The Foundations of Celestial Reckoning gives the reader direct access to the foundational documents of the tradition of calculation created by astronomers of the early Chinese empire between the late second century BCE and the third century CE. The paradigm they established was to shape East Asian thought and practice in the field of mathematical astronomy for centuries to come. It was in many ways radically different from better known traditions of astronomy in other parts of the ancient world. This book includes full English translations of the first three systems of mathematical astronomy adopted for use by imperial astronomical officials, together with introductory material explaining the origin and nature of each system, and a general introduction to the work as a whole. The translations, which are accompanied by the original Chinese text, give a consistent rendering of all technical terms, and include detailed explanatory notes. The text in which the second of the three systems is found also includes a unique collection of documents compiled around 178 CE by two experts in the field, one of whom was the author of the third system translated in this book. Using material transcribed from government archives of the two preceding centuries, these scholars carefully document and review controversies and large-scale official debates on astronomical matters up to their own time. Nothing equivalent in detail and clarity has survived from any other ancient culture. The availability of the totality of this material in English opens new perspectives to all historians of pre-modern astronomy.

This unique collaboration between a classicist and physicist at the University of Illinois at Chicago is the first work to combine the evidence from both China and Rome for the spectacular daylight comet of 44 BC, perhaps the most famous comet in antiquity. This investigation, which also examines allusions to this comet in astrological literature from later antiquity, sheds new light on the significance of the comet as a powerful symbol in the political propaganda that launched Augustus' career.

Project Mercury will offer a developmental resume of the first American manned spaceflight programme and its associated infrastructure, including accounts of space launch vehicles. The book highlights the differences in Redstone/Atlas technology, drawing similar comparisons between ballistic capsules and alternative types of spacecraft. The book also covers astronaut selection and training, as well as tracking systems, flight control, basic principles of spaceflight and detailed accounts of individual flights.

The perfect gift for amateur and seasoned astronomers. Follow the progress of constellations throughout the seasons with this beautiful companion to the night sky from Astronomy experts Collins. With the aid of easy-to-understand monthly calendars and maps, you will chart the rhythm of the lunar phases, discover events that light up the sky for brief periods, and explore the rich tapestry of characters that adorn the starry canvas overhead. You can delve as deeply as you like, or follow your own favourite subject throughout the year. never miss a night sky event wherever you are in the world with this month-by-month guide go meteor spotting, track the phases of the moon and explore the constellations worldwide coverage - with details for both the Northern and Southern hemispheres discover fascinating celestial facts and notable astronomical anniversaries Written and illustrated by astronomical experts, Storm Dunlop and Wil Tirion, and approved by the astronomers of the Royal Observatory Greenwich.

How would Saturn’s rings look from a spaceship sailing just above them? If you were falling into a black hole, what’s the last thing you’d see before your spaghettification? What would it be like to visit the faraway places we currently experience only through high-powered telescopes and robotic emissaries? Faster-than-light travel may never be invented, but we can still take the scenic route through the universe with renowned astronomer and science communicator Philip Plait. On this lively, immersive adventure through the cosmos, Plait draws ingeniously on the latest scientific research to transport readers to ten spectacular sites, from our own familiar Moon to the outer reaches of our solar system and far beyond. Whether strolling through a dust storm under Mars’ butterscotch sky, witnessing the birth of a star or getting dizzy in a technicolour nebula, Plait is an illuminating, entertaining guide to the most otherworldly views in our universe.

These are the Proceedings of the Second CESRA Workshop on Particle Acceleration and Trapping in Solar Flares. The Workshop was held on June 23-26,1986, at the city hall of Aubigny-sur-Nere (France), near Bourges and near the Nan

Moons come, quite literally, in all shapes and sizes. Our Moon is just one of more than 200 moons in the Solar System that we've identified so far. Scientists have discovered moons made of rock, others of ice. There are moons with atmospheres or with oceans hidden beneath their surfaces, and even some with active volcanoes. Others could perhaps be suitable for life! Astronomer Anna Gammon-Ross of Royal Observatory Greenwich travels through the Solar System, hopping from one moon to the next, to discover not only what these natural satellites have in common, but also what makes each one unique. Learn about the moons that can be found in and around Saturn's rings (and the many others we suspect there could be), the objects orbiting the distant dwarf planets and the curious theory of moon-moons.

Measuring the masses of galaxies as a function of redshift is perhaps one of the most challenging open issues in current astronomical research. The evolution of the baryonic and dark matter components of galaxies is not only a critical test of the hierarchical formation paradigm, but ultimately also provides new clues on the complex interplay between star formation, the cooling and heating of gas and galaxy merging processes.This book reviews current techniques to measure the baryonic (stellar) and dark masses of nearby galaxies, and focusses on ongoing attempts to measure these same quantities in galaxies at higher and higher redshifts. It also gives room to future perspectives, with special emphasis on new survey projects and satellite missions.

