Have you ever wondered what it would be like to travel the universe? How
would Saturn's rings look from a spaceship sailing just above them? If
you were falling into a black hole, what's the last thing you'd see
before getting spaghettified? While traveling in person to most of these
amazing worlds may not be possible--yet--the would-be space traveler
need not despair: you can still take the scenic route through the galaxy
with renowned astronomer and science communicator Philip Plait.
On this lively, immersive adventure through the cosmos, Plait draws
ingeniously on both the latest scientific research and his prodigious
imagination to transport you to ten of the most spectacular sights outer
space has to offer. In vivid, inventive scenes informed by rigorous
science--injected with a dose of Plait's trademark humor--Under Alien
Skies places you on the surface of alien worlds, from our own familiar
Moon to the far reaches of our solar system and beyond. Try launching
yourself onto a two-hundred-meter asteroid, or stargazing from the rim
of an ancient volcano on a planet where, from the place you stand, it is
eternally late afternoon. Experience the sudden onset of lunar
nightfall, the disorientation of walking--or, rather, shuffling--when
you weigh almost nothing, the irritation of jagged regolith dust.
Glimpse the frigid mountains and plains of Pluto and the cake-like
exterior of a comet called 67P. On a planet trillions of miles from
Earth, glance down to see the strange, beautiful shadows cast by a
hundred thousand stars.
For the aspiring extraterrestrial citizen, casual space tourist, or
curious armchair traveler, Plait is an illuminating, always-entertaining
guide to the most otherworldly views in our universe.
