the Solar System, we enter an astonishing recreation of the Alexandrian library, seat of learning on Earth 2000 years ago.

Travellers' Tales / The Backbone of Night (Part of the series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage) Author: Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan, and Steven Soter Publisher: Cosmos Studios Year: 1980 Running Time: 2 x 60 minutes Description: In "Travellers' Tales", the exhilaration of 17th Century Dutch explorers who ventured in sailing ships halfway around our planet in their quest for wealth and knowledge is compared to an inside view of the excitement of Voyager's expeditions to Jupiter and Saturn. The newly acquired treasures of our present golden age of exploration are the focus of this episode. In "The Backbone of Night", humans once thought the stars were campfires in the sky and the Milky Way the "backbone of night". In this fascinating segment, Cosmos host Dr. Carl Sagan takes viewers back to ancient Greece when the right answer to such a basic question as "What are the stars?" was first glimpsed. He visits the Brooklyn elementary school of his childhood where the same question is still being asked.

Travels In Space and Time / The Lives Of the Stars (Part of the series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage) Author: Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan, and Steven Soter Publisher: Cosmos Studios Year: 1980 Running Time: 2 x 60 minutes Description: "Travels in Space and Time" provides a startling voyage to see how star patterns change over millions of years is followed by a journey to the planets of other stars, and a look at the possibility of time travel - which takes us to Italy, where the youthful Albert Einstein first wondered what it would be like to ride on a beam of light. In "The Lives of Stars", computer animation and amazing astronomical art are used to show how stars are born, live, die, and sometimes collapse to form neutron stars or black holes. Viewers then journey into the future to witness "the last perfect day on Earth", 5 billion years from now, after which the Sun will engulf our planet in the fires of it death throes.

Astronomy: From Galileo to Gravity (Part of the series Standard Deviants) Author: Publisher: Goldhil Educational Year: 2005 Running Time: 26 minutes Description: Meet the giants of astronomy, like Kepler, Galileo and Newton. Then the Standard Deviants tackle one of Newton's favorite subjects: the awesome power of gravity! See what happens when two objects are attracted to each other.

Astronomy: The Basics (Part of the series Standard Deviants) Author: Publisher: Goldhil Educational Year: 2005 Running Time: 26 Minutes Description: The Standard Deviants blast off into space with a look at the basic terminology you need to know to be an expert star-searcher. Then they'll take you back in time to the beginnings of astronomy, where you'll meet the guys who first began to study the stars, like Plato, Ptolemy, Copernicus, and Kepler.

Astronomy: The Earth & the Moon (Part of the series Standard Deviants) Author: Publisher: Goldhil Educational Year: 2005 Running Time: 26 minutes Description: The Standard Deviants take you on a tour of that big ball of mud we call home: the Earth. It's got magnetic fields, atmospheric layers, and more stats than a baseball player. They'll also take a look at the Earth's little buddy, the Moon.

Astronomy: The Light Spectrum (Part of the series Standard Deviants) Author: Publisher: Goldhil Educational Year: 2005 Running Time: 26 minutes Description: The Standard Deviants will help you to see the light--the light spectrum, that is. They'll show you all the properties of light, including the shifty Doppler Effect, and how telescopes work.

Astronomy: The Solar System (Part of the series Standard Deviants) Author: Publisher: Goldhil Educational Year: 2005 Running Time: 26 minutes Description: The Standard Deviants sail through the solar system and meet the planets. There are the terrestrial planets -- Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars; and there are the jovian planets -- Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

Astronomy: The Sun (Part of the series Standard Deviants) Author: Publisher: Goldhil Educational Year: 2005 Running Time: 26 minutes Description: The Standard Deviants take you into the center of our solar system: the Sun. We wouldn't be here without this great big ball of fire, so come and see all the properties of our little star, like hydrogen and helium, sunspots and solar flares.

Aurora Borealis (Part of the series The Complete Cosmos) Author: Films for the Humanities & Sciences Publisher: Films Media Group Year: 2005 Running Time: 26 minutes Description: The aurora is a phenomena that has, until recently, defied filming. This program is the result of a new method of filming, which was used in Alaska, Canada, Scotland, Wales, and the South Pole.

Black Holes, Dark Matter (Part of the series The Complete Cosmos) Author: Films for the Humanities & Sciences Publisher: Films Media Group Year: 1998 Running Time: 11 minutes Description: This program presents the latest ideas on space regarding such questions as: What are quasars? Is there dark matter? Are there wormholes to other universes? Where’s the nearest black hole and how does it work?

