Winner of the AAS 2019 Donald E. Osterbrock Book Prize for Historical Astronomy Grabbing the attention of poets, politicians and the general public alike, a series of spectacular astronomical events in the late 1800s galvanized Americans to take a greater interest in astronomy than ever before. At a time when the sciences were not yet as well established in the United States as they were in Europe, this public interest and support provided the growing scientific community in the United States with the platform they needed to advance the field of astronomy in the United States. Earlier in the 19th century comets, meteors and the discovery of the planet Neptune were all sources of inspiration to the general public. The specific events to be considered here are the total solar eclipses of 1868, 1869 and 1878 and the transits of Venus of 1874 and 1882. The available media responded to public interest as well as generating more interest. These events laid the groundwork that led to today's thriving network of American amateur astronomers and provide a fascinating look at earlier conceptions of the stars.

Astrophysical research has led to the detection of thousands of planets outside the Solar System. About one-tenth of the extrasolar planets discovered so far reside in binary- or multi-stellar systems, and some of the closest known rocky exoplanets populate these multiple-star systems. While such environments seem good places to look for a second Earth, can Earth-like planets with two or more suns be habitable? And do solar system-like configurations have to be detected to find a habitable exo-Earth?This book addresses these questions. Starting with a brief overview of the various types of double star-planet configurations that have been observed so far, the book discusses the intriguing variety of planetary motion in such environments, taking into account the stellar type, evolution, and activity, and elaborates on how the presence of an additional stellar companion affects planet formation, system architectures and the habitability of planets in binary star systems. New methodologies developed in this area of research are explained and demonstrated for systems such as Alpha-Centauri, HD41004, Kepler-35, and many others. This monograph provides a grand entry to the exciting results that we expect from new missions like TESS, CHEOPS and Plato.

This book describes numerical simulations of collisions between asteroids, based on a unique numerical code developed by the author. The code accurately solves the elastic dynamic equations and describes the effects of fracture and friction, which makes it possible to investigate the shapes of impact outcomes produced by asteroid collisions and subsequent gravitational accumulation of fragments. The author parallelizes the code with high parallelization efficiency; accordingly, it can be used to conduct high-resolution simulations with the aid of supercomputers and clarify the shapes of small remnants produced through the catastrophic destruction of asteroids. The author demonstrates that flat asteroids can only be produced by impacts involving objects with similar mass and low velocity, which suggests that the flat asteroids in our solar system were created in the planet formation era and have kept their shapes until today. The author also shows that asteroid collisions under certain conditions can produce the extremely elongated shape of an interstellar minor body, 1I/'Oumuamua. In brief, the book offers a comprehensive investigation of asteroid impacts and shapes, making it a uniquely valuable resource.

The SECCHI A and B instrument suites (Howard et al. , 2006) onboard the two STEREO mission spacecraft (Kaiser, 2005) are each composed of: one Extreme Ultra-Violet Imager (EUVI), two white-light coronagraphs (COR1 and COR2), and two wide-angle heliospheric imagers (HI1 and HI2). Technical descriptions of EUVI, COR1 and the HIs can be found in Wuelser et al. (2004), Thompson et al. (2003), and De?se et al. (2003), respectively. The images produced by SECCHI represent a data visualization challenge: i) the images are 2048x2048 pixels (except for the HIs, which are usually binned onboard 2x2), thus the vast majority of computer displays are not able to display them at full frame and full r- olution, and ii) more importantly, the ?ve instruments of SECCHI A and B were designed to be able to track Coronal Mass Ejections from their onset (with EUVI) to their pro- gation in the heliosphere (with the HIs), which implies that a set of SECCHI images that covers the propagation of a CME from its initiation site to the Earth is composed of im- ?1 ages with very different spatial resolutions - from 1. 7 arcsecondspixel for EUVI to 2. 15 ?1 arcminutespixel for HI2, i. e. 75 times larger. A similar situation exists with the angular scales of the physical objects, since the size of a CME varies by orders of magnitude as it expands in the heliosphere.

The first edition of The Sun From Space, completed in 1999, focused on the early accomplishments of three solar spacecraft, SOHO, Ulysses and Yohkoh, primarily during a minimum in the Sun's 11-year cycle of magnetic activity. This comprehensive Second Edition includes the main findings of these three spacecraft over an entire activity cycle, including two minima and a maximum, and discusses the significant results of six further solar missions. It contains the relevant discoveries of the past decade, integrated into chapters completely rewritten for the purposes of this book. This provides a fresh perspective on the major topics of solar enquiry, written in an enjoyable, easily understood text accessible to all readers, from the interested layperson to the student or professional.

