The far side of the Moon, also called the "dark side of the Moon" was unknown to humanity until the Luna and Lunar Orbiter pictures were returned to Earth. This wonderful book contains beautiful photographs and newly-assembled mosaic images of the far side of the Moon, cleaned of transmission, imaging stripes and processing artifacts by today's computer technology. Byrne's superb analysis documents the appearance of the features of the far side with beautiful pictures from Lunar Orbiter. Until now, the far side Lunar Orbiter photos have only been available with strong reconstruction lines, but appear here for the first time as complete photographs, unmarred by imaging and processing artifacts.

"The Hatfield Lunar Atlas" has become an amateur lunar observer's bible since it was first published in 1968. A major update of the atlas was made in 1998, using the same wonderful photographs that Commander Henry Hatfield made with his purpose-built 12-inch (300 mm) telescope, but bringing the lunar nomenclature up to date and changing the units from Imperial to S.I. metric This edition is important since the fact is that modern telescope optics, digital imaging equipment and computer enhancement can easily surpass what was achieved with Henry Hatfield's 12-inch telescope and a film camera. This limits the usefulness of the original atlas to visual observing or imaging rather small amateur telescopes. The new, digitally re-mastered edition vastly improves the clarity and definition of the original photographs - significantly beyond the resolution limits of the photographic grains present in earlier atlas versions - while preserving the layout and style of the original publications. This has been achieved by merging computer-visualized Earth-based views of the lunar surface, derived from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter data, with scanned copies of Commander Hatfield's photographic plates, using the author's own software. The results is a "The Hatfield Lunar Atlas" for 21st century amateur telescopes up to and beyond 12-inch aperture.

Recent discoveries of planet-like objects circling other sun-like stars have stirred enormous interest in what other planets may exist in the universe, and whether they could support intelligent life. This book takes us into the midst of this search for extrasolar planets. Unlike other books, it focuses on the people behind the searches -- many known personally by the author -- and the extraordinary technology that is currently on the drawing boards. The author is an experienced, award-winning science journalist who was previously technology correspondent for the Financial Times of London. He has written on many topics in astronomy and astrobiology in over 35 different newspapers and magazines worldwide.

This book presents a summary of the geology of the Transantarctic Mountains for Earth scientists who may want to work there or who need an overview of the geologic history of this region. In addition, the properties of the East Antarctic ice sheet and of the meteorites that accumulate on its surface are treated in separate chapters. The presentation ends with the Cenozoic glaciation of the Transantarctic Mountains including the limnology and geochemical evolution of the saline lakes in the ice-free valleys. * The subject matter in this book is presented in chronological order starting about 750 million years ago and continuing to the present time. * The chapters can be read selectively because the introduction to each chapter identifies the context that gives relevance to the subject matter to be discussed. * The text is richly illustrated with 330 original line drawings as well as with 182 color maps and photographs. * The book contains indexes of both subject matter and of authors' names that allow it to be used as an encyclopedia of the Transantarctic Mountains and of the East Antarctic ice sheet. * Most of the chapters are supplemented by Appendices containing data tables, additional explanations of certain phenomena (e.g., the formation and seasonal destruction of stratospheric ozone), and illustrative calculations (e.g., 38Cl dates of meteorites). * The authors have spent a combined total of fourteen field seasons between 1964 and 1995 doing geological research in the Transantarctic Mountains with logistical support by the US Antarctic Program. * Although Antarctica is remote and inaccessible, tens of thousands of scientists of many nationalities and their assistants have worked there and even larger numbers of investigators will work there in the future.

IAU Symposium 263 provides a state-of-the-art review of icy bodies in the Solar System, a topic crucial to understanding processes involved in the Solar System's formation, the consequences for water on planets, and ultimately, the habitable zones around other stars. Ice-rich planetesimals which form beyond the snow line are discussed, using an interdisciplinary approach. The main topics covered include: accretion of icy grains in the protoplanetary disk, the long-period comet flux and the Oort cloud population, transfer mechanisms of bodies from their source regions to the Sun's neighborhood, the physics and dynamics of trans-Neptunian objects, transition objects (comets and asteroids), cryovolcanism and modeling the interiors of icy bodies, and a review of past, present and future space missions. This volume gives a broad overview of the importance of these bodies, from comets up to liquid water on terrestrial planets, and the formation of ices in the Solar System.

