This thesis presents a study of the origin of an apparently extended X-ray emission associated with the Galactic ridge. The study was carried out with broadband spectra obtained from mapping observations in the Galactic bulge region conducted in 2005-2010 by the Suzaku space X-ray observatory. The spectra were analyzed with a newly constructed X-ray spectral model of an accreting white dwarf binary that is one of the proposed candidate stars for the origin of the Galactic ridge emission in the higher energy band. Fitting of the observed Galactic ridge spectra with the model showed that there is another spectral component that fills the gap between the observed X-ray flux and the component expected from the accreting white dwarf spectral model in the lower energy band. This additional soft spectral component was nicely explained by an X-ray spectral model of normal stars. The result, together with previously reported high-resolution imaging results, strongly supports the idea that the Galactic ridge X-ray emission is an assembly of dim, discrete X-ray point sources.

The story of how an eleven-year old boy growing up in 16th century Italy loses his birthday when the Gregorian calendar replaces the Julian calendar in 1582, and how he fights to prevent this loss. The author cleverly weaves elements of the cultural and scientific milieu of the time into an engaging and intelligent tale. Tibaldos father is a medical assistant, and his sister is a midwife. Thus, the boy grows up learning about current medical practices and his fascination for medicine makes him a fast learner. Then, when Tibaldo learns that he is about to lose his 13th birthday, he determines to do something about it. The result is both amusing and informative.

Space storms, the manifestation of bad weather in space, have a number of physical effects in the near-Earth environment: acceleration of charged particles in space, intensification of electric currents in space and on the ground, impressive aurora displays, and global magnetic disturbances on the Earth's surface. Space weather has been defined as conditions on the Sun and in the solar wind, magnetosphere, ionosphere, and atmosphere that can influence the performance and reliability of space- and ground-based technological systems and can endanger human life'. The 19 chapters of this book, written by some of the foremost experts on the topic, present the most recent developments in space storm physics and related technological issues, such as malfunction of satellites, communication and navigation systems, and electric power distribution grids.
Readership: researchers, teachers and graduate students in space physics, astronomy, geomagnetism, space technology, electric power and communication technology, and non-specialist physicists and engineers.

As recommended in the United Nations Space & Atmospheric Science Education Curriculum booklet. Please find it amongst classics such as T.J.M. Boyd, J.J. Sanderson, J.K. Hargreaves and M.C. Kelly etc.

This volume reviews the current status with respect to both theory and observation of the extragalactic distance scale. A sufficient accuracy is required both for a precise determination of the cosmological parameters and also in order to achieve a better understanding of physical processes in extragalactic systems. The "standard candles," used to set up the extragalactic distance scale, reviewed in this book include cepheid variables, RR Lyrae variables, novae, Type Ia and Type II supernovae as well as globular clusters and planetary nebulae.

Voted the Best Space Book of 2018 by the Space Hipsters The dramatic inside story of the epic search and recovery operation after the Columbia space shuttle disaster. On February 1, 2003, Columbia disintegrated on reentry before the nation's eyes, and all seven astronauts aboard were lost. Author Mike Leinbach, Launch Director of the space shuttle program at NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center was a key leader in the search and recovery effort as NASA, FEMA, the FBI, the US Forest Service, and dozens more federal, state, and local agencies combed an area of rural east Texas the size of Rhode Island for every piece of the shuttle and her crew they could find. Assisted by hundreds of volunteers, it would become the largest ground search operation in US history. This comprehensive account is told in four parts: Parallel Confusion Courage, Compassion, and Commitment Picking Up the Pieces A Bittersweet Victory For the first time, here is the definitive inside story of the Columbia disaster and recovery and the inspiring message it ultimately holds. In the aftermath of tragedy, people and communities came together to help bring home the remains of the crew and nearly 40 percent of shuttle, an effort that was instrumental in piecing together what happened so the shuttle program could return to flight and complete the International Space Station. Bringing Columbia Home shares the deeply personal stories that emerged as NASA employees looked for lost colleagues and searchers overcame immense physical, logistical, and emotional challenges and worked together to accomplish the impossible. Featuring a foreword and epilogue by astronauts Robert Crippen and Eileen Collins, and dedicated to the astronauts and recovery search persons who lost their lives, this is an incredible, compelling narrative about the best of humanity in the darkest of times and about how a failure at the pinnacle of human achievement became a story of cooperation and hope.