After describing the scientific objectives of the nine solar missions and a historical perspective on studies of the Sun and heliosphere, the author presents key advances in our understanding of the solar interior, the heating of the million-degree outer atmosphere of the Sun, known as the solar corona, the origin and nature of the solar winds, the cause, prediction and propagation of explosive solar flares and coronal mass ejections, and all aspects of space-weather interactions of the Sun with the Earth, with unprotected astronauts on the Moon or Mars, and with spacecraft in outer space.

The author is known also for his famous books "Astrophysical Formulae," "Sun, Earth and Sky," and the prize-winning "Wanderers in Space," he has succeeded once again in addressing a complex scientific topic in a very approachable way. Hence, this generously illustrated book, whilst primarily addressing students, will also be of interest to a broader readership covering all levels from the amateur to the expert.

Much of what is known about the universe came from the study of celestial shadows. This book looks in detail at the way eclipses and other celestial shadows have given us amazing insights into the nature of the objects in our solar system and how they are even helping us discover and analyze planets that orbit stars other than our Sun. A variety of eclipses, transits, and occultations of the mooons of Jupiter and Saturn, Pluto and its satellite Charon, asteroids and stars have helped astronomers to work out their dimensions, structures, and shapes - even the existence of atmospheres and structures of exoplanets. Long before Columbus set out to reach the Far East by sailing West, the curved shadow of the Earth on the Moon during a lunar eclipse revealed that we inhabit a round world, a globe. More recently, comparisons of the sunlit and Earthlit parts of the Moon have been used to determine changes in the Earth's brightness as a way of monitoring possible effects in cloud coverage which may be related to global warming. Shadows were used by the Greek mathematician Eratosthenes to work out the first estimate of the circumference of the Earth, by Galileo to measure the heights of the lunar mountains and by eighteenth century astronomers to determine the scale of the Solar System itself. Some of the rarest and most wonderful shadows of all are those cast onto Earth by the lovely "Evening Star" Venus as it goes between the Earth and the Sun. These majestic transits of Venus occur at most two in a century; after the 2012 transit, there is not a chance to observe this phenomenon until 2117, while the more common sweep of a total solar eclipse creates one of the most dramatic and awe-inspiring events of nature. Though it may have once been a source of consternation or dread, solar eclipses now lead thousands of amateur astronomers and "eclipse-chasers" to travel the globe in order to experience the dramatic view under "totality." These phenomena are among the most spectacular available to observers and are given their full due in Westfall and Sheehan's comprehensive study.

over to nominal operations and began making our groundbreaking science observations. Remarkably, the IBEX project was able to do all this work including developing an entirely new launch capability, building and ying a unique and highly specialized spacecraft and instrument suite, and maintaining full funding for our Education and Public Outreach and Phase E science activities, while still under-running our original cost cap (as modi ed by NASA-directed changes), by roughly three-quarters of a million dollars. This book comprises a set of papers that describe the IBEX science, instruments, and mission and put these in the context of the existing knowledge of the interstellar interaction at the time of the launch. The book sets the stage for research that will be based on data from the IBEX mission. We sincerely hope that future researchers, authors and students will use this information to help in their studies. Chapter 1 [McComas et al. ] provides an overview of the entire IBEX program including the IBEX science, hardware, and mission. Chapter 2 describes the IBEX spacecraft and ight system [Scherrer et al. ]. Chapters 3-4 provide the details of the IBEX-Hi instrument [Funsten et al. ] and background monitor that is built into it [Allegrini et al. ], while Chapters 5-7 describe the IBEX-Lo instrument [Fuselier et al. ], how IBEX-Lo can measure the interstellar neutrals directly entering the heliosphere [Moebius et al.

The proceedings of the 2nd SOHO Workshop published in this volume provide a concise overview of the most relevant aspects of mass supply and flows in the solar corona, focusing on: fine scale structures; loops and prominences; streamers; and coronal holes and solar wind. Each topic is introduced by three reviews - the first giving a summary of the status of relevant observations, the second illustrating the status of related theoretical work, and the third summarizing advances in the field to be expected as a result of future SOHO observations. The book also includes a number of specialized contributions. This volume aims to create a general awareness of the opportunities offered by SOHO, in addition to providing a basis for developing collaborative projects. It should also provide scientists already active in the field with easy access to information about future SOHO activities, while young researchers can learn about those topics which are currently regarded as being most relevant in this rapidly evolving discipline.