Celestial Wonders: Eclipses, Auroras, and the Light Fantastic (Part of the series The Complete Cosmos) Author: Films for the Humanities & Sciences Publisher: Films Media Group Year: 1998 Running Time: 20 minutes Description: This program presents a clear explanation of solar and lunar eclipses, and illustrates their magnificence through spectacular shots of the 1998 total eclipse of the sun in the West Indies. Visible light is shown as only part of a spectrum through which we see the universe. What we’re learning through gamma ray, x-ray, ultraviolet, infrared, and radio astronomy is discussed.

From Stonehenge to Hubble: Looking to the Stars (Part of the series The Complete Cosmos) Author: Films for the Humanities & Sciences Publisher: Films Media Group Year: 1998 Running Time: 20 minutes Description: Animation and historical footage trace the progress of astronomy from megalithic observatories through the genius of Isaac Newton, to the Hubble telescope. The Hubble’s eye, a tour de force in astronomy tools, is used to describe how telescopes work and how it, in particular, relays pictures to earth.

Home Star: The Sun, the Planets and Mercury (Part of the series The Complete Cosmos) Author: Films for the Humanities & Sciences Publisher: Films Media Group Year: 1998 Running Time: 20 minutes Description: This program uses animation and close-up footage to study the birth of the solar system. The workings and life-cycle of our home star, the sun, are also addressed, along with its influence on Earth and its eventual death. New data indicates that ice on Mercury has survived since the birth of the solar system. We learn why the inner planets are rock-hard, and why all planets are round.

Impact! Comets and Asteroids (Part of the series The Complete Cosmos) Author: Films for the Humanities & Sciences Publisher: Films Media Group Year: 1998 Running Time: 20 minutes Description: In this program, comets are studied as ice mountains careening through the solar system. Time-lapse photography of the Hale-Bopp comet provides an interesting perspective on this visitor from the regions of the Kuiper belt. Pluto is studied as both a planet and a possible comet from the Oort cloud. We see inner planets and their moons continually bombarded by comets and space rocks from the asteroid belt. The impact of asteroids on life on Earth and possible visits to them by future space missions are discussed.

Jupiter and Saturn: Probing the Planets (Part of the series The Complete Cosmos) Author: Films for the Humanities & Sciences Publisher: Films Media Group Year: 1998 Running Time: 20 minutes Description: The drama of the Galileo mission, the dive of its probe into the Jovian atmosphere, and Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9’s impact on Jupiter are examined in this program. Stunning new photos examine Jupiter’s moons, while images taken from spacecraft and through telescopes paint a magnificent picture of Saturn. The recent launch of the probe Cassini to Saturn and its moons is discussed.

Space Explorers: A History of the Last Frontier (Part of the series The Complete Cosmos) Author: Films for the Humanities & Sciences Publisher: Films Media Group Year: 1998 Running Time: 20 minutes Description: Using rarely seen footage, this program traces the history of human space exploration from Yuri Gagarin’s first orbit of Earth, through the moon landings, to the present-day Shuttle program and Mir. Also discussed are how scientists get things into orbit, what it’s like to live and work in space, what happens when astronauts get sick, and how plants are grown in space.

Spaceship Earth and the Search for Intelligent Life (Part of the series The Complete Cosmos) Author: Films for the Humanities & Sciences Publisher: Films Media Group Year: 1998 Running Time: 20 minutes Description: This program shows how the ecological health of the planet is being monitored from space, as it examines issues such as the deterioration of the ozone layer, global warming, melting polar ice caps, and the effects of solar winds. The possibility of life on other planets is seriously considered in discussions that propose the possible existence of microbes on Mars, and even more advanced organisms beneath the ice crust of the oceans of Jupiter’s moon, Europa.

The Blue Planet and the Pale Moon Above (Part of the series The Complete Cosmos) Author: Films for the Humanities & Sciences Publisher: Films Media Group Year: 1998 Running Time: 20 minutes Description: The birth, development, and structure of Earth, what makes it rotate, and why it tilts and has seasons are discussed in this program. It also examines the nature of Earth’s magnetic field and how the magnetic poles sometimes flip hemispheres. A wealth of new animation and images from robot probes of the moon, including the 1998 Lunar Prospector, show the presence of ice. The birth of the moon and its influence on our lives are discussed.

The Expanding Universe (Part of the series The Complete Cosmos) Author: Films for the Humanities & Sciences Publisher: Films Media Group Year: 1998 Running Time: 20 minutes Description: Far from being a stable assembly of stars, the galaxies interact, entwine, and sometimes even consume one another. This program examines the universe as continually expanding. It takes a hard look at cosmology’s most popular theory: that everything started in a cataclysmic explosion, and will reverse, energy expended, to end in a great crunch.

