This book is so informative it's amazing. The book, for the most part, follows the daily activities of Alex Filippeko as he tries to uncover the mysterious of our universe. For fans of "Through the Wormhole" and 'The Universe", you will be surprise to see that this book is basically the written version of some of those episodes. Also, the pictures are stunning and dazzling. ( )

A look into the mystery of space. Nic Bishop does the photos, gives great photos of the space.

I'm going to put this somewhere between 3-1/2 and 4 stars. This is a rating in the context of the age group it was written for which is listed in the resource I use for age considerations as 8 to 12 year olds. It seems to me that the intention was to cover the subject in a way that would spark an interest in those just being introduced to science in general and astronomy/physics in particular. I believe it would do an excellent job of that. If you have any knowledge of the subject at all you probably won't get much out of it. It was a little hard sticking with this for me but some of the things I read are for the sake of evaluating whether I want to pass them on to a couple young friends. This will definitely be one that I pass on. ( )

This book is about Alex Filippenko, an astronomer, who studies supernovae, dark energy, and black holes. It explains his job descriptions and the type of telescopes he uses to view space. He gives lots of information and facts throughout the book about the universe and a few pages about himself.
This book does not follow any order; it jumps from subject to subject and was hard to follow. Also, it was difficult to retain any of the information because the reader is trying to figure out what the author is discussing.
The illustrations fit well with the content of the book. There were plenty of bright, real-life images of stars, supernovae, and many other space related objects.
I thought the content level in this book was suitable for high school science classes; however, I would not use this book in my class. I thought it was hard to follow and was too technical. I read it out loud to my sixth grade son. He did not like the book and had a hard time keeping up with what subject was being discussed. ( )

The Mysterious Universe was a fascinating account of a day in the life of an astronomer. Often times students think that an astronomer only looks through a telescope and finds starts. This book of the Scientist in the Field series, really breaks down some deep, mind-boggling concepts for a middle school reader. The descriptions about supernovae and black holes leave the reader feeling not only well-informed, but also understanding his or her place in this ever growing universe. Mysterious Universe also leaves a reader with questions - a sign that the book, in a sense, worked. The scientist, Alex Fillippenko, is just a regular guy with a great sense of humor. This makes the idea of being a scientist so much closer to home than what a typical middle school student may think. While this book would be more applicable to a science class, I would quickly recommend it to any student who has an interest in science or space. It could also be used in a collaborative, interdisciplinary unit that is stirring in my head. ( )