It has become a tradition in the Union to publish the Invited Discourses and the Proceedings of the Joint Discussions held at a Gene ral Assembly in a separate volume entitled HIGHLIGHTS OF ASTRONOMY. This is the fourth volume of its kind and it contains some of the scientific highlights of the Grenoble General Assembly. In order to reduce its size it was decided to publish its content in two separate parts. The part (I) contains the full texts of the In vited Discourses given by Prof. J.-C. Pecker and by Dr. C. Sagan, and an abstract of Dr. P. Morrison's paper, thus complying with his wish to forego publication of the full text of his Discourse. Furthermore it collects the proceedings of three Joint Discussions and one Joint Meeting all of which are related essentially to observations from space, to external galaxies and to cosmology. Part (TI) contains the proceedings of the four Joint Discussions and one Joint Meeting related essentially to stars and the structure of our Galaxy. Clearly Volume 4 (parts I and TI) of the Highlights reflects only a part of the scientific activities which took place at the Grenoble General Assembly. Many more important papers and discussions were held during Commission meetings and joint meetings. They may be found in the Commissions' reports published in the Transactions Vol. XVI B, 1977."

This book contains the lectures presented at the International Workshop on Relation between Laboratory and Space Plasmas held at Gakushi-Kaikan (University Alumni Association) Kanda in Tokyo, Japan on 14 - 15 April, 1980. Its aim was to bring together laboratory, fusion and space plasma physicists and to highlight the communality of basic plasma phenomena, similarities and differences observed in the laboratory and in space, thus exchanging information tnd views on new ideas to link both areas. Although similar type of conferences were held in Europe and recently in the States, this is the first time we have had in Japan for such an international meeting, which may be regarded as an extended version of our national Workshop held twice at the Institute of Plasma Physics of Japan (IPPJ) in 1976 and in 1977 (IPPJ Research Report No. 286 and No. 365). The Workshop consisted of seven regular sessions and one special session with approximately ninety participants from allover the world. Thirty-six papers, invited and contributed, were presented, nine from U. S. A., three from U. S. S. R., two of each from Germany, France, India, one of each from Sweden, Canada, Belgium and fifteen from Japan. The topics covered were: (1) The Critical Velocity (2) Beam Plasma Discharges and Interactions (3) Double Layers and Shocks (4) Instabilities in the Equatorial and Auroral Electrojets (5) Turbulent and Anomalous Plasmas (6) Plasma Irregularities (7) Solar Plasma Phenomena (8) Active Experiments in Space Plasmas and Their Simulation in the Laboratory.