The Next Step: Of Robots and Space Stations (Part of the series The Complete Cosmos) Author: Films for the Humanities & Sciences Publisher: Films Media Group Year: 1998 Running Time: 20 minutes Description: This program begins with an examination of unmanned space exploration: Galileo’s mission to Jupiter, Cassini’s to Saturn, NEAR’s to an asteroid, and Rosetta’s to a comet, as well as probes to Mars and Pluto. It then uses the International Space Station project as a platform for exploring the future of humans in space.

Uranus, Neptune and the Milky Way (Part of the series The Complete Cosmos) Author: Films for the Humanities and Sciences Publisher: Films Media Group Year: 1998 Running Time: 20 minutes Description: Uranus and Neptune are studied as unidentical twins—vast gasbags inhabiting the cold, dark outer reaches of our galaxy. Exciting new time-lapse photography of the planets and their weather systems is presented, along with animation that depicts their moons. Stellar life-cycles in our galaxy and beyond are examined through images from the Hubble telescope and through animation. We see multiple stars, giant stars, and supernovae.

Venus and Mars: Earth's Sisters (Part of the series The Complete Cosmos) Author: Films for the Humanities & Sciences Publisher: Films Media Group Year: 1998 Running Time: 20 minutes Description: What triggered the steaming greenhouse atmosphere of Venus, why the planet rotates backward, and why it never spawned life are examined in this program. Mars and the Pathfinder landing project are discussed within the context of possible manned missions to the red planet in the future.

The Universe - A Guided Tour (Part of the series The Solar System & Discovery (2-disk set)) Author: Films for the Humanities & Sciences Publisher: Films Media Group Year: 2005 Running Time: 250 minutes Description: This stunning visual encyclopedia of the solar system, the galaxy, and the universe combines the content of The Complete Cosmos VHS series with the advantages of DVD technology, providing instant accessibility and outstanding picture and sound quality. This two-part DVD encyclopedia is meticulously researched, completely customizable for classroom use, and as authoritative as it is captivating. Part one, The Solar System, includes 13 ten-minute programs on the Sun, the planets, the Moon, comets, phenomena such as eclipses and the aurora borealis, the search for extraterrestrial life, and the threat of comet or asteroid impact with the Earth. Part two, Discovery, includes 12 ten-minute programs on the past, present, and future of astronomy and space exploration; high-tech tools such as the Hubble Space Telescope, robot probes, and satellites; life aboard the space shuttle and the Mir space station; black holes and dark matter; the structure of the universe; and the Big Bang.

Astronomer's Universe (Part of the series Universe: The Infinite Frontier) Author: Publisher: Intelecom Intelligent Communications Year: 1995 Running Time: 19 minutes Description: Astronomer's Universe conveys astronomers' delight in stellar exploration and discovery with a tour through the varied and mysterious objects populating the cosmos.

Astronomical Instruments (Part of the series Universe: The Infinite Frontier) Author: Publisher: Intelecom Intelligent Communications Year: 1995 Running Time: 18 minutes Description: Astronomical Instruments shows how astronomers capture and analyze radiation from space using a vast array of instruments both on Earth and in space.

Cosmology (Part of the series Universe: The Infinite Frontier) Author: Publisher: Intelecom Intelligent Communications Year: 1995 Running Time: 22 minutes Description: Cosmology considers the modern theory of the origin of the universe, along with the notion that unseen "dark matter" contributes to the total mass present in the universe.

Deaths of Stars, Novae and Supernovae (Part of the series Universe: The Infinite Frontier) Author: Publisher: Intelecom Intelligent Communications Year: 1995 Running Time: 14 minutes Description: Deaths of Stars, Novae and Supernovae demonstrates how stars that don't retire as white dwarfs may explode into supernovae: spectacular events where the outer layers of the star eject violently into space.

Deaths of Stars: Neutron Stars and Black Holes (Part of the series Universe: The Infinite Frontier) Author: Publisher: Intelecom Intelligent Communications Year: 1995 Running Time: 18 minutes Description: Death of Stars: Neutron Stars and Black Holes reveals how the remains of exploded stars can take form as rapidly rotating neutron stars, or black holes, from which nothing escapes.

Earth and Mars (Part of the series Universe: The Infinite Frontier) Author: Publisher: Intelecom Intelligent Communications Year: 1995 Running Time: 21 minutes Description: Earth and Mars examines Earth's atmosphere and interior, comparing the characteristics on Earth to neighboring Mars.

