Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Wacky and Wonderful Misconceptions About Our Universe

  • Book
  • © 2018

Overview

Authors:
  1. Geoffrey Kirby

    1. Weymouth, United Kingdom

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

  • Provides a unique compendium of odd astronomical and cosmological theories, covering lesser known but equally entertaining stories
  • Offers a lighthearted, easy-to-understand look into the history of astronomical and scientific thought throughout the ages, requiring no prior background in astronomy
  • Includes over 100 photographs and diagrams to illustrate key concepts and misconceptions covered by the text

Part of the book series: Astronomers' Universe (ASTRONOM)

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this book

Log in via an institution
eBook USD 24.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 34.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

Licence this eBook for your library

Institutional subscriptions

Table of contents (10 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xvi
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Introduction

    • Geoffrey Kirby
    Pages 1-20

  3. The Sun and Its Solar System: A Sexy Musical Pool Game?

    • Geoffrey Kirby
    Pages 21-53

  4. Our Three Wacky Inner Planets: Imaginary, Delusionary and Inhabited

    • Geoffrey Kirby
    Pages 55-78

  5. Earth: Flat, Hollow or Inside Out?

    • Geoffrey Kirby
    Pages 79-96

  6. Our Moon: Inhabited, Small and Icy

    • Geoffrey Kirby
    Pages 97-126

  7. Mars: Inhabited and a Threat?

    • Geoffrey Kirby
    Pages 127-149

  8. Solar System Rubble: The Home of Princess Moon Owl?

    • Geoffrey Kirby
    Pages 151-173

  9. The Outer Planets: Forests of Hemp, Armadas of Seamen and the Holy Foreskin of Jesus

    • Geoffrey Kirby
    Pages 175-201

  10. Wackiness Beyond the Solar System

    • Geoffrey Kirby
    Pages 203-232

  11. Is It Wacky to Believe in Astrology and UFOs?

    • Geoffrey Kirby
    Pages 233-251

  12. Back Matter

    Pages 253-258
    Download chapter PDF
Back to top

Keywords

About this book

From unicorns on the Moon to UFOs piloted by Martian bees, this book chronicles some of the strangest ideas that have been put forward – and have actually been believed in -- about our universe. Drawn from tales dating from the Middle Ages to the present, this collection of stories takes readers on an imaginative and wild ride through the ages and minds of some of the wackiest, tackiest, most outlandish concepts in astronomy, cosmology and physics. Follow along as Geoff Kirby recounts each quirky idea in detail and explains how these theories fare against modern astronomical research and technologies.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Weymouth, United Kingdom

    Geoffrey Kirby

About the author

Geoff Kirby holds a Bachelor of Science in Physics and Environmental Sciences. His career was in Oceanography, specifically concerning the interactions between the atmosphere and oceans that drive important aspects of climate change. 


Kirby’s interest in astronomy began while living in London during World War II. The “Blackout” precautions against enemy bombers provided the intensely dark skies that originally enabled him to see the heavens in spectacular detail. In the 1950s, he began making astronomical telescopes, and over subsequent decades gained minor fame for his observations of the Moon, Planets, Variable Stars and Artificial Satellites. His work has been featured in several international astronomical journals, while his autobiography, An Amateur Astronomer’s Life: Seven Decades of Enthusiasm for the Heavens, was published in 2016.


Bibliographic Information

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Back to top

Search

Navigation