This volume presents the latest research results on solar prominences, including new developments on e.g. chirality, fine structure, magnetism, diagnostic tools and relevant solar plasma physics. In 1875 solar prominences, as seen out of the solar limb, were described by P.A. Secchi in his book Le Soleil as "gigantic pink or peach-flower coloured flames". The development of spectroscopy, coronagraphy and polarimetry brought tremendous observational advances in the twentieth century. The authors present and discuss exciting new challenges (resulting from observations made by space and ground-based telescopes in the 1990s and the first decade of the 21st century) concerning the diagnostics of prominences, their formation, their life time and their eruption along with their impact in the heliosphere (including the Earth). The book starts with a general introduction of the prominence "object" with some historical background on observations and instrumentation. In the next chapter, the various forms of prominences are described with a thorough attempt of classification. Their thermodynamic (and velocity) properties are then derived with emphasis on the methods (and their limits) used. This goes from the simplest optically thin case to the heavy radiative treatment of plasmas out of local thermodynamic equilibrium. The following chapters are devoted to the magnetic field measurements and indirect derivation. A new branch of diagnostic tools, the seismology, is presented along with some MHD basics. This allows to better understand the propagation of waves, the energy and force equilibria. Both small-scale and large-scale studies and their relationship are presented. The importance of the newly discovered cavities is stressed in the context of prominence destabilization. The issues of prominence formation and eruption, their connection with flares and Coronal Mass Ejections and their impact on the Earth are addressed on the basis of the latest results. Finally, an exciting new area of research is unveiled with the newly discovered evidence of similar manifestations in the Universe and their possible impact on the habitability of exoplanets. References to the basic physics (where necessary) are provided and the proposed web sites addresses will allow the reader to load exciting movies. The book is aimed at advanced students in astrophysics, post-graduates, solar physicists and more generally astrophysicists. Amateurs will enjoy the many new images which go with the text.

In the history of science the opening up of a new observational or experimental window is always followed by an increase in knowledge of the subject concerned. This is also the case with the subject of this book, ultraviolet radiation (hereafter UV). In principle, the ultraviolet range might be just one more of these windows, of no particular importance. However, the energy per UV photon provides the main peculiarity, its magnitude being great enough to produce important ch- ical reactions in the atmospheres of planets and satellites, thereby a?ecting the transmission of this radiation to the ground. The Sun is the main natural source of UV radiation in the Solar System and our planet is the body where its in?uences can be best tested and the only one where its relation with life can be studied. However, the terrestrial atmosphere blocksmostofthephotonsinthiselectromagneticrangeandastronomershavehad to develop various techniques (balloons, planes and rockets) to cross this barrier and access the information. These tools have been used in parallel to investigate the physical properties of the terrestrial atmosphere and the interaction of its constituents with light. This book will addresses most of these topics.

The 186th IAU Symposium came at an exciting and perhaps even historic time for extragalactic astronomy. New spacecraft observations plumbed the depths of the Universe out to redshifts of five, while revealing astounding details of nearby galaxies and AGN at intermediate redshifts. Theoretical ideas on structure formation, together with results from detailed numerical modeling, created a comprehensive framework for modeling the formation of galaxies and the transformation of galaxies by interactions and mergers. All these strands came together at the Symposium, as participants glimpsed a developing synthesis highlighting galactic encounters and their role in the history of the Universe. This volume offers professional astronomers, including PhD students, an overview of the rapidly advancing subject of galaxy interactions at low and high redshifts.

Recent years have seen increasing evidence that the main epoch of galaxy formation in the universe may be directly accessible to observation. An gular fluctuations in the background relict radiation have been detected by various ground-based instruments as well as by the COBE satellite, and suggest that the epoch of galaxy formation was not so very early. Combined optical and radio studies have found galaxies at redshifts above 2. 0, systems that at least superficially show the characteristics expected of large galaxies seen only shortly after their formation. And absorption lines in the spectra of quasars seem to be telling us that most cold gas at early to intermediate cosmological epochs was in clouds having roughly galaxy sized masses. What kinds of new observations will best help us study this high redshift universe in future? What new instruments will be needed? These are questions that loom large in the minds of the Dutch astronom ical community as we celebrate 25 years of operation of the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope. Celebration of this Silver Jubilee has included a birthday party (on 23 June, 1995), a commemorative volume looking at both the history and the future of the facility ("The Westerbork Observa tory, Continuing Adventure in Radio Astronomy," Kluwer 1996), and an international workshop, held in the village of Hoogeveen on 28-30 August, 1995."

