Nicolson, Iain 1945-

PERSONAL:

Born April 20, 1945.

CAREER:

University of Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire, England, visiting fellow; contributor to television programming, including the British Broadcasting Corporation series The Sky at Night.

WRITINGS:

Astronomy, illustrated by Gordon Davies, Grosset & Dunlap (New York, NY), 1971.

Exploring the Planets, illustrated by James Nicholls, Grosset & Dunlap (New York, NY), 1971.

Simple Astronomy, illustrated by Don Pottinger, Scribner (New York, NY), 1973.

(With Patrick Moore) Black Holes in Space, Orbach & Chambers (London, England), 1974, Norton (New York, NY), 1976.

(Compiler) Astronomy: A Dictionary of Space and the Universe, Arrow Books (London, England), 1977.

The Road to the Stars, Morrow (New York, NY), 1978.

Gravity, Black Holes, and the Universe, David & Charles (Newton Abbot, England), 1981.

The Sun, foreword by Archie E. Roy, Rand McNally (New York, NY), 1982.

Sputnik to Space Shuttle: 25 Years of the Space Age, Sidgwick & Jackson (London, England), 1982, Dodd, Mead (New York, NY), 1985.

(With Patrick Moore) The Universe, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1985.

The Illustrated World of Space, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 1991.

Unfolding Our Universe, illustrated by Mark McLellan, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 1999.

Stars and Supernovas, DK Publishing (New York, NY), 2001.

Dark Side of the Universe: Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Fate of the Cosmos, John Hopkins University Press (Baltimore, MD), 2007.

Contributor to periodicals, including Astronomy Now.

SIDELIGHTS:

Iain Nicolson is a lecturer and writer whose presentations, articles, and books focus on space science and astronomy. A consultant and contributor to Astronomy Now, he has also contributed to The Sky at Night, a television series produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Over four decades Nicolson has written and edited volumes that explain astronomy and space to readers at all levels. His early books include Astronomy, Exploring the Planets, Simple Astronomy, Black Holes in Space, Astronomy: A Dictionary of Space and the Universe, The Road to the Stars, Gravity, Black Holes, and the Universe, The Sun, Sputnik to Space Shuttle: 25 Years of the Space Age, and The Universe.

Nicolson's The Illustrated World of Space is a primer for children that introduces them to the science of astronomy. Covered are the Big Bang, black holes, planets, the solar system, and stars. Nicolson provides tables that order the stars by brightness, the planets (and their satellites) by size, and dates of eclipses of the sun and the moon. An Astronomy contributor noted that although Nicolson explains the appearance of the constellations, he does not include seasonal maps to show young readers how the seasonal skies differ.

In Unfolding Our Universe Nicolson focuses on the nature of light and the science of telescopes. This academic volume includes many deep-space photographs, diagrams, and astronomical charts. Appendices provide information on the solar system, stars, and measurement. Library Journal reviewer Nancy Curtis commented on the fact that this volume is very complete and that, except for the fact that it does not contain review questions and exercises, it could be used as a college text.

Claudia Moore reviewed Stars and Supernovas for School Library Journal, noting that young students can benefit from it but that the most will be gained by those who already have a basic understanding of physics and chemistry. Nicolson provides a view of stars from ancient to modern perspectives, explains contemporary theories about them, and relates how man has traveled into space to learn more. His discussion of the Big Bang theory includes the debate between science and religious faith. The text is enhanced with photographs taken by modern cameras, computer diagrams, and works of art. Nicolson includes related trivia, too. Moore wrote that the illustrations are "so well captioned that casual browsers will learn without even reading the text."

Dark Side of the Universe: Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Fate of the Cosmos is an appropriate choice for both college-level science readers and general interest readers. It discusses theories about the evolution of the universe, relying on scientific deduction and discoveries about dark matter and its possible role in the universe. Dark matter, according to many scientists, is said to comprise the 98 percent of the universe that cannot be seen. Astronomers and physicists credit dark matter with creating the momentum that expands the universe. Nicolson also writes of neutron stars, old white dwarfs, black holes, massive compact halo objects (MACHOs), weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), neutrinos, cosmic density, superstring theory, the Big Bang, and the building blocks that might have caused it. Nicolson provides any alternative view to dark matter in which modified gravity, not dark matter, is responsible for the birth of the universe. He also projects how the universe could end. The book includes a selection of color photographs. An Internet Bookwatch reviewer called Dark Side of the Universe "a fascinating exposé."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Astronomy, February, 1992, review of The Sun, p. 112; April, 1994, review of The Illustrated World of Space, p. 104; January, 2000, review of Unfolding Our Universe, p. 112.

Booklist, December 1, 1999, Mary Carroll, review of Unfolding Our Universe, p. 673.

Choice, April, 2000, M.K. Hemenway, review of Unfolding Our Universe, p. 1490; October, 2007, D.E. Hogg, review of Dark Side of the Universe: Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Fate of the Cosmos, p. 306.

Emergency Librarian, November, 1992, review of The Illustrated World of Space, p. 51.

Internet Bookwatch, June, 2007, review of Dark Side of the Universe.

Library Journal, December, 1999, Nancy Curtis, review of Unfolding Our Universe, p. 178.

Mufon UFO Journal, March, 1980, Kim L. Neidigh, review of The Road to the Stars, p. 14.

New Scientist, March 24, 2007, review of Dark Side of the Universe, p. 58.

School Library Journal, October, 1991, John Peters, review of The Illustrated World of Space, p. 140; February, 2002, Claudia Moore, review of Stars and Supernovas, p. 156.

Science Books & Films, March, 1980, review of The Road to the Stars, p. 203; November, 1981, review of Gravity, Black Holes, and the Universe, p. 73; November, 1991, review of The Illustrated World of Space, p. 237; July, 2000, review of Unfolding Our Universe, p. 167; November, 2000, review of Unfolding Our Universe, p. 247.

Science News, June 9, 2007, review of Dark Side of the Universe, p. 367.

Science Teacher, September, 2002, Michael Blair, review of Unfolding Our Universe, p. 82.

SciTech Book News, December, 2001, review of Stars and Supernovas, p. 47; June, 2007, review of Dark Side of the Universe.

Sky & Telescope, October, 1982, David Block, review of Gravity, Black Holes, and the Universe, p. 344; February, 1992, review of The Illustrated World of Space, p. 173; January, 1993, review of The Illustrated World of Space, p. 82.

Voice of Youth Advocates, February, 2002, review of Stars and Supernovas, p. 457.