This volume examines the way in which cultural ideas about "the heavens" shape religious ideas and are shaped by them in return. Our approaches to cosmology have a profound effect on the way in which we each deal with religious questions and participate in the imaginative work of public and private world-building. Employing an interdisciplinary team of international scholars, each chapter shows how religion and cosmology interrelate and matter for real people. Historical and contemporary case studies are included to demonstrate the lived reality of a variety of faith traditions and their interactions with the cosmos. This breadth of scope allows readers to get a unique overview of how religion, science and our view of space have, and will continue to, impact our worldviews. Offering a comprehensive exploration of humanity and its relationship with cosmology, this book will be an important reference for scholars of Religion and Science, Religion and Culture, Interreligious Dialogue and Theology, as well as those interested in Science and Culture and Public Education.

Modern research has demonstrated that many stars are surrounded by planets-some of which might contain the right conditions to harbor life. This has only reinforced a question that has been tormenting scientists, philosophers and priests since Antiquity: Are there other inhabited worlds beyond our own? This book analyzes the many ways that humans have argued for and depicted extraterrestrial life over the centuries. The first known texts about the subject date from as early as the 6th century BC. Since that time, countless well-known historical characters like Lucretius, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Cusanus, Bruno, Kepler, Descartes, and Huygens contributed to the debate; here, their lesser known opinions on the subject are studied in detail. It is often difficult for the modern mind to follow the thinking of our ancestors, which can only be understood when placed in the relevant context. The book thus extends its scope to the evolution of ideas about cosmology in general, as well as the culture in which these great thinkers wrote. The research is presented with the author's insights and humor, making this an easy and enjoyable read.

Based on the recent NATO Advanced Study Institute "Chaotic Worlds: From Order to Disorder in Gravitational N-Body Dynamical Systems", this state of the art textbook, written by internationally renowned experts, provides an invaluable reference volume for all students and researchers in gravitational n-body systems. The contributions are especially designed to give a systematic development from the fundamental mathematics which underpin modern studies of ordered and chaotic behaviour in n-body dynamics to their application to real motion in planetary systems. This volume presents an up-to-date synoptic view of the subject.

Statistical literacy is critical for the modern researcher in Physics and Astronomy. This book empowers researchers in these disciplines by providing the tools they will need to analyze their own data. Chapters in this book provide a statistical base from which to approach new problems, including numerical advice and a profusion of examples. The examples are engaging analyses of real-world problems taken from modern astronomical research. The examples are intended to be starting points for readers as they learn to approach their own data and research questions. Acknowledging that scientific progress now hinges on the availability of data and the possibility to improve previous analyses, data and code are distributed throughout the book. The JAGS symbolic language used throughout the book makes it easy to perform Bayesian analysis and is particularly valuable as readers may use it in a myriad of scenarios through slight modifications. This book is comprehensive, well written, and will surely be regarded as a standard text in both astrostatistics and physical statistics. Joseph M. Hilbe, President, International Astrostatistics Association, Professor Emeritus, University of Hawaii, and Adjunct Professor of Statistics, Arizona State University

Black Holes are regions of space-time where the gravitational field is so strong that not even light can escape. There has been much written on black holes, however in most cases they are treated as isolated objects. The author has found a number of cases in which the interaction of a black hole with another strong-field system (such as the background universe or another black hole) could be treated analytically. This includes using the powerful method of matched asymptotic expansions. In this book the author considers these wider ranging problems and examples for the first time. This book will be widely read by all those working in gravitation, and PhD students in mathematical physics.

The Cassini Orbiter mission, launched in 1997, has provided state-of-the-art information into the origins and workings of Saturn. Drawing from new discoveries and scientific insight from the mission, this book provides a detailed overview of the planet as revealed by Cassini. Chapters by eminent planetary scientists and researchers from across the world comprehensively review the current state of knowledge regarding Saturn's formation, interior, atmosphere, ionosphere, thermosphere and magnetosphere. Specialised chapters discuss the planet's seasonal variability; the circulation of strong zonal winds; the constantly changing polar aurorae; and the Great Storm of 2010-2011, the most powerful convective storm ever witnessed by humankind. Documenting the latest research on the planet, from its formation to how it operates today, this is an essential reference for graduate students, researchers and planetary scientists.

