Comets

By: Anura Guruge

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Length: 6 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

A comet book customized for COMET NEOWISE (i.e., C/2020 F3) – 2020’s naked-eye visible comet in North America & Europe. Comet NEOWISE is special. It is the first naked-eye comet that has been visible (in the evening sky no less) in the Northern Hemisphere since 1997 – and ‘Hale-Bopp’. It will introduce a whole new generation to the magic & glory of comets. It will astound, transfix & tantalize. This book will augment & enhance that experience. This is the author’s May 2020 “Comets” book updated for Comet NEOWISE. There are two new chapters & 13 new images specific to NEOWISE. There are detailed, annotated orbital diagrams showing NEOWISE at its closest to the Sun, closest to Earth & where it was when discovered by an infrared space telescope. It covers everything and more that you will want to find out about this Comet – which is likely to become known as ‘Comet COVID’. Just use Amazon’s ‘Look Inside’ feature to marvel the amount of detail included. The title page has the annotation: ‘demystifying comets, for those of all ages’. That is true & valid. Some other apropos subtitles could have been: ‘comets – from soup to nuts’, ‘everything & more you ever wanted to know about comets’, ‘a primer for the wannabe expert’, or even ‘the handbook NASA wishes it had’! The goal of this book is to tell you, in a relatively entertaining manner, everything you might ever want to know about comets. Nothing more, nothing less. You should exploit Amazon’s ‘Look Inside’ feature to peruse some of the pages & admire the figures (and there are over 60). Check out the ‘Table of Contents’. You will see that this book covers it all: ‘What?, When?, Where?, Why?, Anatomy, Origins, Orbits, Discovery, Naming, Brightness, Exploration, Great Comets & even Meteor Showers’. There is a whole Appendix & multiple sidebars on essential & technical vocabulary. This book is truly comprehensive – but written, intentionally, in a relatively informal style to make it engaging & easy to follow. The author, a professional technical writer, has written other books on comets & astronomy. Check out (on Amazon) what some folks said about his 2013 book on ‘Comet ISON’. One reviewer wrote: “The Lord's Prayer in a technical book by Anura”! Another said: ‘Remarkable Author & Information Genius’. From the pricing you should be able to deduce that this book was not written for ‘profit’. An author does not get too much royalty on a book that is sold for $2. The author, now on the other side of 65, no longer has to worry about making money from his writing. He collects Social Security. Enough said. Also remember that Amazon allows you to return a book – even if you read it in full. So, what have you got to lose?