"Habitable Planets for Man" examines and estimates the probabilities of finding planets habitable to human beings, where they might be found, and the number there may be in our own galaxy. The author presents in detail the characteristics of a planet that can provide an acceptable environment for humankind, itemizes the stars nearest the earth most likely to possess habitable planets, and discusses how to search for habitable planets. Interestingly for our time, he also gives an appraisal of the earth as a planet and describes how its habitability would be changed if some of its basic properties were altered."Habitable Planets for Man" was published at the height of the space race, a few years before the first moon landing, when it was assumed that in the not-too-distant future human beings "will be able to travel the vast distances to other stars." More than forty years after its initial publication, and to celebrate RAND's 60th Anniversary, RAND brings this classic work back into print in paperback and digital formats.

"Planets for Man" was written at the height of the space race, a few years before the first moon landing, when it was assumed that in the not-too-distant future human beings "will be able to travel the vast distances to other stars." The authors propose to determine - on the basis of then current biological and cosmological knowledge - whether there are other worlds where humans can survive or where human life may even now be flourishing. This volume, co-authored by "RAND" researcher Stephen Dole and science fiction master Isaac Asimov, certainly one of the more unusual co-authorships in "RAND's" long history of research and publishing, it was based on a more technical treatise authored by Dole, "Habitable Planets for Man". More than forty years after its initial publication, and to celebrate "RAND's" 60th Anniversary, "RAND" brings this classic work back into print in paperback and digital formats.

An amazing journey throughout the universe in a search for other planets and the possibility of extraterrestrial life.

A look at the creation and composition of asteroids and the frightening eventuality of a collision with the earth.

An account of the discovery of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet and its spectacular collision with Jupiter, just 6 months later, written by one of the comet's discoverers.

The Moon is accessible to everyone. Because it is easy to observe everywhere, even in big cities, it is a prime target for aspiring astronomers and for those who are merely curious about the night sky. This easy-to-use guide to discovering lunar sites takes the reader through fourteen observing sessions from New Moon to Full Moon. For each evening, the book shows which craters, mountains and other features can be seen, and how to find them. Each photograph shows what the observer actually sees through a telescope, solving the usual difficulties of orientation confronting beginners. Images are shown as they appear through both refracting and reflecting telescopes. Maps printed on the book's front and back flaps show the whole Moon with sites as seen through a refractor, through a Newtonian reflector, or, when turned upside-down, through binoculars. Jean Lacroux has been a columnist for the French astronomy magazine Ciel et Espace for 25 years. He has published four successful amateur astronomy books in French. Christian Legrand is an engineer and amateur astronomer, who has been a passionate lunar observer since the Apollo missions.

The intriguing narrative of one of astronomy's strangest searches for a planet that never existed.

The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) was the first dission to orbit and eventually land on an asteroid. A phenomenal success, the mission returned with hundreds of thousands of images, spectra, and other measurements about the large near-Earth asteroid 433 Eros. Some of the scientists and engineers who made NEAR such a success describe the mission here in their own words, from the initial concept studies, through the development phase, launch, cruise operations, the flyby of asteroid Mathilde, the near-catastrophic main engine failure in 1998, the heroic rescue and recovery of the spacecraft, the amazing year-long up-close look at one of Earth's most primitive celestial neighbors, and, finally, the daring attempt to land the spacecraft on Eros at the end of the mission. The book is illustrated throughout with images from the mission and explanatory diagrams. Jim Bell is an Assistant Professor in the Cornell University Astronomy Department whose research focuses on the geology, chemistry, and mineralogy of planets, asteroids, and comets using data obtained from telescopes and spacecraft missions. He is a member of a number of space science teams, including the NASA Mars Pathfinder and NEAR. Author of some 70 first and co-authored journal publications, he is a frequent contributor to popular astronomy magazines and radio shows. The International Astronomical Union recently awarded him the honor of having asteroid 8146 Jimbell named after him. Jacqueline Mitton is the Press Officer and a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, a member of the International Astronomical Union, and a Member of the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society. She is the author or co-author of 16 astronomy books; her most recent being The Cambridge Dictionary of Astronomy (2001).