Eclipses of the Sun and Moon (Part of the series Universe: The Infinite Frontier) Author: Publisher: Intelecom Intelligent Communications Year: 1995 Running Time: 14 minutes Description: Eclipses of the Sun and Moon provides explanations and demonstrations of two of nature's grandest spectacles: lunar and solar eclipses.

Galaxies (Part of the series Universe: The Infinite Frontier) Author: Publisher: Intelecom Intelligent Communications Year: 1995 Running Time: 19 minutes Description: Galaxies views the giant star systems called galaxies and their typical shapes: spiral, elliptical and irregular.

Jupiter and Saturn (Part of the series Universe: The Infinite Frontier) Author: Publisher: Intelecom Intelligent Communications Year: 1995 Running Time: 18 minutes Description: Jupiter and Saturn explores the two largest planets in our solar system, with close-ups of their rings and satellites.

Light and Atoms (Part of the series Universe: The Infinite Frontier) Author: Publisher: Intelecom Intelligent Communications Year: 1995 Running Time: 18 minutes Description: Light and Atoms identifies several types of radiation that transport information from the depths of the universe.

Mercury and Venus (Part of the series Universe: The Infinite Frontier) Author: Publisher: Intelecom Intelligent Communications Year: 1995 Running Time: 22 minutes Description: Mercury and Venus demonstrates how planets take form from the solar nebula and focuses on the two planets closest to our sun.

Meteorites, Asteroids and Comets (Part of the series Universe: The Infinite Frontier) Author: Publisher: Intelecom Intelligent Communications Year: 1995 Running Time: 21 minutes Description: Meteorites, Asteroids and Comets relates how these small bodies wander through our solar system, contributing tons of material that bombards the Earth every day, possibly altering the course of life on our planet.

Peculiar Galaxies (Part of the series Universe: The Infinite Frontier) Author: Publisher: Intelecom Intelligent Communications Year: 1995 Running Time: 19 minutes Description: Peculiar Galaxies relates how quasars and radio galaxies leave astronomers asking why these systems emit huge amounts of non-visible radio energy.

Properties and Formation of Stars (Part of the series Universe: The Infinite Frontier) Author: Publisher: Intelecom Intelligent Communications Year: 1995 Running Time: 14 minutes Description: Properties and Formation of Stars illustrates how stars take form in an interstellar medium of gas and dust, materializing with mass, size, temperature, and luminosity.

The Lives of Stars (Part of the series Universe: The Infinite Frontier) Author: Publisher: Intelecom Intelligent Communications Year: 1995 Running Time: 18 minutes Description: The Lives of the Stars explains how the fiery nuclear processes inside stars generate most of the atoms found on Earth, but when no fuel remains for these processes, how the stars usually transform into white dwarfs.

The Milky Way Galaxy (Part of the series Universe: The Infinite Frontier) Author: Publisher: Intelecom Intelligent Communications Year: 1995 Running Time: 19 minutes Description: The Milky Way Galaxy provides a close-up look at our stellar neighborhood, a galaxy system that contains over one hundred billion stars.

The Moon (Part of the series Universe: The Infinite Frontier) Author: Publisher: Intelecom Intelligent Communications Year: 1995 Running Time: 19 minutes Description: The Moon explains the theories behind the probable origin of our nearest celestial neighbor, and the reasons for its surface features and phase cycle.

The Origin of Modern Astronomy (Part of the series Universe: The Infinite Frontier) Author: Publisher: Intelecom Intelligent Communications Year: 1995 Running Time: 24 minutes Description: The Origin of Modern Astronomy introduces the people whose ideas contributed to our understanding of the infinite universe, scientists from the early Greek Pythagoras to modern-day Einstein.

The Search for Extraterrestrial Life (Part of the series Universe: The Infinite Frontier) Author: Publisher: Intelecom Intelligent Communications Year: 1995 Running Time: 19 minutes Description: The Search for Extraterrestrial Life surveys modern technology that allows humans to search for extraterrestrial life as never before.

The Sun (Part of the series Universe: The Infinite Frontier) Author: Publisher: Intelecom Intelligent Communications Year: 1995 Running Time: 19 minutes Description: The Sun shows how the dominant star in our solar system, seen through a telescope, is not nearly as benign as it seems.

Uranus, Neptune and Pluto (Part of the series Universe: The Infinite Frontier) Author: Publisher: Intelecom Intelligent Communications Year: 1995 Running Time: 21 minutes Description: Uranus, Neptune and Pluto reveals how Uranus and Neptune are smaller versions of Jupiter and Saturn, and how Pluto is different from the others.