This up-to-date volume offers student researchers an unexcelled primer on current scientific knowledge about stars. This volume in the Greenwood Guides to the Universe series provides the most up-to-date understanding available of the current knowledge about stars. Scientifically sound, but written with the student in mind, Stars is an excellent first step for young people researching the exciting scientific discoveries that continue to extend our knowledge of the universe. Stars is organized thematically to help students better understand these most interesting heavenly bodies. Stars discusses all areas of what is known about the subject. It will help student understand things such as white dwarfs, neutron stars, pulsars, and black holes. And it will answer student questions such as: Why do stars have different colors and how are they classified? How do we know what stars are made of? How did scientists figure out how stars evolved? 66 illustrations Glossary of star-related and astronomy terms A bibliography of useful resources will guide students in learning more about the subject

Much has been written in the West on the history of the Soviet space program, but few Westerners have read direct first-hand accounts of the men and women who were behind the many Russian accomplishments in exploring space. The memoir of academician Boris Chertok, translated from the original Russian, fills that gap. Chertok began his career as an electrician in 1930 at an aviation factory near Moscow. Thirty years later, he was deputy to the founding figure of the Soviet space program, the mysterious "Chief Designer" Sergey Korolev. Chertok's 60-year-long career and the many successes and failures of the Soviet space program constitute the core of his memoirs, Rockets and People. In these writings, spread over four volumes (volumes two through four are forthcoming), academician Chertok not only describes and remembers, but also elicits and extracts profound insights from an epic story about a society's quest to explore the cosmos. This book was edited by Asif Siddiqi, a historian of Russian space exploration, and General Tom Stafford contributed a foreword touching upon his significant work with the Russians on the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. Overall, this book is an engaging read while also contributing much new material to the literature about the Soviet space program.

This book brings together papers from a conference that took place in the city of L'Aquila, 4-6 April 2019, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the earthquake that struck on 6 April 2009. Philosophers and scientists from diverse fields of research debated the problem that, on 6 April 1922, divided Einstein and Bergson: the nature of time. For Einstein, scientific time is the only time that matters and the only time we can rely on. Bergson, however, believes that scientific time is derived by abstraction, even in the sense of extraction, from a more fundamental time. The plurality of times envisaged by the theory of Relativity does not, for him, contradict the philosophical intuition of the existence of a single time. But how do things stand today? What can we say about the relationship between the quantitative and qualitative dimensions of time in the light of contemporary science? What do quantum mechanics, biology and neuroscience teach us about the nature of time? The essays collected here take up the question that pitted Einstein against Bergson, science against philosophy, in an attempt to reverse the outcome of their monologue in two voices, with a multilogue in several voices.

This book addresses the mechanism of enrichment of heavy elements in galaxies, a long standing problem in astronomy. It mainly focuses on explaining the origin of heavy elements by performing state-of-the-art, high-resolution hydrodynamic simulations of dwarf galaxies. In this book, the author successfully develops a model of galactic chemodynamical evolution by means of which the neutron star mergers can be used to explain the observed abundance pattern of the heavy elements synthesized by the rapid neutron capture process, such as europium, gold, and uranium in the Local Group dwarf galaxies. The book argues that heavy elements are significant indicators of the evolutionary history of the early galaxies, and presents theoretical findings that open new avenues to understanding the formation and evolution of galaxies based on the abundance of heavy elements in metal-poor stars.

Astronomy in the Inca Empire was a robust and fundamental practice. The subsequent Spanish conquest of the Andes region disrupted much of this indigenous culture and resulted in a significant loss of information about its rich history. Through modern archaeoastronomy, this book helps recover and interpret some of these elements of Inca civilization. Astronomy was intricately woven into the very fabric of Andean existence and daily life. Accordingly, the text takes a holistic approach to its research, considering first and foremost the cultural context of each astronomy-related site. The chapters necessarily start with a history of the Incas from the beginning of their empire through the completion of the conquest by Spain before diving into an astronomical and cultural analysis of many of the huacas found in the heart of the Inca Empire. Over 300 color images-original artwork and many photos captured during the author's extensive field research in Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley, Cusco, and elsewhere-are included throughout the book, adding visual insight to a rigorous examination of Inca astronomical sites and history.

