This bestselling book guides PhD students through their graduate years and beyond. Filled with practical advice on getting started, communicating with your supervisor, staying the course, and planning for the future, this book is an indispensable guide for graduate students who need that extra bit of help getting started and making it through. Who should read this book? Any student currently in, or curious about, a PhD programme, be it in the physical and life sciences, engineering, computer science, math, medicine, or the humanities - this book tackles the obstacles and hurdles that almost all PhD students face during their doctoral training. Whether you're at the very beginning of your research, close to the end, or just feeling frustrated and stuck at any point in between...it's never too early - or too late - to focus on your success! This third edition contains a variety of new material, including additional chapters and advice on how to make the most of remote learning, collaboration, and communication tools, as well as updated material on your next career step once you have your coveted doctoral degree in hand. Some of the material in the third edition appeared as part of a monthly column on the ScienceCareers website.

Astrobiology is a multidisciplinary pursuit that in various guises encompasses astronomy, chemistry, planetary and Earth sciences, and biology. It relies on mathematical, statistical, and computer modeling for theory, and space science, engineering, and computing to implement observational and experimental work. Consequently, when studying astrobiology, a broad scientific canvas is needed. For example, it is now clear that the Earth operates as a system; it is no longer appropriate to think in terms of geology, oceans, atmosphere, and life as being separate. Reflecting this multiscience approach, Astrobiology: An Introduction: Covers topics such as stellar evolution, cosmic chemistry, planet formation, habitable zones, terrestrial biochemistry, and exoplanetary systems Discusses the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe in an accessible manner, sparing calculus, curly arrow chemistry, and modeling details Contains problems and worked examples, and includes a solutions manual with qualifying course adoption Astrobiology: An Introduction provides a full introduction to astrobiology suitable for university students at all levels.

Sitting still in a quiet room, you might just be able to convince yourself that nothing is moving. But air currents swirl about you. Blood rushes through your veins. The atoms in your chair jiggle furiously. And the planet you are on is whizzing through space 35 times faster than the speed of sound. In Zoom, Bob Berman takes a thrilling tour around the wondrous and myriad motions that shape every aspect of the universe. Spanning astronomy, geology, biology, meteorology and history, he explains how clouds stay aloft, how the earth's rotation curves a ball's flight, how a mosquito's familiar whine is tuned to a perfect A sharp, how the day gets longer every century, and much more.

Light of the Stars tells a radically new story about what we are: one world in a universe awash in planets. Building on his widely discussed scientific papers and The New York Times op-eds, astrophysicist Adam Frank shows that not only is it likely that alien civilisations have existed many times before but that many of them have driven their own worlds into dangerous eras of change. He explains how dust storms on Mars, the greenhouse effect on Venus, Gaia Theory, the threat of nuclear winter, and efforts to prove or disprove the plurality of worlds from Aristotle to Copernicus to Carl Sagan have contributed to our understanding of our place in the universe and the growing challenge of climate change. And he explores what may be the largest question of all: if there has been life on other worlds, what its presence can tell us about our own fate.

The revised and updated 2nd edition of this established textbook provides a self-contained introduction to the general theory of relativity, describing not only the physical principles and applications of the theory, but also the mathematics needed, in particular the calculus of differential forms.Updated throughout, the book contains more detailed explanations and extended discussions of several conceptual points, and strengthened mathematical deductions where required. It includes examples of work conducted in the ten years since the first edition of the book was published, for example the pedagogically helpful concept of a "river of space" and a more detailed discussion of how far the principle of relativity is contained in the general theory of relativity. Also presented is a discussion of the concept of the 'gravitational field' in Einstein's theory, and some new material concerning the 'twin paradox' in the theory of relativity. Finally, the book contains a new section about gravitational waves, exploring the dramatic progress in this field following the LIGO observations. Based on a long-established masters course, the book serves advanced undergraduate and graduate level students, and also provides a useful reference for researchers.

