Universe: Exploring the Astronomical World

This collection brings together 300 representative images that display human interest in contemplating the universe, conceptualizing its vastness and meaning, and creating art and scientific works to understand it; from cave drawings to Van Gogh prints to some of NASA's recent photographs. Throughout the book, which is compiled by Phaidon editors (Map: Exploring the World) and with an introduction by the Institute of Astronomy's Paul Murdin, images of similar subjects are paired together. For example, one page shows a watercolor of the moon that was created by Galileo in 1609, while the opposite page portrays stereograph images of the moon from 1858. Some sets of images are complementary to one another, while others show the disparity between fact and fiction (a photograph of Mars from 1930 alongside a cover of DC Comics' Mystery in Space from 1951). Each image has a brief description to provide context and valuable information.