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of time-fixed terminal rendezvous around the Earth using chemical propulsion. The book has two main objectives. The first is to derive the mathematics of relative motion in near-circular orbit when subjected to perturbations emanating from the oblateness of the Earth, third-body gravity, and atmospheric drag. The mathematics are suitable for quick trajectory prediction and the creation of computer codes and efficient software to solve impulsive maneuvers and fly rendezvous missions. The second objective of this book is to show how the relative motion theory is applied to the exact precision-integrated, long-duration, time-fixed terminal rendezvous problem around the oblate Earth for the general elliptic orbit case. The contents are both theoretical and applied, with long-lasting value for aerospace engineers, trajectory designers, professors of orbital mechanics, and students at the graduate level and above.

This book provides an up-to-date understanding of the progress and current problems of the interplay of nonlocality in the classical theories of gravitation and quantum theory. These problems lie on the border between general relativity and quantum physics, including quantum gravity.

NASA SP-2009-1704. Steven J. Dick, Editor. Based on a symposium held on October 28-29, 2008 at NASA. Scholars turn a critical eye toward NASA's first 50 years.

Ensuring a Sustainable World
We are on the cusp of a 21st century Age of Discovery - about the Earth, about the solar system, about ourselves and our place in the cosmos - with new opportunities to address age-old challenges, as well as to meet emerging ones. While advancing into space is not the answer to these challenges, it can be a significant and vital part of an answer, providing benefits that other answers cannot.
With a thoughtful program of space activities we can ensure a sustainable world with abundant energy and resources, a high standard of living, and unprecedented opportunity for all. However, to become a widely held vision that we must pursue now, rather than just interesting ideas for some distant time, we need to see space as integral to addressing societal issues. This book shows a way to do that.
There are abundant opportunities in space, but the only way to utilize them is to go there. As our ancestors crossed thresholds to inhabit the Earth, we can cross the threshold to become a space-faring civilization, and realize the benefits of those efforts. Space is only 100 km (62 miles) away, you just need to look up.
What people are saying:
"Crossing the Threshold is a carefully considered, insightful narrative that should interest anyone and everyone who cares about the future of spaceflight." - Homer Hickam, author of Rocket Boys/October Sky
"Crossing the Threshold is a NASA veteran's thoughtful and considered look at the value of space travel and exploration, not only for satisfying humanity's seemingly unquenchable thirst for adventure and knowledge but also for preparing and positioning us technically to begin to solve some of the greatest problems facing us on Earth." - Henry Petroski, Aleksandar S. Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and Professor of History, Duke University, author of The Essential Engineer: Why Science Alone Will Not Solve Our Global Problems
Crossing the Threshold "is very impressive for the range of ideas and technical specifics." - Felix Godwin, author of The Exploration of the Solar System.

This peer-reviewed book provides detailed insights into how space and its applications are, and can be used to support the development of the full range and diversity of African societies, as encapsulated in the African Union's Agenda 2063. Following on from Part 1, which was highly acclaimed by the space community, it focuses on the role of space in supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals in Africa, but covers an even more extensive array of relevant and timely topics addressing all facets of African development. It demonstrates that, while there have been significant achievements in recent years in terms of economic and social development, which have lifted many of Africa's people out of poverty, there is still a great deal that needs to be done to fulfill the basic needs of Africa's citizens and afford them the dignity they deserve. To this end, space is already being employed in diverse fields of human endeavor to serve Africa's goals for its future, but there is much room for further incorporation of space systems and data. Providing a comprehensive overview of the role space is playing in helping Africa achieve its developmental aspirations, the book will appeal to both students and professionals in fields such as space studies, international relations, governance, and social and rural development.

This thesis describes the application of state-of-the-art high-energy X-ray studies to the astronomical quest for understanding obscured active galactic nuclei (AGN). These AGN are supermassive black holes growing by accretion of matter located in the nuclei of galaxies. The material that feeds these black holes also obscures them from view, rendering them challenging to study. It is possible to study them by effectively 'X-raying' galactic nuclei to peer through these obscuring veils. Beginning with the proof-of-concept application of novel X-ray Monte Carlo codes to the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope ARray (NuSTAR) spectrum of a known heavily obscured AGN, the thesis establishes the relevant parameters that characterise the AGN spectrum and central black hole growth rate. Next the largest sample of known heavily obscured AGN is compiled, finding the strength of a prominent iron spectral feature to weaken with AGN power. This is puzzling, and suggests that there may be more hidden AGN than previously thought. Finally by combining an all-sky infrared selection with NuSTAR follow-up, new heavily obscured AGN are identified. Obscuration emits infrared radiation, meaning that the infrared-selected AGN catalogue should be representative of the underlying AGN population. The absence of such representative catalogues has continually plagued cosmological studies, and the resultant obscured AGN fraction will be strongly constraining for AGN models.

