Encyclopedia of Space Exploration

Angelo has compiled a useful explanation of key terms in interstellar exploration. Written at a moderately technical level, but still extremely accessible to an educated layman. He covers a diverse range of topics. Including the hardware of astronomy, like the radiotelescopes at Arecibo and orbiting observatories like the Hubble and Chandra. But concepts are also explained. So that you have some idea of the anthropic principle, for instance. None of the topics are discussed to any depth. Inevitable in a book of this size. If you are a student of astronomy, you need more specialised texts.