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Books > Science & Mathematics > Astronomy, space & time > General
The annual meeting of the Astronomische Gesellschaft in Cologne, June 1988, featured extensive reviews of the chemical processes relevant to astrophysics. The twelve contributions to this book, written by experts from the US, UK, France, Belgium, Switzerland and Germany, deal in depth with the chemistry of comets and meteorites, of stars and their shells, of the interstellar medium and galaxies. A comprehensive review of nucleosynthesis and two reports on observations round off an up-to-date presentation of cosmic chemistry.
This collection of essays is a tribute to Stillman Drake by some of his friends and colleagues, and by others on whom his work has had a formative influence. It is difficult to know him without succumbing to his combination of discipline and enthusiasm, even in fields remote from Renaissance physics and natural philosophy; and so he should not be surprised in this volume to see emphases and methods congenial to him, even on topics as remote as Darwin or the chemical revolution. Therein lies whatever unity the discerning reader may find in this book, beyond the natural focus and coherence of the largest section, on Galileo, and the final section on Drake's collection of books, a major and now accessible resource for research in the field that he has made his own. We have chosen, as the occasion for presenting the volume to Stillman Drake, Galileo's birthday; Galileo has had more than one birthday party in Toronto since Drake came to the University of Toronto. As for the title, it reflects a shared conviction that experiment is the key to science; it is what scientists do. Drake has already asserted that emphasis in the title of his magisterial Galileo at Work, and we echo it here. Those who have had the privilege and pleasure of working and arguing with Stillman over the years know his tenacity, penetration, and vigour. They also know his generosity and humility. We owe him much.
This volume comprises selected lectures presented in the Ninth Course of the International School ofCosmic-Ray Astrophysics held at the Ettore Majorana Centre in Erice, Sicily, May 7-18,1994. Director ofthe Centre is A. Zichichi, assisted by M. Zaini. Director ofthe School is M. M. Shapiro. 1. P. Wefel was co-director of the Ninth Course, which was also a NATO Advanced Study Institute (ASI), and NATO support is gratefully acknowledged. Devoted to problems and prospects in high-energy astrophysics and cosmology, the major areas explored in this course were: gamma-ray, X-ray, and neutrino astronomies; cosmic rays; pulsars and supernova remnants; and cosmology, as well as cosmogony. Among the principal developments in gamma-ray astrophysics were those generated by the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. Cosmic neutrinos at MeV energies, i.e., those from the sun and from Supernova 1987a, were discussed, as well as neutrino masses in astrophysics. The source composition ofcosmic rays, and extensive air shower experiments, received special attention. The early universe according to COBE data, and as viewed by theorists ofcosmology, was reviewed. Finally, the connections with particle physics occasioned a timely description ofthe Standard Model ofelementary particles.
Otto von Guericke has been called a neglected genius, overlooked by most modern scholars, scientists, and laymen. He wrote his Experimenta Nova in the seventeenth century in Latin, a dead language for the most part inaccessible to contemporary scientists. Thus isolated by the remoteness of his time and his means of communication, von Guericke has for many years been denied the recognition he deserves in the English speaking world. Indeed, the century in which he lived witnessed the invention of six important and valuable scientific instruments -- the microscope, the telescope, the pendulum clock, the barometer, the thermometer, and the air pump. Von Guericke was associated with the development of the last three of these; he also experimented with a rudimentary electric machine. Thus his Experimenta Nova was an important work, heralding the emerging empiricism of seventeenth century science, and merits this first English translation of von Guericke's magnus opus.