Some 400 years after the first known patent application for a telescope by Hans Lipperhey, The Astronomy Revolution: 400 Years of Exploring the Cosmos surveys the effects of this instrument and explores the questions that have arisen out of scientific research in astronomy and cosmology. Inspired by the international New Vision 400 conference held in Beijing in October 2008, this interdisciplinary volume brings together expanded and updated contributions from 26 esteemed conference speakers and invited others. Looking beyond questions of science to the role of moral responsibility in human civilizations, the book offers the unique vantage points of contributions from both Eastern and Western cultures. Extensively illustrated in full color, this book consists of six parts. Aimed at young scientists, the first part presents perspectives on creativity and technology in scientific discovery. In the second part, contributors examine how the telescope has impacted our knowledge of the Universe-from the formation of galaxies to the death of stars. The third part of the book outlines some of the challenges we face in understanding dark matter, dark energy, black holes, and cosmic rays, and the fourth part discusses new technologies that will be useful in attacking new and unresolved questions. The fifth part of the book examines the intellectual impact that the telescope has had on society in China and in the West. The book concludes with an investigation of "big questions": What is the origin of the laws of physics as we know them? Are these laws the same everywhere? How do these scientific laws relate to the moral laws of society? Does what we know depend on cultural ways of asking the questions? Is there life elsewhere? And what about the questions that science cannot answer? Celebrating the historical significance of the telescope, this unique book seeks to inspire all those involved or interested i

Discover the wonders of the night sky with this bestselling Astronomy Guide

For a generation, "Astronomy: A Self-Teaching Guide" has introduced hundreds of thousands of readers worldwide to the night sky. Now this classic beginner's guide has been completely revised to bring it up to date with the latest discoveries.

Updated with the latest, most accurate information and more than 100 new graphics and photos, this Seventh Edition features: Web site addresses throughout for the best color images and astronomy resources onlineTechnical ideas made simple without mathematicsA beautiful new full-color, glossy insert with spectacular astro-imagesAn interactive format with learning goals, reviews, self-tests, and answers for fast learningFive beginners' Star and Moon maps for fun stargazing

Dinah L. Moche, Ph.D., is Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the City University of New York. An award-winning author and lecturer, her books have sold over ten million copies in seven languages.

A NASA insider tells the exciting story of robotic space missions to explore the solar system. Exploring the planets has been a goal of America's space program since the dawn of the space race. This insider's perspective examines incredible missions of robotic spacecraft to every corner of our solar system and beyond. Some were flown into glory, while others were planned and relegated to dusty filing cabinets. All were remarkable in their aspirations. Award-winning science writer Rod Pyle profiles both the remarkable spacecraft and the amazing scientists and engineers who made them possible. From the earliest sprints past Venus and Mars to Voyager1's current explorations of the space between the stars, this exciting book sheds new light on ever-more ambitious journeys designed to increase the human reach into the solar system. Drawing on his perspective as a writer for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, ground zero for NASA's planetary exploration, the author further details plans now in development to look for signs of life on Jupiter's moon Europa, submarines that will dive into the hazy hydrocarbon lakes of Saturn's moon Titan, and intelligent spacecraft that will operate for months without human intervention on Mars and in the outer solar system well into the 2030s. Equally compelling are programs of exploration that were considered but never left the drawing board, such as automobile-sized biology laboratories designed for a Mars landing in the 1960s and plans to detonate atomic bombs on the moon. Complemented by many rarely-seen photos and illustrations, these stories of incredible engineering achievements, daring imaginations, and technological genius will fascinate and inspire.

A noted space expert explains the current revolution in spaceflight, where it leads, and why we need it.A new space race has begun. But the rivals in this case are not superpowers but competing entrepreneurs. These daring pioneers are creating a revolution in spaceflight that promises to transform the near future. Astronautical engineer Robert Zubrin spells out the potential of these new developments in an engrossing narrative that is visionary yet grounded by a deep understanding of the practical challenges.Fueled by the combined expertise of the old aerospace industry and the talents of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, spaceflight is becoming cheaper. The new generation of space explorers has already achieved a major breakthrough by creating reusable rockets. Zubrin foresees more rapid innovation, including global travel from any point on Earth to another in an hour or less; orbital hotels; moon bases with incredible space observatories; human settlements on Mars, the asteroids, and the moons of the outer planets; and then, breaking all limits, pushing onward to the stars.Zubrin shows how projects that sound like science fiction can actually become reality. But beyond the how, he makes an even more compelling case for why we need to do this--to increase our knowledge of the universe, to make unforeseen discoveries on new frontiers, to harness the natural resources of other planets, to safeguard Earth from stray asteroids, to ensure the future of humanity by expanding beyond its home base, and to protect us from being catastrophically set against each other by the false belief that there isn't enough for all.