In June of 1996, at the seaside resort of Guaruja, Brazil, a renowned group of researchers in space and astrophysical plasmas met to provide a forum on advanced topics on astrophysical and space plasmas at a school consisting of some 60 students and teachers, mainly from Brazil and Argentina, but also from all the other parts of the globe. The purpose was to provide an update on the latest theories, observations, and simulations of space-astrophysical plasma phenomena. The topics covered included: space plasma mechanisms for particle acceleration, nonthermal emission in cosmic plasma, magnetohydrodynamic instabilities in solar, interstellar, and other cosmic objects, magnetic field line reconnection and merging, the nonlinear and often chaotic structure of astrophysical plasmas, and the advances in high performance supercomputing resources to replicate the observed phenomena. The lectures were presented by Professor Mark Birkinshaw of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and the University of Bristol; Dr Anthony Peratt, Los Alamos National Laboratory Scientific Advisor to the United States Department of Energy; Dr Dieter Biskamp of the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, Garching, Germany; Professor Donald Melrose, Director, Centre for Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Sydney, Australia; Professor Abraham Chian of the National Institute for Space Research, Brazil; and Professor Nelson Fiedler-Ferrara of the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. As summarized by Professor Reuven Opher, Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics, University of Sao Paulo, the advanced or interested student of space and astrophysical plasmas will find reference to nearly all modern aspects in the field of Plasma Astrophysics and Cosmology in the presented lectures.

Continuum radio emission and fine structure (in particular millisecond spikes) have recently raised interest as diagnostic tools for the interpretation of energy release and particle acceleration in flares. In the circles of the European solar radio astronomers, loosely organized in CESRA, the idea of a workshop came up intended for active observers of the impulsive phase of flares in radio and associated emissions. The scientific organizing committee included A.D. Benz (chairman), A. Magun, M. Pick, G. Trottet, and P. Zlobec. The workshop was held on May 27-31, 1985 in the castle of Duino near Trieste, Italy. The meeting intended to find a common terminology, to compare radio observations with measurements in other emissions and to confront observations with theoretical concepts. We have achieved a representative summary on the current status of the field and a clear perspective for the next cycle. This volume contains the reviews and a selection of contributions and extended abstracts of papers presented at the workshop. I wish to thank the local organizers, in particular A. Abrami, M. Comari, F. Depolli, L. Fornasari, M. Messerotti (chairman), M. Nonino, and P. Zlobec. Financial support was graciously provided by the Italian Research Council (CNR). Most of all, however, I would like to express my thankfulness to our host, His Highness Prince Raimondo della Torre e Tasso, for his invaluable hospitality. We are deeply sorry to hear of his passing in the meantime. To his memory these proceedings are dedicated.

The Mars Science Laboratory is the latest and most advanced NASA roving vehicle to explore the surface of Mars. The Curiosity rover has landed in Gale crater and will explore this region assessing conditions on the surface that might be hospitable to life and paving the way for later even more sophisticated exploration of the surface. This book describes the mission, its exploration and scientific objectives, studies leading to the design of the mission and the instruments that accomplish the objectives of the mission. This book is aimed at all those engaged in Martian studies as well as those interested in the origin of life in other environments. It will be a valuable reference for anyone who uses data from the Mars Science Laboratory. Previously published in Space Science Reviews journal, Vol. 170/1-4, 2012.

Nuclear planetary science has come to play an important role in our understanding of the origin and evolution of the planetary bodies in our solar system. A newly established branch of planetary science, its study aids in humankind's exploration of the present states of the structures of various planetary bodies (including the Earth), their atmospheres and their satellites, as well as small celestial bodies (e.g. asteroids), through direct observation. Knowing the elemental composition of the planetary bodies is essential in order to understand the formation and evolution of planetary bodies - just as important as it is to know the mass, radius, density and orbit of the celestial body.Suitable for students and specialists interested in the much wider field of Earth and Planetary Science, topics related to the planets and asteroids in the solar system are dealt with in this book. Techniques related to nuclear planetary science's nuclear cosmochemical and geological methods are also covered in this book.

The present century has been a disappointing one for comets, but past centuries often featured spectacular, unforgettable comet shows that dominated the night (and even daytime) sky for months: comets that outshone Venus or even the Moon, whose spectacular tails stretched more than halfway across the sky or were weirdly split, and whose apparition was held responsible for everything from wars to unusually good wine vintages. Published to coincide with the first naked-eye appearance of Comet Hale-Bopp, perhaps our own "comet of the century", this book is a guide to comet facts and lore throughout history.