The present set of chapters by members of the staff of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory deals with the basic fields of research concerned with radio astronomy outside the solar system. The emphasis in this volume is on the type of data available and its interpretation. Basic theory is considered only where absolutely necessary, and little discussion of receivers or techniques is entered into in most of the chapters. The book is intended to take over where most textbooks on radio astronomy leave off, that is, in the discussion of what is actually known from the research done. In addition there is a chapter on the technical aspects of inter ferometry and aperture synthesis, since so much of modern radio astronomy depends, and will depend in an ever increasing manner, on such tools. The editors want to stress that the chapters were not necessarily expected to be compre hensive reviews of any of the fields being covered, but rather, overall outlines which the in dividual authors feIt would be suitable for graduate students and interested workers in other fields. As a result, the lists of references are not complete. This only refiects the preferences of the individual authors and not the relative merit of those references incIuded or omitted."
The Alfonsine Tables of Toledo is for historians working in the fields of astronomy, science, the Middle Ages, Spanish and other Romance languages. It is also of interest to scholars interested in the history of Castile, in Castilian-French relations in the Middle Ages and in the history of patronage. It explores the Castilian canons of the Alfonsine Tables and offers a study of their context, language, astronomical content, and diffusion. The Alfonsine Tables of Toledo is unique in that it: includes an edition of a crucial text in history of science; provides an explanation of astronomy as it was practiced in the Middle Ages; presents abundant material on early scientific language in Castilian; presents new material on the diffusion of Alfonsine astronomy in Europe; describes the role of royal patronage of science in a medieval context.
This volume contains the proceedings of the workshop "Astrophotography 87," which was held in Jena, April 21-24, 1987. The workshop was organized by the Central Institute of Astrophysics of the Academy of Sciences of the German Democratic Republic and is the latest in a series devoted to the problems of photography in astronomy. The previous workshops, which have taken place every three years, were held in Edinburgh (1984), Nice (1981) and Geneva (1978). For telescopes with large fields of view, in particular Schmidt telescopes, photographic plates are the only suitable radiation receiver. Thus the effi ciency of the photographic plate determines the quality of the observation. The treatment of the plates in the photographic laboratory is also very im portant. Additional factors affecting the scientific results are the measuring machines and the methods of interpretation. All these topics were discussed in the workshop by the 62 participants (26 from the GDR and 36 from 13 other countries. Thanks go to David Malin, the chairman of the working group "Astropho tography" of the International Astronomical Union, for writing an introduc tory article for the proceedings. I am grateful to all participants who pre sented papers during the workshop for sending in their manuscripts on time. Poster papers are arranged among the other papers according to the topics they treat. All participants also wish to express their thanks to Springer Verlag for publishing the proceedings."
This volume is presented as a companion study to my translation of Galileo's MS 27, Galileo's Logical Treatises, which contains Galileo's appropriated questions on Aristotle's Posterior Analytics - a work only recently transcribed from the Latin autograph. Its purpose is to acquaint an English-reading audience with the teaching in those treatises. This is basically a sixteenth-century logic of discovery and of proof about which little is known in the present day, yet one that arguably guided the most significant research program of the seventeenth century. Despite its historical and systematic importance, the teaching is difficult to explain to the modern reader. Part of the problem stems from the fragmentary nature of the manuscript in which it is preserved, part from the contents of the teaching itself, which requires a considerable propadeutic for its comprehension. A word of explanation is thus required to set out the structure of the volume and to detail the editorial decisions that underlie its organization. Two major manuscript studies have advanced the cause of scholarship on Galileo within the past two decades. The first relates to Galileo's experimental activity at Padua prior to his discoveries with the telescope that led to the publication of his Sidereus nuncius in 1610. Much of this activity has been uncovered by Stillman Drake in analyses of manuscript fragments associated with the composition of Galileo's Two New Sciences, fragments now bound in a codex identified as MS 72 in the collection of Galileiana at the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale in Florence.