Physical Relativity explores the nature of the distinction at the heart of Einstein's 1905 formulation of his special theory of relativity: that between kinematics and dynamics. Einstein himself became increasingly uncomfortable with this distinction, and with the limitations of what he called the 'principle theory' approach inspired by the logic of thermodynamics. A handful of physicists and philosophers have over the last century likewise expressed doubts about Einstein's treatment of the relativistic behaviour of rigid bodies and clocks in motion in the kinematical part of his great paper, and suggested that the dynamical understanding of length contraction and time dilation intimated by the immediate precursors of Einstein is more fundamental. Harvey Brown both examines and extends these arguments (which support a more 'constructive' approach to relativistic effects in Einstein's terminology), after giving a careful analysis of key features of the pre-history of relativity theory. He argues furthermore that the geometrization of the theory by Minkowski in 1908 brought illumination, but not a causal explanation of relativistic effects. Finally, Brown tries to show that the dynamical interpretation of special relativity defended in the book is consistent with the role this theory must play as a limiting case of Einstein's 1915 theory of gravity: the general theory of relativity. Appearing in the centennial year of Einstein's celebrated paper on special relativity, Physical Relativity is an unusual, critical examination of the way Einstein formulated his theory. It also examines in detail certain specific historical and conceptual issues that have long given rise to debate in both special and general relativity theory, such as the conventionality of simultaneity, the principle of general covariance, and the consistency or otherwise of the special theory with quantum mechanics. Harvey Brown' s new interpretation of relativity theory will interest anyone working on these central topics in modern physics.

A conference on "Observational Evidence for Black Holes in the Universe" was held in Calcutta during January 10-17, 1998. This was the first time that experts had gathered to debate and discuss topics such as: Should black holes exist?; If so, how to detect them?; And Have we found them? This book is the essence of this gathering. Black holes are enigmatic objects since it is impossible to locate them through direct observations. State-of-the-art theoretical works and numerical simulations have given us enough clues of what to look for. Observations, from both ground and space-based missions, have been able to find these tell-tale signatures. This book is a compendium of our present knowledge about these theories and observations at the end of the 20th century. Combined, they give an idea of whether black holes, galactic as well as extragalactic, have been detected or not.

The review papers in this volume provide an in-depth examination of complex astrophysical phenomena of star formation via multi-wavelength observations and modeling. Among the fundamental issues discussed in the book are: The role of gravity and magnetized turbulence in the formation and evolution of molecular clouds The stellar feedback (supernovae, HII regions, winds, cosmic rays) in regulating star formation The origin of the stellar initial mass function and its universality across various environments Jets, magnetic fields and high energy particles in stellar clusters The origin of the first stars and black holes The goal of these papers is to review the major processes governing star formation and to investigate how they are interlinked. In doing so, they provide an in-depth look at the tremendous theoretical and observational progress that has been made in the recent past and also outline future perspectives. Previously published in Space Science Reviews in the Topical Collection "Star Formation"

Black holes entered the world of science fiction and films in the 1960s, and their popularity in our culture remains today. The buzz surrounding black holes was and is due, in large part, to their speculative nature. It is still difficult for the general public to determine fact versus fiction as it pertains to this terrifying idea: something big enough to swallow anything and everything in close proximity, with a gravitational force so strong that nothing, including light, can escape. In the fall of 2015, scientists at the Laser Interferometry Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) detected the first sounds from black holes, brought to earth by the gravitational waves that emitted from the merging of two black holes 1.4 billion light years away in space. This confirmed the existence of gravitational waves, which Albert Einstein predicted in 1916. In the spring of 2017, physicists and astronomers who were working on the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) project captured the first image of a black hole. This was the supermassive black hole hosted by the galaxy M87 in the constellation Virgo, 53 million light years away, and the image shows the shadow the black hole casts upon the bright light surrounding it. In this book, John Moffat shares the history of black holes and presents the latest research into these mysterious celestial objects, including the astounding results from gravitational wave detection and the shadow of the black hole.

In contrast to other publications this work discusses Nanoscience strictly at the ultimate level where the properties of atomic matter emerge. The renowned author presents an interdisciplinary approach leading to the forefront of research of quantum-theoretical aspects of time, selforganizing nanoprocesses, brain functions, the matter-mind problem, behaviour research and philosophical questions.