What we know about dark matter and what we have yet to discover Astronomical observations have confirmed dark matter's existence, but what exactly is dark matter? In What Is Dark Matter?, particle physicist Peter Fisher introduces readers to one of the most intriguing frontiers of physics. We cannot actually see dark matter, a mysterious, nonluminous form of matter that is believed to account for about 27 percent of the mass-energy balance in the universe. But we know dark matter is present by observing its ghostly gravitational effects on the behavior and evolution of galaxies. Fisher brings readers quickly up to speed regarding the current state of the dark matter problem, offering relevant historical context as well as a close look at the cutting-edge research focused on revealing dark matter's true nature. Could dark matter be a new type of particle-an axion or a Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP)-or something else? What have physicists ruled out so far-and why? What experimental searches are now underway and planned for the near future, in hopes of detecting dark matter on Earth or in space? Fisher explores these questions and more, illuminating what is known and unknown, and what a triumph it will be when scientists discover dark matter's identity at last.

'An astonishingly good read, gripping and thought-provoking' - William Lane Craig

'If you wanted to understand Stephen Hawking but couldn't face the maths, this is the book for you.' - Dr Althea Wilkinson, Jodrell Bank

Stephen Hawking kept breaking rules. Given two years to live, he managed another 54. He wrote about quantum cosmology - and sold 20 million books. He could not speak, yet the world recognized his voice.

Hutchings and Wilkinson shine light on his extraordinary ideas. The result is a story of black holes, origins, many universes, and Big Questions.

This accessible text on classical celestial mechanics, the principles governing the motions of bodies in the Solar System, provides a clear and concise treatment of virtually all of the major features of solar system dynamics. Building on advanced topics in classical mechanics such as rigid body rotation, Langrangian mechanics, and orbital perturbation theory, this text has been written for advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students in astronomy, physics, mathematics, and related fields. Specific topics covered include Keplerian orbits, the perihelion precession of the planets, tidal interactions between the Earth, Moon, and Sun, the Roche radius, the stability of Lagrange points in the three-body problem, and lunar motion. More than 100 exercises allow students to gauge their understanding, and a solutions manual is available to instructors. Suitable for a first course in celestial mechanics, this text is the ideal bridge to higher level treatments.

This book presents Special Relativity in a language accessible to students while avoiding the burdens of geometry, tensor calculus, space-time symmetries, and the introduction of four vectors. The search for clarity in the fundamental questions about Relativity, the discussion of historical developments before and after 1905, the strong connection to current research topics, many solved examples and problems, and illustrations of the material in colloquial discussions are the most significant and original assets of this book. Importantly for first-time students, Special Relativity is presented such that nothing needs to be called paradoxical or apparent; everything is explained. The content of this volume develops and builds on the book Relativity Matters (Springer, 2017). However, this presentation of Special Relativity does not require 4-vector tools. The relevant material has been extended and reformulated, with additional examples and clarifications. This introduction of Special Relativity offers conceptual insights reaching well beyond the usual method of teaching relativity. It considers relevant developments after the discovery of General Relativity (which itself is not presented), and advances the reader into contemporary research fields. This presentation of Special Relativity is connected to present day research topics in particle, nuclear, and high intensity pulsed laser physics and is complemented by the current cosmological perspective. The conceptual reach of Special Relativity today extends significantly further compared even to a few decades ago. As the book progresses, the qualitative and historical introduction turns into a textbook-style presentation with many detailed results derived in an explicit manner. The reader reaching the end of this text needs knowledge of classical mechanics, a good command of elementary algebra, basic knowledge of calculus, and introductory know-how of electromagnetism.