This monograph is devoted to the basic aspects of the physics of highly ex cited (Rydberg) states of atom's. After almost twenty years, this remains a hot topic of modern atomic physics. Such studies are important for many areas of physics and its applications including spectroscopy, astrophysics and radio astronomy, physics of electronic and atomic collisions, kinetics and di agnostics of gases, and low- and high-temperature plasmas. Physical phenom ena in radiative, collisional, and spectral-line broadening processes involving Rydberg atoms and ions are primarily determined by the peculiar properties and exotic features of highly excited states. The growth of interest and research activity in the physics of Rydberg the last two decades was stimulated by an extremely rapid de atoms over velopment of high-resolution laser spectroscopy, methods of selective excita tion and detection of highly excited states, atomic-beam techniques as well as radio astronomy. This has facilitated significant progress in the differ ent directions of the physics of highly excited atoms being of fundamental and practical importance. In particular, evident advances were achieved in studies of the structure and spectra of highly excited atoms, their behavior in static electric and magnetic fields, interactions with electromagnetic ra diation, spectral-line broadening and the shift of Rydberg series, collisions with electrons, ions, atoms, and molecules, etc. The principle objective of the present book is to reflect the most important physical approaches and efficient theoretical techniques in the modem physics of highly excited atoms and ions."
The?rsteditionofthistextappearedin1994.Shortlyafterthethirdprinting, our editor suggested that we attempt a second edition because new devel- mentsinstellarstructureandevolutionhadmadeouroriginalworkoutdated. We (the original authors, CJH and SDK) reluctantly agreed but with res- vations due to the e?ort involved. Our initial reluctance disappeared when we were able to convince (cajole, twist the arm of, etc.) our new coauth- colleague Virginia Trimble to join us. (Welcome Virginia!) We (i.e., all three of us) hope that you agree that the present edition is a great improvement compared to the 1994 e?ort. Our objectives in this edition are the same ones we set forth in 1994: Whatyouwill?ndisatextdesignedforourtargetaudience:thety- cal senior undergraduate or beginning graduate student in astronomy or astrophysics who wishes an overview of stellar structure and e- lution with just enough detail to understand the general picture. She or he can go on from there to more specialized texts or directly to the research literature depending on talent and interests. To this end, this text presents the basic physical principles without chasing all the (interesting!) details. For those of you familiar with the ?rst edition, you will ?nd that some things have not been changed substantially (F = ma is still F = ma), while othersde?nitelyhave.Forexample,Chapter2hasbeencompletelyrewritten.
Most texts on electromagnetic theory follow the classical approach of steady state solutions of Maxwell's equations. In Interstellar Propagation of Electromagnetic Signals, the authors, H. Harmuth and K. Lukin, point out the deficiencies in Maxwell's theory and present an exciting new way of obtaining transient or signals solutions. This book can be used by researchers, graduate students and scientists in the areas of physics, astrophysics, astronomy and electromagnetic theory or electromagnetics.
Astronomy Across Cultures: A History of Non-Western Astronomy consists of essays dealing with the astronomical knowledge and beliefs of cultures outside the United States and Europe. In addition to articles surveying Islamic, Chinese, Native American, Aboriginal Australian, Polynesian, Egyptian and Tibetan astronomy, among others, the book includes essays on Sky Tales and Why We Tell Them and Astronomy and Prehistory, and Astronomy and Astrology. The essays address the connections between science and culture and relate astronomical practices to the cultures which produced them. Each essay is well illustrated and contains an extensive bibliography. Because the geographic range is global, the book fills a gap in both the history of science and in cultural studies. It should find a place on the bookshelves of advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and scholars, as well as in libraries serving those groups.
The past year has produced some of the most exciting results in the history of astronomy, particularly in the area of planets outside our solar system. Only a half-year before our meeting in Toledo, Spain, the first unambiguous detection of planet-sized masses orbiting main sequence stars were reported. Since that time, evidence for a new exo planet has been reported almost at the rate of about once per month. Some of these objects are likely to turn out to be very low-mass stars, but something like half show characteristics - Jupiter-like mass and near-zero orbital eccentricity - which appear to be unique to planets. Almost at the same time that giant planets were being discovered regularly, the two major space agencies, ESA and NASA, have iden tified searches for and detailed study of Earth-like planets as a major priority for the future. In ESA's "Horizon 2000 Plus" programme, an infrared interferometer has been proposed as a possible future Cor nerstone mission. Similarly, scientists in the US produced the "Road Map for the Exploration of Neighboring Planetary Systems (ExNPS)", which provided NASA with a long-term plan which leads also to an infrared interferometer in space to study hypothetical Earth-like worlds beyond our Solar System. Such an observatory is designed to search for the thermal emission from a family of planets, using interferometric nulling to remove the contaminating light from the central star.