The book summarizes the knowledge and experiences concerning the role of halogens during various geochemical processes, such as diagenesis, ore-formation, magma evolution, metasomatism, mineralization, and metamorphism in the crust and mantle of the Earth. It comprises the role of halogens in other terrestrial worlds like volatile-rich asteroids, Mars, and the ice moons of Jupiter and Saturn. Review chapters outline and expand upon the basis of our current understanding regarding how halogens contribute to the geochemical/geophysical evolution and stability of terrestrial worlds overall.

Despite a resurgence in popularity, horoscopes are generally considered to be pseudoscience today - but they were once a cutting-edge scientific tool. In this ingenious work of history, data scientist Alexander Boxer examines a treasure trove of esoteric classical sources to expose the deep imaginative framework by which - for millennia - we made sense of our fates. Astrology, he argues, was the ancient world's most ambitious applied mathematics problem, a grand data-analysis enterprise sustained by some of history's most brilliant minds, from Ptolemy to al-Kindi to Kepler. A Scheme of Heaven explores the wonderful subtleties of astrological ideas. Telling the stories of their inventors and most influential exponents, Boxer puts them through their paces using modern data sets - finding that the methods of today's scientists are often uncomfortably close to those of astrology's ancient sages.

'A fascinating exploration of how we learned what matter really is, and the journey matter takes from the Big Bang, through exploding stars, ultimately to you and me.' - Sean Carroll, author of Something Deeply Hidden 'If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.' - Carl Sagan We probably all have a vague idea of how to make an apple pie: mix flour and butter, throw in some apples and you're probably most of the way there, right? Think again. Making an apple pie from scratch requires ingredients that definitely aren't available in the supermarket, ovens that can reach temperatures of trillions of degrees, and a preparation time of 13.8 billion years. Inspired by Sagan's famous line, Harry Cliff ventures out in search of the ultimate apple pie recipe, tracing the ingredients of our universe through the hearts of dying stars and back in time to a tiny fraction of a second after our universe began. Along the way, he confronts some really big questions: What is matter really made of? How does the stuff around us escape annihilation in the fearsome heat of the Big Bang? And will we ever be able to understand the very first moments of our universe? In pursuit of answers, Cliff ventures to the largest underground research facility in the world, deep beneath Italy's Gran Sasso mountains, where scientists gaze into the heart of the Sun using the most elusive of particles, the ghostly neutrino. He visits CERN in Switzerland to explore the 'Antimatter Factory' where this stuff of science fiction is manufactured daily (and we're close to knowing whether it falls upwards). And he reveals what the latest data from the Large Hadron Collider may be telling us about the fundamental ingredients of matter. Along the way, Cliff illuminates the history of physics, chemistry, and astronomy that brought us to our present understanding of the world, while offering readers a front-row seat to one of the most dramatic intellectual journeys human beings have ever embarked on. A transfixing deep dive into origins of our world, How to Make an Apple Pie from Scratch doesn't just put the makeup of our universe under the microscope, but the awe-inspiring, improbable fact that it exists at all.

The Juno mission to Jupiter is one of the most ambitious, daring and challenging solar system exploration missions ever conceived. Next to the Sun, Jupiter is the largest object in our solar system. As such, it is both a record and driver of the formation and evolution of the planets -- no other object in our solar system can tell us more about the origin of planetary systems. Understanding the details of giant planet formation, structure, composition and powerful magnetospheric environment required a new perspective close up and over the poles of Jupiter -- an orbit never before attempted. Juno was specifically designed for this challenge, entering into the harshest planetary environment known in the solar system. This volume describes the mission design, scientific strategies and instrument payload that enable Juno to peer deep into Jupiter's atmosphere and reveal the fundamental process of the formation and early evolution of our solar system. In these papers, the Juno instrument teams describe their investigations, which include gravity radio science, microwave radiometers, magnetometers, an infrared imager auroral mapper, an ultraviolet imager and spectrograph, a visible light imager known as JunoCam, low and high energy particle detectors and plasma wave and radio electromagnetic sensors. The articles also describe a radiation monitoring experiment and the extensive laboratory measurements undertaken to assist with the analysis and interpretation of Juno's pioneering investigation of Jupiter's deep atmosphere. Originally published in Space Science Reviews, Volume 213, Issue 1-4, November 2017

Examines each of these parameters in crucial depth and makes the argument that life forms we would recognize may be more common in our solar system than many assume. Considers exotic forms of life that would not have to rely on carbon as the basic chemical element, solar energy as the main energy source, or water as the primary solvent and the question of detecting bio- and geosignatures of such life forms, ranging from earth environments to deep space. Seeks an operational definition of life and investigate the realm of possibilities that nature offers to realize this very special state of matter. Avoids scientific jargon wherever possible to make this intrinsically interdisciplinary subject understandable to a broad range of readers.

