Pioneers in Astronomy and Space Exploration

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Edited by Michael Anderson. 2013. 112 pp. $35.25. Rosen Publishing Group, New York. ISBN: 9781615306954

In a concise format, the author describes the achievements of 37 men and women who sought to understand the mysteries of the universe. The time line spans from ancient Greece to space exploration in the 21st century. It carries us from a geocentric view of the solar system, which thwarted advancements in astronomy to our modern Sun-centered or heliocentrive view.

Early explanations of astronomical phenomena were based on what could be seen with the human eye and mathematical calculations. Readers will be amazed to learn how much information was amassed, such as the …