The Relativists and Cosmologists in India organized an international conference in Goa, India, in 1987, known as the International Conference on Gravitation and Cosmology (ICGC-87). Encouraged by the success of this conference it was decided to have such a meeting periodically, once in every four years. Accordingly, ICGC- 91 was held at the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, India. The third International Conference on Gravitation and Cosmology, (ICGC-95) was held at the Inter-University centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, IUCAA, Pune, India during December 13 - 19, 1995. This series of conferences is co-sponsored by the Indian Association for General Relativity and Gravitation (lAGRG). The Conference had 16 plenary lectures and five workshops altogether. There were three plenary lectures per day and two workshops running parallel each day. We were fortunate in getting plenary speakers who are leading experts in their respective fields drawn from all over the world. The conference was attended by about 105 persons from India and 55 from abroad. We thank all the contributors who have taken time to write up their lectures amidst their busy schedule. We regret we could not get the contributions of a few plenary speakers. We would also like to thank the members of Organizing Committees who have worked hard to make this conference a success.
Comet nuclei are the most primitive bodies in the solar system. They have been created far away from the early Sun and their material properties have been altered the least since their formation. Thus, the composition and structure of comet nuclei provide the best information about the chemical and thermodynamic conditions in the nebula from which our solar system formed. In this volume, cometary experts review a broad spectrum of ideas and conclusions based on in situ measurement of Comet Halley and remote sensing observations of the recent bright Comets Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake. The chemical character of comet nuclei suggests many close similarities with the composition of interstellar clouds. It also suggests material mixing from the inner solar nebula and challenges the importance of the accretion shock in the outer nebula. The book is intended to serve as a guide for researchers and graduate students working in the field of planetology and solar system exploration. Several special indexes focus the reader's attention to detailed results and discussions. It concludes with recommendations for laboratory investigations and for advanced modeling of comets, the solar nebula, and the collapse of interstellar clouds.
Cataclysmic Variables (CVs) are well furnished laboratories in which one can investigate a number of important physical processes. These processes include: thermonuclear reactions, nebular physics, winds, mass accretion phenomena on compact objects, magnetohydrodynamics, plasmas, thermal and non thermal radiative processes, relativistic phenomena, dust forma tion, etc . . In the recent year the most exciting development in our opinion was that the small, cold and invisible secondary components of CV s were found to be the prime motors for the evolution of close binary systems, disclosing new scenarios for research. All branches of astronomy and as trophysics often take advantage of the new ideas brought by the study of CVs. It is for this reason, we believe, that meetings on CVs are important for most of the astronomical community. The idea of a Congress on CVs in Padova has been fluttering in the air for a few years. After all - we thought - a large part of the scientific heritage of Padova and Asiago Observatories is represented by the study of variable stars and, in particular, of CV s, as Prof. L. Rosino reminded us at the very beginning of the Congress. We finally chose Abano Terme as the site of the Conference, not merely because Abano is one of the most famous centers in Europe for mud therapy, and astronomers easily suffer from rheumatism, but also because we knew that a very hearty welcome from the Abano Municipality and touristic associations awaited us.
Edith Alicia Muller (1918-1995) was the IAU General Secretary from 1976 to 1979, the first woman to have this responsibility. Many friends, students and colleagues, and others who have met Edith at different occasions, give in this book their memories of her. Her fundamental work in solar physics concerned the chemical composition of the Sun, the time variation of its infra-red spectrum, and its thermal structure. Her interests were, however, far broader than that. She was heavily involved in international work for the teaching of astronomy and for the exchange program of young astronomers.