David Levy brings these "ghostly apparitions" to life. With fascinating scenarios both real and imagined, he shows how comets have wreaked their special havoc on Earth and other planets. Beginning with ground zero as comets take form, we track the paths their icy, rocky masses take around our universe and investigate the enormous potential that future comets have to directly affect the way we live on this planet and what we might find as we travel to other planets.

In this extraordinary volume, David Levy shines his expert light on a subject that has long captivated our imaginations and fears, and demonstrates the need for our continued and rapt attention.

Rain of Iron and Ice shows us the unmistakable evidence--from spaceprobe flybys of the planets to the scars on our own Earth--of cataclysmic comet and asteroid impacts. By comparing what we know about the earth's geology and paleontology with the ages of the other planets and moons in our solar system, Lewis makes the strongest case yet for sudden, dramatic extinctions and assesses the risks to planet Earth.

Essential for life on earth and a major influence on our environment, the Sun is also the most fascinating object in the daytime sky. Every day we feel the effect of its coming and going - literally the difference between day and night. But figuring out what the Sun is, what it's made of, why it glows so brightly, how old it is, how long it will last - all of these take thought and observation. Leon Golub and Jay M. Pasachoff offer an engaging and informative account of what scientists know about the Sun, and the history of these discoveries. Solar astronomers have studied the Sun over the centuries both for its intrinsic interest and in order to use it as a laboratory to reveal the secrets of other stars. The authors discuss the surface of the Sun, including sunspots and their eleven-year cycle, as well as the magnetism that causes them; the Sun's insides, as studied mainly from seismic waves that astronomers record on its surface; the outer layers of the Sun that we see from Earth only at eclipses and from spacecraft; and space weather, the radiation and particles that we on Earth receive from the Sun in flares or other ejections. Golub and Pasachoff also provide instructions on how to observe the Sun safely, and how to attend and to observe solar eclipses. Illustrated with a wide variety of beautiful solar images, this informative book will appeal to both scientists and a more general readership interested in this star at the centre of our solar system. Published in association with the Science Museum, London.

Recent advances in computational power are now enabling scientists to consider problems of population dynamics at an advanced level. The small bodies of our solar system, the planets around other stars, dust belts, space debris, etc., need to be understood as a a whole, with their collective dynamical evolution, stability and instability, order and chaos, aggregations and impacts. Important results on specific populations of celestial bodies, in addition to new methods of computation and analysis, have been obtained in the last few years. Scientists from 21 countries convened for the Colloquium "Dynamics of Populations of Planetary Systems", sponsored by the International Astronomical Union, in Belgrade (Serbia and Monte Negro). This proceedings volume reviews current understanding of the field, and is a valuable resource for professional astronomers and planetary scientists.

On March 13, 1989, the entire Quebec power grid collapsed, automatic garage doors in California suburbs began to open and close without apparent reason, and microchip production came to a halt in the Northeast; in space, communications satellites had to be manually repointed after flipping upside down, and pressure readings on hydrogen tank supplies on board the Space Shuttle Discovery peaked, causing NASA to consider aborting the mission. What was the cause of all these seemingly disparate events? Sten Odenwald gives convincing evidence of the mischievous -- and potentially catastrophic -- power of solar storms and the far-reaching effects of the coming "big one" brewing in the sun and estimated to culminate in the twenty-third cycle in the year 2001 and beyond. When the sun undergoes its cyclic "solar maximum," a time when fierce solar flares and storms erupt, fantastic auroras will be seen around the world. But the breathtaking spectacles will herald a potentially disastrous chain of events that merit greater preparation than Y2K. Is anyone listening?

The 23rd Cycle traces the previously untold history of solar storms and the ways in which they were perceived by astronomers -- and even occasionally covered up by satellite companies. Punctuated with an insert containing dramatic color images showing the erupting sun, the book also includes a history of the record of auroral sightings, accounts of communications blackouts from the twentieth century, a list of industries sensitive to solar storms, and information about radiation and health issues.

An account of the 1976 Viking expedition to Mars describes the spacecraft and its instruments, the journey itself, and the mission's results.

