“Cosmos,” by Giles Sparrow (Quercus, $99), is a spectacular tour of our galaxy — and beyond ... it’s a Jupiter-size book that weighs in at 10 pounds. Everything about “Cosmos ...

Destination Cosmos, a collaboration with NASA ... charts our engagement with the Red Planet. The book covers modern exploration and surveys the power Mars has over human imaginations.

In his new book, Under Alien Skies ... How did you choose the 10 locations for this ride through the cosmos? In some cases it was easy. I mean, Saturn, c’mon. We know a lot about the moon ...