Spacecraft study of the Solar system is one of humanity's most outstanding achievements. Thanks to this study, our present knowledge of properties of and conditions on the planets exceeds many-fold that of 20 years ago: planets have been rediscovered. This is especially the case for planetary atmospheres, whose properties were for the most part either not at all or only erroneously known. Much research has been invested in the study of the atmospheres of Mars and Venus, and their chemical composition and photochemistry are basic problems in these studies. In the present publication I have tried to summarize all findings in this field. The English version of the book includes new data in the field from the last 3 years since the book was published in Russian. I wish to thank U. von Zahn, who initiated my talks with Springer-Verlag and acted as technical editor. December 2, 1985 V. A. KRASNOPOLSKY Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 Chemical Composition and Structure of the Martian Atmosphere 4 1. 1 Carbon Dioxide and Atmospheric Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 1. 2 CO and O Mixing Ratios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 2 1. 3 Ozone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 1. 4 Water Vapor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 1. 5 Composition of the Upper Atmosphere as Determined from Airglow Spectroscopy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 1. 6 Mass Spectrometric Measurements of the Atmospheric Composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 1. 7 Ionospheric Composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 1. 8 Temperature Profile of the Lower Atmosphere. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 1. 9 Temperature of the Upper Atmosphere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 1. 10 Eddy Diffusion Coefficient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 2 Photochemistry of the Martian Atmosphere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
This book is a translation, by Mr. S. Dunlop, FRAS, of the second German edition of Veranderliche Sterne published by Johann Ambrosius Barth Ver lag, Leipzig, DDR, and Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg New York Tokyo. We have used the opportunity to make improvements and changes in a few places and to add details of new results and discoveries. The foreword to the second German edition remains no less valid for this one, including the changes. We would like to express our thanks to Mr. Dunlop for his expert and sympathetic translation and for the many improvements he suggested. December 1984 G. RICHTER and W. WENZEL Preface to the Second German Edition The suggestion that a second edition of this book should be prepared came equally from the readers, the publishers, and from the editors of the first edition. By a lucky coincidence the completion of the manuscript and the composition of these lines comes at the time of the 90th anniversary of the birth of Cuno Hoffmeister, the author of the first edition, and consequently this current work may be dedicated to his memory."
This book is an updated and modified translation of the Russian edition of 1984. In the present edition, certain sections have been abridged (in particular, Sects. 6.1 and 8.3) and the bibliography has been expanded. There are more detailed discus sions of the group properties of integrable systems of equations of mathematical physics (Sect. 3.4) and of the Riemannian problem in the context of the infinite dimensional internal symmetry groups of these systems of equations. There is an extended discussion of the reasons for the acceleration and retardation of pulsars in connection with more recent achievements of X-ray astronomy. Part of the material of Chap. 8 of the Russian edition has been included in Chap. 7; thus the number of chapters has been reduced to seven. S. Chandrasekhar set for me an example of brilliant analytical penetration into the essence of physical problems, and my book touches on his work in many in stances. The results of modem quantum theories of strong fields are not presented, but they can be found in the fundamental monographs Quantwn Electrodynamics of Strong Fields by W. Greiner, B. Muller, J. Rafelski (Sprioger-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York 1985) and Quantwn Effects in Intense External Fields in Russian] by A. Grib, S. Mamaev, W. Mostepanenko (Energoatomizdat, Moscow 1988). This book was translated by Dr. N. M. Queen; I am very grateful to him. I thank sincerely H. Latta, C.-D. Bachem, V. Rehman, S. von Kalckreuth for preparing of the english manuscript."
