Want a good scare? Try reading about severed heads that blink, killer viruses that eat their human host, and real-life werewolves (just for starters)! Scared yet? That's okay - feeling scared is natural and useful. Want to know more about these and other fears? Pick up this one-of-a-kind book, an illustrated investigation into all the stuff that's frightened us out of our wits for centuries and the gruesome, gory, gut-churning science behind it. What makes our skin crawl and our spines tingle? Why do we shiver? Why do scary movies make us scream? Uncover the truth behind such scaremongers as King Kong, UFOs, vampires, mummies, ghosts, haunted houses, and many more. First-person and historical accounts and expert scientific opinions make this the ideal book for both skeptics and believers - and anyone who loves a good old-fashioned scare. The comic-book style panels and bite-sized freaky facts mean that you can gorge on or just nibble little bits of scary stuff....

Want a good scare? Try reading about severed heads that blink, killer viruses that eat their human host, and real-life werewolves (just for starters)! Scared yet? That's okay - feeling scared is natural and useful. Want to know more about these and other fears? Pick up this one-of-a-kind book, an illustrated investigation into all the stuff that's frightened us out of our wits for centuries and the gruesome, gory, gut-churning science behind it. What makes our skin crawl and our spines tingle? Why do we shiver? Why do scary movies make us scream? Uncover the truth behind such scaremongers as King Kong, UFOs, vampires, mummies, ghosts, haunted houses, and many more. First-person and historical accounts and expert scientific opinions make this the ideal book for both skeptics and believers - and anyone who loves a good old-fashioned scare. The comic-book style panels and bite-sized freaky facts mean that you can gorge on or just nibble little bits of scary stuff....

Stephen O'Meara's new and exciting observing guide spotlights an original selection of 109 deep-sky objects that will appeal to sky-watchers worldwide. His 'hidden treasures' include a wonderful assortment of galaxies, open clusters, planetary nebulae and more, all of which have been carefully chosen based on their popularity and ease of observing. None of these objects are included in either the Messier or the Caldwell catalogs, and all are visible in a 4-inch telescope under dark skies. Stunning photographs and beautiful drawings accompany detailed visual descriptions of the objects, which include their rich histories and astrophysical significance. The author's original finder charts are designed to help observers get to their targets fast and efficiently....

• Informal, story-telling approach
• Star charts, photos, and illustrations
• Interesting anecdotes, mythologies, and histories about the stars and constellations
• Brightest and best stars, star clusters and asterisms, nebulae, galaxies, variable stars and more!
Month by month, star by star, object by object, Stephen James O'Meara takes readers on a celestial journey to many of the most prominent stars and constellations visible from mid-northern latitudes. Filled with interesting anecdotes about the stars and constellations and their intriguing histories, this book is both a useful guide for amateur astronomers, and a great first-time reference for those just starting out. After describing a constellation's mythology, readers are guided in locating and identifying its brightest stars in the sky, as well as any other bright targets of interest - colorful stars, double or multiple stars, star clusters and asterisms, nebulae, galaxies, variable stars, and more. This book will help beginning stargazers become familiar with the stars and constellations visible from their backyards, and explore the brightest and best stars, nebulae, and clusters visible through inexpensive, handheld binoculars.

For more exciting titles by O'Meara, please visit www.cambridge.org/us/omeara

About the Author

Stephen James O'Meara, award-winning visual observer, is columnist and contributing editor for Astronomy magazine and former Eye on the Sky columnist for Sky & Telescope. He is the recipient of the prestigious Caroline Herschel Award, the Lone Stargazer Award, as well as the Omega Centauri Award for "his efforts in advancing astronomy through observation, writing, and promotion, and for sharing his love of the sky." The International Astronomical Union named asteroid 3637 O'Meara in his honor. As the first to sight Halley's Comet on its return in 1985, his remarkable skills continually reset the standard of quality for other visual observers....

The Herschel 400 is a list of 400 galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters, picked from over 2,500 deep-sky objects discovered and catalogued by the great eighteenth-century astronomer Sir William Herschel and his sister Caroline. It comprises 231 galaxies, 107 open clusters, 33 globular clusters, 20 planetary nebulae, 2 halves of a single planetary nebula, and 7 bright nebulae. In this guide Steve O'Meara takes the observer through the list, season by season, month by month, night by night, object by object. He works through the objects in a carefully planned and methodical way, taking in some of the most dramatic non-Messier galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters in the night sky. Ideal for astronomers who have tackled the Messier objects, this richly illustrated guide will help the amateur astronomer hone their observing skills....