This volume is the product of Lecturers in the fourth Course of the International School of Cosmic-Ray Astrophysics held at the Ettore Majorana Center in Erice, Sicily in November, 1984. The Course, devoted to "Cosmic Radiation in Contemporary Astrophysics," was concurrently a NATO-sponsored Advanced Study Institute (ASI). Cosmic-ray research is in a state of ferment. Precise measure ments - some made with instruments aboard sattelites and space probe- have been confronting models and theories with severe constraints. The observations of gamma-ray sources, notably Cyg X-3, at energies up to 16 10 eV, have opened up tantalizing possibilities of direct source iden tification. This ASI was devoted largely to interdisciplinary phenomena in cosmic-ray astrophysics whose understanding requires input from the other channels in astronomy. It explored the ways in which progress in cosmic-ray science might clarify phenomena observed in related disciplines. In trying to achieve this aim, we assembled a staff of lecturers representing various astrophysical specialties, such as radio astronomy, optical astronomy, X-ray astronomy, gamma-ray astronomy, and of course, particle astronomy (i.e., cosmic radiation). Students and other participants were likewise drawn from diverse backgrounds. Vigorous discussions enlivened almost every session."

This volume contains the fifteenth tri-annual reports of the Presidents of the forty Commissions of the International Astronomical Union; it refers to the progress in our discipline during the three years 1970, 1971 and 1972. As compared to earlier volumes a gradual change in character is unmistakable. The ever increasing flow of publications, combined with the obvious necessity to keep the Reports at a reasonable size and price level has gradually forced the Commission Presidents to be more selective than before in drafting their Reports. I have certainly stimulated them into that direction - in order that Reports like these be valuable and lasting, it seems imperative that the individual contributions have the character of a critical overall review, where a fairly complete summary is given of the major develop ments and discoveries of the past three years, and in which the broad developments and new trends be clearly outlined, while at the same time essential problems for future research are identified. With respect to the latter item I have suggested the Commission Presidents to add to their reports a brief section on scientific priorities for future research in the field of their Commissions. In order to save space I have suggested to Commission Presidents that references to published papers are given on the basis of their number in the published issues of Astronomy and Astrophysics Abstracts. For instance, the indication (06. 078. 019) or (AAA 06. 078."

After a year's successful operation, the European DENIS project is now a scientific reality and its close cousin 2MASS (USA) is about to come into operation. The observational and data reduction processes of both DENIS and 2MASS are fully described in this volume. Already the impact of DENIS is making itself felt in the astronomical community in areas of research as diverse as cosmology, the evolution of galaxies, the interstellar medium, the search for brown dwarfs, and stellar structure and evolution. The first routine results from DENIS and the preliminary results from the 2MASS prototype camera are discussed and compared with other surveys across the wavelength spectrum, both space- and ground-based, including the Digitized Sky Survey, ISO and ROSAT.

This volume addresses the history and epistemology of early modern cosmology. The authors reconstruct the development of cosmological ideas in the age of 'scientific revolution' from Copernicus to Leibniz, taking into account the growth of a unified celestial-and-terrestrial mechanics. The volume investigates how, in the rise of the new science, cosmology displayed deep and multifaceted interrelations between scientific notions (stemming from mechanics, mathematics, geometry, astronomy) and philosophical concepts. These were employed to frame a general picture of the universe, as well as to criticize and interpret scientific notions and observational data. This interdisciplinary work reconstructs a conceptual web pervaded by various intellectual attitudes and drives. It presents an historical-epistemological unified itinerary which includes Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Descartes, Huygens, Newton and Leibniz. For each of the scientists and philosophers, a presentation and commentary is made of their cosmological views, and where relevant, outlines of their most relevant physical concepts are given. Furthermore, the authors highlight the philosophical and epistemological implications of their scientific works. This work is helpful both as a synthetic overview of early modern cosmology, and an analytical exposition of the elements that were intertwined in early-modern cosmology. This book addresses historians, philosophers, and scientists and can also be used as a research source book by post-graduate students in epistemology, history of science and history of philosophy.

