100 Books Like Cosmic Chronicles

I have always been interested in art, science, and feminism. I became particularly engaged in the history and science of astronomy when I was the manager of the Sydney Observatory. While there, I wrote a doctoral thesis about the work of female ‘computers’ and star measurers for the Australian section of the Great Star Catalogue in the early 20th Century. I am interested in how astronomical events and observations have influenced history, art, and culture. I am an amateur astronomer, have seen eight total solar eclipses, two transits of Venus, and other astronomical events, and plan to see many more.

I have always been interested in art, science, and feminism. I became particularly engaged in the history and science of astronomy when I was the manager of the Sydney Observatory. While there, I wrote a doctoral thesis about the work of female ‘computers’ and star measurers for the Australian section of the Great Star Catalogue in the early 20th Century. I am interested in how astronomical events and observations have influenced history, art, and culture. I am an amateur astronomer, have seen eight total solar eclipses, two transits of Venus, and other astronomical events, and plan to see many more.

I have always been interested in art, science, and feminism. I became particularly engaged in the history and science of astronomy when I was the manager of the Sydney Observatory. While there, I wrote a doctoral thesis about the work of female ‘computers’ and star measurers for the Australian section of the Great Star Catalogue in the early 20th Century. I am interested in how astronomical events and observations have influenced history, art, and culture. I am an amateur astronomer, have seen eight total solar eclipses, two transits of Venus, and other astronomical events, and plan to see many more.

I have always been interested in art, science, and feminism. I became particularly engaged in the history and science of astronomy when I was the manager of the Sydney Observatory. While there, I wrote a doctoral thesis about the work of female ‘computers’ and star measurers for the Australian section of the Great Star Catalogue in the early 20th Century. I am interested in how astronomical events and observations have influenced history, art, and culture. I am an amateur astronomer, have seen eight total solar eclipses, two transits of Venus, and other astronomical events, and plan to see many more.

Nature enthusiasts, David Attenborough superfans, and the best campsite hot toddy makers you’ll ever encounter… We’re best friends who have been traveling through national parks together for millenia. During our travels, we’ve developed our own style of tourism based on science and following our curiosity. We’ve hiked with paleontologists, asked renowned scientists ridiculous questions about which prehistoric creature they’d want for a pet, and introduced a parks astronomer/pilot/ER doctor to bourbon. In 2023, we released National Parks Trivia: A Card Game so that when you’re done hiking around with our first book, you have something to keep you entertained at the campsite all evening long. 

I am a mom and life-long educator who has often scratched my head and wondered why kids give up so easily when things become a little challenging. I learned about fixed and growth mindset principles and decided to apply them to an education setting. What I realized during this time is that both adults and kids give up too easily and demonstrate fixed mindset thinking way too often! As a result, I wrote a few books for teachers, parents, and kids about ways to develop a growth mindset! I am sharing some of my favorite books that can be a catalyst for discussing resiliency and perseverance with the kids in our life!

I am an author, editor, lecturer, and sometime broadcaster on astronomy and space. My early interest in the possibilities of extraterrestrial life and interstellar communication led me to write my first books, Worlds Beyond (1975) and Messages from the Stars (1978). This interest also led me to investigate UFO sightings, but I soon realized that their explanation lies in human misperception and not ETs. My investigation and explanation of the famous Rendlesham Forest UFO case of December 1980, widely regarded as one of the top-ten cases worldwide and sometimes known as Britain's Roswell, can be found here. In conjunction with the outstanding Dutch celestial cartographer Wil Tirion, I have produced two standard observing guides for amateur astronomers. 

I am an astronomer and college professor who loves science fiction. For many years, I have kept a webpage recommending science fiction stories and novels that are based on good astronomy. I love explaining astronomy to non-scientists, and I am the lead author of OpenStax Astronomy, a free online textbook for beginners, which is now the most frequently used textbook for astronomy classes in the U.S. I actually learned English at age 11 by reading science fiction comics and then books for kids,  After many decades as a fan, I have recently realized a long-held dream and become a published SF author myself.

I was once an academic philosopher, but I found it too glamorous and well-paid so I became a novelist and private intellectual mentor instead. I wrote You Are Here because I love what science knows, but an interest in how science knows drew me into the philosophy of science, where a puzzle lurks. Scientists claim that the essence of their craft is captured in a 17th Century formula, “the scientific method”... and in a 20th Century litmus test, “falsifiability.” Philosophers claim that these two ideas are (a) both nonsense and (b) in any case mutually contradictory. So what’s going on? 

I started my scientific career as an Astrophysicist. However, I have always been interested in Archaeology. This finally led me to conjugate the two passions when I started working in Archaeoastronomy, in 2003. Working in Archaeoastronomy first means having a direct experience of the sites (preferably, of every single stone, although in places like Giza they count in the millions…). So I have made fieldworks in Italy, Egypt, Cambodia, and, recently, on Chinese imperial necropolises. I currently teach Archaeoastronomy as a professor at the Politecnico of Milan. I have always been interested also in scientific communication on TV and social media, and my introductive Archaeoastronomy course is available for free on the Coursera platform.