This book details the lives of two married geniuses, Aden and Marjorie Meinel, who helped to pioneer modern optics and solar energy in the U.S. Aden B. Meinel and Marjorie P. Meinel stood at the confluence of several overarching technological developments during their lifetimes, including postwar aerial surveillance by spy planes and satellites, solar energy, the evolution of telescope design, interdisciplinary optics, and photonics. Yet, their incredible stories and their long list of scientific contributions have never been adequately recognized in one place. In this book, James Breckinridge and Alec M. Pridgeon correct this oversight by sharing the story of this powerful duo. The book follows their lives and covers large scientific developments between World War II to the Cold War. James B. Breckinridge, a previous advisee and later colleague to the Meinels, and historian and scientist Alec M. Pridgeon collected more than 200 hours of oral interviews with those who worked closely with the Meinels and some who built their careers around the findings made possible by their work. The book shares and analyzes the work done by the Meinels, and it also includes incredible insights from an unpublished Meinel autobiography.

These Transactions provide a record of the organisational and administrative activities of the IAU XXIX General Assembly which took place in Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA, in August 2015. They report and record all of the essential decisions taken by the governing body of the IAU. These include the approval of the financial accounts and of the proposed budget for the next three years, the admission of new national and individual members, the evaluation of Division and Commission reports, and the approval of Resolutions. This General Assembly also completed the internal restructuring that began in 2012, with the approval of thirty-five new Commissions, together with their elected Presidents and Organising Committees. A further change to the scientific programme of the XXIX General Assembly was the substitution of the Joint Discussions meetings and Special Sessions with a single entity, designated as Focus Meetings and published in the new 'Astronomy in Focus' series.

Heavenly Mathematics traces the rich history of spherical trigonometry, revealing how the cultures of classical Greece, medieval Islam, and the modern West used this forgotten art to chart the heavens and the Earth. Once at the heart of astronomy and ocean-going navigation for two millennia, the discipline was also a mainstay of mathematics education for centuries and taught widely until the 1950s. Glen Van Brummelen explores this exquisite branch of mathematics and its role in ancient astronomy, geography, and cartography; Islamic religious rituals; celestial navigation; polyhedra; stereographic projection; and more. He conveys the sheer beauty of spherical trigonometry, providing readers with a new appreciation of its elegant proofs and often surprising conclusions. Heavenly Mathematics is illustrated throughout with stunning historical images and informative drawings and diagrams. This unique compendium also features easy-to-use appendixes as well as exercises that originally appeared in textbooks from the eighteenth to the early twentieth centuries.

A History of Arabic Astronomy is a comprehensive survey of Arabic planetary theories from the eleventh century to the fifteenth century based on recent manuscript discoveries. George Saliba argues that the medieval period, often called a period of decline in Islamic intellectual history, was scientifically speaking, a very productive period in which astronomical theories of the highest order were produced.

Based on the most recent manuscript discoveries, this book broadly surveys developments in Arabic planetary theories from the eleventh century to the fifteenth. Taken together, the primary texts and essays assembled in this book reverse traditional beliefs about the rise and fall of Arabic science, demonstrating how the traditional "age of decline" in Arabic science was indeed a "Golden Age" as far as astronomy was concerned.

Some of the techniques and mathematical theorems developed during this period were identical to those which were employed by Copernicus in developing his own non-Ptolemaic astronomy. Significantly, this volume will shed much-needed light on the conditions under which such theories were developed in medieval Islam. It clearly demonstrates the distinction that was drawn between astronomical activities and astrological ones, and reveals, contrary to common perceptions about medieval Islam, the accommodation that was obviously reached between religion and astronomy, and the degree to which astronomical planetary theories were supported, and at times even financed, by the religious community itself. This in stark contrast to the systematic attacks leveled by the same religious community against astrology.

To students of European intellectual history, the book reveals the technical relationship between the astronomy of the Arabs and that of Copernicus. Saliba's definitive work will be of particular interest to historians of Arabic science as well as to historians of medieval and Renaissance European science.

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.

"The Labours of Hercules" - an astrological interpretation by Alice Bailey, gives a vivid account of the journey of the soul as it incarnates progressively through the twelve signs of the Zodiac. The labours that Hercules is required to perform symbolise the specific challenges that face all disciples as they seek to equip themselves to better serve their fellow human beings. It is an excellent introduction to a more esoteric understanding of astrology.