Comets: A Chronological History of Observation, Science, Myth, and Folklore

by Donald K. Yeomans

Illustrated throughout, this text describes clearly the basic astronomy and physics of comets. It portrays comets in fact and fiction, science and sorcery, from the Stone Age to the most recent visitation from Halley's Comet. The author is technical staff member with NASA and an acclaimed expert in comet science and history.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471610119
• ISBN13: 9780471610113
• Release Date: January 1991
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 496 Pages
• Weight: 2.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 7.3" x 10.2"

Customer Reviews

A Great Reference

In my book, "Astronomical Symbols on Ancient and Medieval Coins", I devote an entire chapter to comets that were depicted on medieval coinage as signs of divine right to sovereignty. Several other chapters also refer to the use of cometary symbols on coins as a part of in-depth discussions of various sovereigns. I have a Ph.D. in astronomy with my thesis dealing with long period cometary orbits. As part of my numismatic research, I supplemented my own knowledge with that of several other sources, and found Yeomans' book to be especially valuable. I highly recommend this book to all who are interested in reading about historical comets. Marshall Faintich