The rather specialized field of solar and infrared radiation measurement has become more and more important in the face of growing demands by the renewable energy and climate change research communities for data that are more accurate and have increased temporal and spatial resolution. Updating decades of acquired knowledge in the field, Solar and Infrared Radiation Measurements details the strengths and weaknesses of instruments used to conduct such solar and infrared radiation measurements. Topics covered include: Radiometer design and performance Equipment calibration, installation, operation, and maintenance Data quality assessment Methods to use measured data to estimate irradiance for any surface With a broad range of content that will benefit students and more experienced readers alike, this resource serves as a primer and technical reference that presents the basic terminology and fundamentals for resource assessment. It explores the history of solar radiation instruments and addresses direct normal, global, diffuse, and tilted measurements, as well as the characteristics of instruments used for these measurements. The authors consider methods of assessing the uncertainty of solar measurements and then cover albedo, infrared, net, and spectral irradiance measurements and instrumentation. The book devotes a section to other meteorological instruments, and another to the basics for installing and operating a solar monitoring station. Appendices include information on solar resource assessment modeling and satellite-derived irradiance, along with other useful material. This book's authors are experts who each have more than 30 years of experience developing and operating multiple measurement stations, working with industry to improve radiometry, and conducting various research projects.

Lunar domes are structures of volcanic origin which are usually difficult to observe due to their low heights. The Lunar Domes Handbook is a reference work on these elusive features. It provides a collection of images for a large number of lunar domes, including telescopic images acquired with advanced but still moderately intricate amateur equipment as well as recent orbital spacecraft images. Different methods for determining the morphometric properties of lunar domes (diameter, height, flank slope, edifice volume) from image data or orbital topographic data are discussed. Additionally, multispectral and hyperspectral image data are examined, providing insights into the composition of the dome material. Several classification schemes for lunar domes are described, including an approach based on the determined morphometric quantities and spectral analyses. Furthermore, the book provides a description of geophysical models of lunar domes, which yield information about the properties of the lava from which they formed and the depth of the magma source regions below the lunar surface.

Two models for the origin of the Solar System, the Nebula Theory and the Capture Theory, are discussed by protagonists, Simon and Steven respectively, in the presence of Solomon, who oversees the discussions. Modelled on Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, this book provides new insight into different theories of cosmogony.The Nebula Theory, at present the standard model of planet formation, proposes that a star and planets are derived from a single spinning nebula. Woolfson here introduces an alternative, the Capture Theory, in which planets are produced from a protostar tidally disrupted by a condensed star which 'captures' most of the formed planets into orbits. These complex ideas are simplified and presented in an easily understandable, accessible way for all students of physics, astronomy, cosmology and those interested in the beginning of our world as we know it.

This book is an original study aimed at understanding how vacuum magnetic fields change with time. Specifically, it describes the waves that radiate from a sphere when the electric current on its surface is turned on or off, either suddenly, gradually, or periodically. Numerical simulations are an invaluable source of information about this and related subjects, but they are often more difficult to interpret than exact, closed-form solutions that can easily be applied to a variety of situations. Thus, the objective here is to obtain an exact solution of Maxwell's equations in closed form-something simple, yet rigorous, which can be used as a model for understanding transient magnetic fields in more complicated situations. The work therefore stands as a self-contained solution of Maxwell's equations for an electric current wrapped around the surface of a sphere. This study assumes a strong background in electromagnetism or a related research area. Online animations are available for each figure to better illustrate the motions of magnetic field lines.

This book focuses on the most recent, relevant, comprehensive and significant aspects in the well-established multidisciplinary field Laboratory Astrophysics. It focuses on astrophysical environments, which include asteroids, comets, the interstellar medium, and circumstellar and circumplanetary regions. Its scope lies between physics and chemistry, since it explores physical properties of the gas, ice, and dust present in those systems, as well as chemical reactions occurring in the gas phase, the bare dust surface, or in the ice bulk and its surface. Each chapter provides the necessary mathematical background to understand the subject, followed by a case study of the corresponding system. The book provides adequate material to help interpret the observations, or the computer models of astrophysical environments. It introduces and describes the use of spectroscopic tools for laboratory astrophysics. This book is mainly addressed to PhD graduates working in this field or observers and modelers searching for information on ice and dust processes.