Particle astronomy - the study of cosmic radiation - was the first of the new astronomies to emerge in the twentieth cen- tury. Although cosmic-ray phenomena have been fruitfully investi- gated for some seventy years, the central engima - the origin of these high-energy particles - remains a challenge. Among the ob- servational clues to possible sites and mechanisms of cosmic-ray production, none carries more information than the composition and energy distribution of the particles arriving in the solar system. The present volume is the work of many participants in a NATO Advanced Study Institute on "The Composition and Origin of Cosmic Rays" held from the 20th to the 30th of June, 1982 under the aus- pices of the Ettore Majorana Centre for Scientific Culture. Par- ticipants came to the Centre in Erice, Sicily from eight countries. This Institute was also the third Course of the International School of Cosmic-Ray Astrophysics, which has been meeting bienni- ally 1n Erice. Of the two previous Courses, likewise sponsored by the Majorana Centre, the first (1978) provided a broad introduction to th~ field. It was entitled "Progress and Problems in Cosmic- Ray Physics." The second (1980) was devoted to "Acceleration of Particles in Nature." It treated mechanisms of acceleration, some candidate sites, and observational and theoretical constraints. Director of the Majorana Centre is Prof. Antonino Zichichi.

In 1965 the International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science founded the Nicolas Copernicus Committee whose main task was to explore the means by th which different nations could co-operate in celebrating the 5 centenary of the great scholar's birth. The committee initiated the publication of a collection of studies dealing with the effect that Copernicus' theory has had on scientific developments in centres of learning all over the world. An Editorial Board, consisting of J. Dobrzycki (Warsaw), J. R. Ravetz (Leeds), H. Sandblad (Goteborg) and B. Sticker (Hamburg), was nominated. We found that our initiative aroused a lively interest among Copernicus scholars; the present volume, with 11 articles by authors from nine American, Asian and European countries, contains the result of their research. It appears in the series 'Studia Coper nicana' by agreement with the Polish Academy of Science, and we hope to publish a number of other contributions in a subsequent volume. We are happy to say that our efforts have been fruitful and that this volume presents not only several in-depth studies, but also a more general survey of the rules governing the evolution of science, rules set within the framework of Copernicus' theory as it developed among various nations and in various scientific institutions over the centuries. It has been shown once again that, 500 years after his birth, the work of Copernicus remains a source of scientific interest and continues to stimulate fresh study and research."

Here is the tale of Canada’s intriguing development of the science of Radio Astronomy. In 1946 the lone figure of Arthur Covington started monitoring the radio emission of the Sun, a programme that continues to this day. By the 1960s Canada had progressed to constructing two radio observatories at either ends of the country (the DRAO and the ARO), and universities were coming onboard. The story continues through the dire times for these and follows their fortunes and fates right up to the present, with Canada now playing key roles in billion-dollar international telescope projects. It concludes with the construction and operation of Canada’s own transformational telescope, CHIME. Anecdotes and images throughout the book liven the story. The authors—two practising astronomers—have painstakingly put together this fascinating story, drawing on first-hand experiences, valuable contributions from many colleagues, and the research of science historian, Richard Jarrell (1942-2013). This book fills a gap in the substantial literature on the history of radio astronomy. Carefully-researched by three experts and based on input by further experts in the field, it documents the extensive scientific and (especially) technical innovations of Canadian scientists and engineers. This includes the important Canadian absolute flux-density calibrations, the critical Canadian contribution to low-frequency radio astronomy and VLBI, and the long-running solar monitoring programme. Frank discussions about the excellent 46-m ARO telescope and its fate lead into considerations of Canada’s contributions to recent international projects – the JCMT, ALMA and the upcoming SKA. The book concludes with a description of CHIME, Canada’s own new-generation radio installation. Ken Kellermann, Senior Scientist Emeritus, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, USA

Sensitivity Analysis in Earth Observation Modeling highlights the state-of-the-art in ongoing research investigations and new applications of sensitivity analysis in earth observation modeling. In this framework, original works concerned with the development or exploitation of diverse methods applied to different types of earth observation data or earth observation-based modeling approaches are included. An overview of sensitivity analysis methods and principles is provided first, followed by examples of applications and case studies of different sensitivity/uncertainty analysis implementation methods, covering the full spectrum of sensitivity analysis techniques, including operational products. Finally, the book outlines challenges and future prospects for implementation in earth observation modeling. Information provided in this book is of practical value to readers looking to understand the principles of sensitivity analysis in earth observation modeling, the level of scientific maturity in the field, and where the main limitations or challenges are in terms of improving our ability to implement such approaches in a wide range of applications. Readers will also be informed on the implementation of sensitivity/uncertainty analysis on operational products available at present, on global and continental scales. All of this information is vital in the selection process of the most appropriate sensitivity analysis method to implement.