John Dyson has contributed to the study of the hydrodynamic processes that govern a wide variety of astrophysical sources which he has helped explain. In this volume dedicated to him, introductory reviews to a number of the key processes and to the sources themselves are given by leading experts. The mechanisms in which the multi-component natures of media affect their dynamics receive particular attention, but the roles of hydromagnetic effects are also highlighted. The importance of cosmic ray moderation and mass transfer between different thermal phases for cosmic ray moderation and mass transfer between different thermal phases for the evolution of flows are amongst the topics treated. The main types of regions considered include those where starts form, the circumstellar environments of evolved stars, the larger scale interstellar structures caused by the mass loss of stars, and those where the lines of AGNs form.

NASA Gemini Owners' Workshop Manual 1965-1966 (all missions, all models) An insight into NASA's Gemini spacecraft, the precursor to Apollo and the key to the Moon David Woods and David M. Harland NASA's Gemini space flight programme followed on from the pioneering Mercury missions which put the first US astronauts into space. The Gemini spacecraft was an agile flying machine for fighter pilots, which gave the US the tool it needed to fly into space, and in doing so prepared NASA to travel to the Moon. In a breathless series of 10 manned flights spread across only 20 months of 1965 and 1966, Gemini propelled NASA from being a tentative, inexperienced space agency to a tough, competent and confident organisation that could send astronauts to another world. This Manual celebrates this important spacecraft with a thorough look at the technologies and techniques that were developed for the programme during its heyday.

The primary inducement for organizing an international Conference on 'Image Processing Techniques in_Astronomy' was the fact that the recording microdensitometer VAMP ('Vol Automatische Micro Photometer') of the Utrecht Astronomical Institute was operative for a few years. The necessity of comparing the in strument and its performance with similar instruments nowadays available at many other institutes, was stimulating enough to organize a meeting on the above subject. It took place in Utrecht on March 25, 26 and 27, 1975. The Scientific Organizing Committee consisted of J. Borgman (Groningen), R.B. Dunn (Sacramento Peak), H. Elsasser (Heidelberg), L.D. de Feiter, T. de Groot, J.R.W. Heintze, C. de Jager, H. Nieuwenhuijzen (Utrecht) and W. Wiskott (Geneve). About 175 scientists from 14 countries participated in the meeting which appeared to be successful and offered a good opportunity of exchanging information and comparing experiences. The VAMP was bought with financial support of the Utrecht University and the Netherlands Foundation for Scientific Research (Z.W.O.). The conference was organized with financial support from The Netherlands Ministry of Science and Education, The European Southern Observatory, The Leids Kerkhoven-Bosscha Fonds, The Astronomical Institute of Utrecht, to which Institutes and Organisations we express our sincere gratitude. C. de Jager H. Nieuwenhuijzen editors PAR T WHAT INFORMATION DO WE NEED, FOR WHICH ASTRONOMICAL PROBLEM? ASTROMETRY K. Aa. Strand U. S. Naval Observatory Washington, D. C, INTRODUCTION Considerable progress has taken place in astrometry over the past two decades."

Kepler's Physical Astronomy is an account of Kepler's reformulation of astronomy as a physical science, and of his successful use of (incorrect) physics as a guide in his astronomical discoveries. It presents the only reliable account of the internal logic of Kepler's so-called first and second laws, showing how and to what extent Kepler thought he had derived them from his physical principles. It explains for the first time Kepler's attempt to use an obscure discovery of Tycho Brahe to unify and confirm all of his own physical theories. It also describes the intricate (and neglected) theory which Kepler developed to account for the additional anomalies needed for the theory of the moon.