The book begins at the Sun then travels through the solar system to see the stars, how they work, and ultimately what they mean to us. The idea is to provide an integrated view of the galaxy and its contents. Along the way we look at spectra, atmospheric phenomena, gravity and the laws of motion, telescopes and how they work, interstellar gas and dust, star birth and death, and planets orbiting other stars. Most popular books tend to focus on one particular topic. From the Sun to the Stars is one of the few that tells the story of the Sun against the background of other stars and other planets and, for that matter, of stars and other planets against the background of the Sun and solar system. This presents the subject with a breadth that few other books can match.This book grew out of the OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) lectures given by the author at the University of Illinois. It doesn't require any prior knowledge and is suitable for anyone who is interested in astronomy.

The book begins at the Sun then travels through the solar system to see the stars, how they work, and ultimately what they mean to us. The idea is to provide an integrated view of the galaxy and its contents. Along the way we look at spectra, atmospheric phenomena, gravity and the laws of motion, telescopes and how they work, interstellar gas and dust, star birth and death, and planets orbiting other stars. Most popular books tend to focus on one particular topic. From the Sun to the Stars is one of the few that tells the story of the Sun against the background of other stars and other planets and, for that matter, of stars and other planets against the background of the Sun and solar system. This presents the subject with a breadth that few other books can match.This book grew out of the OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) lectures given by the author at the University of Illinois. It doesn't require any prior knowledge and is suitable for anyone who is interested in astronomy.

This Is Mars offers a thrilling visual experience of the surface of the red planet. The multi-award-winning French editor and designer Xavier Barral has chosen and composed photographic frames, drawn from the comprehensive photographic map of Mars made by the U.S. observation satellite MRO (Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter), to revel in the wonder of Mars. What Yann Arthus-Bertrand did with a light aircraft for The Earth from the Air , Barral does for Mars-by scouring tens of thousands of gigabytes of satellite photographs available from NASA, seeking out the most distinct images of the planet's surface. The result is visionary-a great science book, a unique artist's book, and a stunning object. The photographs are accompanied by an introduction from research scientist Alfred S. McEwen, principle investigator of the HiRISE telescope; an essay by astrophysicist Francis Rocard, who explains the story of Mars's origins and its evolution; and a timeline by geophysicist Nicolas Mangold, who demystifies some of Mars's geological history. Now available as a mid-sized, accessibly priced edition, This Is Mars will excite lovers of great photobooks, and everyone curious about the universe and beyond.

A decade of observations of the Sun with NASA's Solar Maximum Mission satellite has led to many discoveries in solar physics and atomic physics. While the analysis of the data is still continuing, a huge body of literature has now been published interpreting results from the mission. This book collects a review of these results in a single volume to provide a snapshot, as it were, of the current state of knowledge of solar physics. It will thus be a useful tool for both teaching and research, as well as a guide to planners of future missions to investigate the Sun. Individual chapters, each written by an expert in solar physics, cover such topics as: z Variations in the solar irradiance z Active regions of the Sun z The corona: elemental abundances; coronal mass ejections z Chromospheric evaporation z Solar flares; ultraviolet flares; nonthermal flare emissions z Flare dynamics; preflare activity; the gradual phase of flares; particle acceleration in flares z Spectroscopy and atomic physics z Solar-terrestrial science z The solar-stellar connection z Comet observations z Cosmic studies

The Magnetosheath and Magnetotail of Venus.- The Structure of the Venus Ionosphere.- Ion Dynamics in the Venus Ionosphere.- Magnetic Fields in the Ionosphere of Venus.- Plasma Waves at Venus.- Venus Lightning.- The Structure, Luminosity and Dynamics of the Venus Atmosphere.

This book is dedicated to the nascent discussion of the legal aspects of human exploration and possible settlement of Mars, and provides fresh insights and new ideas in two key areas. The first one revolves around the broader aspects of current space law, such as intellectual property rights in outer space, the legal implications of contact with extra-terrestrial intelligence, legal considerations around the freedom of exploration and use, and the International Space Station agreement as a precedent for Mars. The second one focuses on the creation and management of a new society on Mars, and includes topics such as human reproduction and childbirth, the protection of human rights in privately-funded settlements, legal aspects of a Martian power grid, and criminal justice on the red planet. With multiple national space agencies and commercial enterprises focusing on Mars, it is more than likely that a human presence will be established on the red planet in the coming decades. While the foundation of international space law, laid primarily by the Outer Space Treaty, remains the framework within which humans will engage with Mars, new and unforeseen challenges have arisen, driven particularly by the rapid pace of technological advancement in recent years. To ensure that space law can keep up with these developments, a new scholarly work such as the present one is critical. By bringing together a number of fresh international perspectives on the topic, the book is of interest to all scholars and professionals working in the space field.