The inaugural Symposium on Turbulent Shear Flows was held at The Pennsylvania State University in 1977. Thereafter the locations for the biennial symposium have alternated between the USA and Europe. However, the ninth Symposium on Turbu lent Shear Flows was awarded to Japan in recognition of the strong support researchers of the Pacific Rim countries have given previous symposia. The University of Kyoto was the host institution and the meeting was held in the Inter national Conference Hall. The Local Arrangements Committee did a superb job scheduling traditional Japanese dinners and arranging visits to the many cultural treasures in the Kyoto region. The meeting attracted more than 260 offers of papers. Thirty-three sessions were scheduled to accommodate the 138 papers accepted for oral presentation. In addition a poster session was scheduled on each of the three days to accommodate a total of 42 poster presentations. From the presentations at the symposium 24 have been selected for inclusion in this volume. The authors of these papers have revised them taking into consideration comments made during their oral presentation and recommendations made by the Editors. Four subject areas are identified, namely closures and fundamentals, free flows, wall flows, and combustion and recirculating flows. Eminent authorities have prepared introductory articles fot each topic to put the individual contributions in context with each other and with related research.
One of the most fundamental discoveries of the solar system was the detection of four moons in orbit around Jupiter by Galileo Galilei in 1610. The discovery was significant not only in the context of Jupiter; it gave credence to and was instrumental in firmly establishing the heliocentric system of Nicolaus Copernicus. Almost four centuries after Galileo's discovery, exten sive observations by the two Voyager spacecrafts have once again revolu tionized our thinking about the major planets, their composition, structure, origin, and evolution. This book is an attempt at summarizing our present understanding of the atmospheres and ionospheres in the outer solar system, with particular emphasis on the relevant physics and chemistry. I was motivat ed to prepare this manuscript for the following reasons. First, after under going rapid expansion in the recent past, the subject has finally attained suf ficient maturity to warrant a monograph of its own. Second, I have felt that as a result of recent observations, new and challenging problems have arisen whose resolution requires unconventional analysis and theoretical interpreta tion of existing data, as well as the collection of new kinds of data. I believe the time is ripe to put these issues in the appropriate scientific perspective, with the hope of stimulating novel theoretical, observational, and laboratory studies. I have highlighted the significant scientific problems throughout the book, especially at the end of each chapter.
Hogan compresses the fifteen-billion-year history of the Universe
into a pleasurable evening. In a very direct way, he answers the
questions everyone asks. -MARGARET GELLER, HARVARD-SMITHSONIAN
CENTER FOR ASTROPHYSICS
If a heavy particle ion (atom, molecule, muon) collides with another in the gas phase at speeds approaching the speed of light, the time-dependent Dirac equation equation must be used for its description, including quantum electro-dynamic, special relativity and magnetic coupling effects. In this book we study one electron in the variety of rearrangement collisions: radiative and non-radiative capture, ionization, capture by pair (one electron, one positron) production and antihydrogen production. Our relativistic continuum distorted-wave theory accounts extremely well for the simultaneous behaviour of the electron with respect to the nuclear charges of the projectile and the target. This is the first book developed in this subject. Containing many diagrams and tables, and fully referenced, it goes beyond chapters in previous books. The relativistic continuum distorted-wave theory developed by the authors group, is shown to be fully Hermitean. Detailed mathematics are provided in nine appendices.
Freja is a joint Swedish and German satellite, launched on October 6, 1992 and orbiting at 600--1750 km, covering the lower part of the auroral acceleration region. It has been designed to provide high-resolution measurements (both temporal and spatial) of auroral plasma characteristics. The high telemetry rate, together with the 15 Mbyte distributed on-board memories allow Freja to resolve meso and micro-scale phenomena in the 100 m range for particles and 1--10 m range for electric and magnetic fields. The UV imager resolves auroral structures of 1 km size at a time resolution of one image every 6 s. The novel plasma instruments are orders of magnitude better than any that have gone before. The Freja Mission is about the scientific objectives, instruments and platform itself. Detailed descriptions are given of the instrumentation and the first data acquired. It is one of the very few books to contain such material in a single volume, relating the instruments' design with their in-flight characteristics. For space engineers and other researchers interested in space science. |
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