The three years since the Brighton General Assembly have been the most active period in the history of the Union. 33 IAU Symposia and Colloquia, the first Regional Meeting under the Auspices of the IAU, several co-sponsored Meetings and many other special projects. All this culminating with two General Assemblies in two opposite parts of the Earth, Australia and Poland. At the same time the membership of the Union rose to 3200, the number of Commissions to 40, the number of adhering countries to 47. The present Volume gives a general picture of the Union's recent activity. It contains the report of the Executive Committee, the report of the General Assembly, including the Commissions, Meetings, a short report on the Extraordinary General Assembly and an Appendix with the Members and Commissions of the IAU and the approved names of Lunar and Martian features. I take this opportunity to thank all our collaborators, members of the Executive Committee, Presidents of Commissions, Chairmen of Specific Projects, IAU Secrt;taries and all the Members of the IA U for their contribution to keep our Union a living body of active scientists and a big inter national family. G. CoNTOPOULOS General Secretary CONTENTS Page No."

Saturn, Chiron and the Centaurs - To the Edge and Beyond by Melanie Reinhart. Part I - Saturn: Time. Heritage and Substance Material on Saturn, planet of "the edge" of structure, manifestation and the preservation of what has already been established. Traditional meanings of Saturn are explored in consideration of our contemporary condition of rapid change, and how this affects our relationship with our own Saturn. Mythological images discussed include the Greek Kronos and Pan, Parsifal and the Fool, and the processes of Alchemy and Karma. The traditional domicile of Saturn is reviewed, its transit cycle explored in detail, and the final section includes Saturn discussed through the 12 houses. Part II - The Centaurs: Chiron, Pholus and Nessus Brings ground-breaking new ideas drawn from recent astronomical discoveries in the outer solar system.Several new celestial objects that behave somewhatlike Chiron have been catalogued, and officially named "Centaurs." This unique compilation presents new material concerning the orbit cycle of Chiron, and a summary and elaboration of astrological research to date on Pholus, the second Centaur. In addition, original material on the meaning of the third Centaur, 1992HA2, 'Nessus' is included. This book is still the most comprehensive source of astrological information about the Centaurs. Their meaning is re-contextualised, and an ephemeris for Chiron, Pholus and Nessus is included, as well as several explanatory diagrams. All technical material was specially computed by Dieter Koch, and revised in 2011. The reader can participate in seminars where seed ideas were being expressed for the first time. There is enough material in this seminar for those interested to begin understanding the Centaurs in the horoscope.

This volume has grown out of lectures addressing primarily graduate students and researchers working in related areas in both astrophysics and space sciences. All contributions are self-contained and do not require prior in-depth knowledge of solar physics. The result is a unique textbook that fulfills the needs of those wishing to have a pedagogic exposition of solar physics bringing them up-to-date in a field full of vitality and with exciting research.

The Hidden Hypotheses Behind the Big Bang It is quite unavoidable that many philosophical a priori assumptions lurk behind the debate between supporters of the Big Bang and the anti-BB camp. The same battle has been waged in physics between the determinists and the opposing viewpoint. Therefore, by way of introduction to this symposium, I would like to discuss, albeit briefly, the many "hypotheses," essentially of a metaphysical nature, which are often used without being clearly stated. The first hypothesis is the idea that the Universe has some origin, or origins. Opposing this is the idea that the Universe is eternal, essentially without beginning, no matter how it might change-the old Platonic system, opposed by an Aristote lian view Or Pope Pius XII or Abbe Lemaitre or Friedmann versus Einstein or Hoyle or Segal, etc. The second hypothesis is the need for a "minimum of hypotheses" -the sim plicity argument. One is expected to account for all the observations with a mini mum number of hypotheses or assumptions. In other words, the idea is to "save the phenomena," and this has been an imperative since the time of Plato and Aristotle. But numerous contradictions have arisen between the hypotheses and the facts. This has led some scientists to introduce additional entities, such as the cosmologi cal constant, dark matter, galaxy mergers, complicated geometries, and even a rest mass for the photon. Some of the proponents of the latter idea were Einstein, de Broglie, Findlay-Freundlich, and later Vigier and myself."