The sun is essential for human life. This book introduces students to the concept of the sun and discusses its importance. With images that are easy to identify and clear, simple sentence structures, this science reader simplifies scientific concepts for young students as they improve their reading skills. A fun and easy science experiment and Your Turn! activity provide more in-depth opportunities for additional learning. Nonfiction text features include a glossary and an index. Engage students in learning with this dynamic text!

A contemporary of Galileo and a forerunner of Isaac Newton, Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) was a pioneering German scientist and a pivotal figure in the history of astronomy. This colorful, well-researched biography brings the man and his scientific discoveries to life, showing how his contributions were every bit as important as those of Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton.It was Kepler who first advocated the completely new concept of a physical force emanating from the sun that controls the motion of the planets--today we call this gravity and take it for granted. He also established that the orbits of the planets were elliptical in shape and not circular. And his three laws of planetary motion are still used by contemporary astronomers and space scientists.The author focuses not just on these and other momentous breakthroughs but also on Kepler's arduous life, punctuated by frequent tragedy and hardships. His first wife died young, and eight of the twelve children he fathered succumbed to disease in infancy or childhood. He was frequently caught up in the religious persecutions of the day. His mother narrowly escaped death when she was accused of being a witch.Intermingling historical and personal details of Kepler's life with lucid explanations of his scientific research, this book presents a sympathetic portrait of the man and underscores the critical importance of Kepler's discoveries in the history of astronomy.

This book argues that while the historiography of the development of scientific ideas has for some time acknowledged the important influences of socio-cultural and material contexts, the significant impact of traumatic events, life threatening illnesses and other psychotropic stimuli on the development of scientific thought may not have been fully recognised. Howard Carlton examines the available primary sources which provide insight into the lives of a number of nineteenth-century astronomers, theologians and physicists to study the complex interactions within their 'biocultural' brain-body systems which drove parallel changes of perspective in theology, metaphysics, and cosmology. In doing so, he also explores three topics of great scientific interest during this period: the question of the possible existence of life on other planets; the deployment of the nebular hypothesis as a theory of cosmogony; and the religiously charged debates about the ages of the earth and sun. From this body of evidence we gain a greater understanding of the underlying phenomena which actuated intellectual developments in the past and which are still relevant to today's knowledge-making processes.

At the XXIX IAU General Assembly held in Honolulu from 3-14 August 2015, the meetings known as Special Sessions and Joint Discussions were replaced by new 'Focus Meetings'. Astronomy in Focus XXIXA presents the most relevant contributions from the Focus Meetings together with summaries of all the accepted papers and posters. It covers the meetings on the following areas: dynamical problems in extrasolar planet science; astronomical heritage; scholarly publishing in astronomy; statistics and exoplanets; the exploration of small worlds; ground and space astrophysics and heliophysics; laboratory astrophysics; brightness variations of the Sun and Sun-like stars; astronomy for development; and mitigating the threats of light pollution and radio frequency interference. The publications Astronomy in Focus XXIXA (together with its companion, XXIXB), the proceedings of the six main Scientific Symposia and Reports on Astronomy: Commission Legacy Reports, fully cover the XXIX IAU General Assembly.

This book gives an in-depth analysis of the physical phenomena of thrust production by laser radiation, as well as laser propulsion engines, and laser-propelled vehicles. It brings together into a unified context accumulated up-to-date information on laser propulsion research, considering propulsion phenomena, laser propulsion techniques, design of vehicles with laser propulsion engines, and high-power laser systems to provide movement for space vehicles. In particular, the reader will find detailed coverage of: designs of laser propulsion engines, operating as both air-breathing and ramjet engines to launch vehicles into LEOs; Assembly of vehicles whereby laser power from a remote laser is collected and directed into a propulsion engine; and, the laser-adaptive systems that control a laser beam to propel vehicles into orbits by delivering laser power through the Earth's atmosphere. This book is essential reading for researchers and professionals involved in laser propulsion.