Chondrules are spherical silicate grains which formed from protoplanetary disk material, and as such provide an important record of the conditions of the Solar System in pre-planetary times. Chondrules are a major constituent in chondritic meteorites, however despite being recognised for over 200 years, their origins remain enigmatic. This comprehensive review describes state-of-the-art research into chondrules, bringing together leading cosmochemists and astrophysicists to review the properties of chondrules and their possible formation mechanisms based on careful observations of their chemistry, mineralogy, petrology and isotopic composition. Current and upcoming space missions returning material from chondritic asteroids and cometary bodies has invigorated research in this field, leading to new models and observations, and providing new insight into the conditions and timescales of the solar protoplanetary disk. Presenting the most recent advances, this book is an invaluable reference for researchers and graduate students interested in meteorites, asteroids, planetary accretion and solar system dynamics.

The authors have put forth great efforts in gathering present day knowledge about different objects within our solar system and universe. This book features the most current information on the subject with information acquired from noted scientists in this area. The main objective is to convey the importance of the subject and provide detailed information on the physical makeup of our planetary system and technologies used for research. Information on educational projects has also been included in the Radio Astronomy chapters.This information is a real plus for students and educators considering a career in Planetary Science or for increasing their knowledge about our planetary system.

Mars is ingrained in our culture, from David Bowie's extra-terrestrial spiders to H.G. Wells's The War of the Worlds. The red planet has inspired hundreds of scientists, authors and filmmakers - but why? What is it about this particular planet that makes it so intriguing?

Ancient mythologies defined Mars as a violent harbinger of war, and astrologers found meaning in the planet's dance through the sky. Stargazers puzzled over Mars's unfamiliar properties; some claimed to see canals criss-crossing its surface, while images from early spacecraft showed startling faced and pyramids carved out of rusty rock. Did Martians exist? If so, were they intelligent, civilised beings?

We now have a better understanding of Mars: its red hue, small moons, atmosphere (or lack of it), and mysterious past. Robots have trundled across the planet's surface, beaming back astonishing views of the alien landscape and seeking clues on how it has evolved. While little green Martians are now firmly the preserve of literature, evidence is growing that the now arid, frozen planet was once warmer, wetter, and possibly thronging with microbial life. Soon, we may set food on the planet. What challenges are involved, and how are we preparing for them? Is there a future for humanity on Mars?

In 4th Rock from the Sun, Nicky Jenner reviews Mars in its entirety, exploring its nature, attributes, potential as a human colony and impact on 3rd Rock-culture - everything you need to know about the Red Planet.

The beating heart of the sun is the very pulse of life on earth. And from the ancients who plotted its path at Stonehenge to the modern scientists who unraveled the nuclear fusion reaction that turns mass into energy, humankind has sought to solve its mysteries. In this lively biography of the sun, Bob Berman ranges from its stellar birth to its spectacular future death with a focus on the wondrous and enthralling, and on the heartbreaking sacrifice, laughable errors, egotistical battles, and brilliant inspirations of the people who have tried to understand its power.
What, exactly, are the ghostly streaks of light astronauts see-but can't photograph-when they're in space? And why is it impossible for two people to see the exact same rainbow? Why are scientists beginning to think that the sun is safer than sunscreen? And how does the fluctuation of sunspots-and its heartbeat-affect everything from satellite communications to wheat production across the globe?
Peppered with mind-blowing facts and memorable anecdotes about spectral curiosities-the recently-discovered "second sun" that lurks beneath the solar surface, the eerie majesty of a total solar eclipse-THE SUN'S HEARTBEAT offers a robust and entertaining narrative of how the Sun has shaped humanity and our understanding of the universe around us.

Concentrating on Photovoltaic (PV) Solar Power and its scientific, technological, industrial, political, environmental and social implications, this authoritative account provides a historical summary of the present applications, and future strategies for development and implementation. Describing how modern PV was invented in 1954 in association with the transistor, how the PV markets have experienced exponential growth since 2005, and how its development has involved hundreds of companies worldwide--in effect creating 100,000 jobs and tens of thousands of experts--this in-depth guide is published in full-color with more than 100 pictures and illustrations from 41 leading pioneers in the solar industry, and is an invaluable reference for students of the history and future of renewable energy resources.