The Universal Book of Astronomy: From the Andromeda Galaxy to the Zone of Avoidance, by David Darling, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
This alphabetical tour of the universe provides all the history, science, and up-to-the-minute facts needed to explore the skies with authority. Covering everything from major observatories and space telescopes to biographies of astronomers throughout the ages, it showcases an extraordinary array of newfound wonders, including microquasars, brown dwarfs, and dark energy, as well as a host of individual comets, asteroids, moons, planets, stars, nebulas, and galaxies. Its an ideal resource for the amateur astronomer or anyone with an interest in the mysteries of the cosmos.