Julius Schmidt was one of the finest astronomical observers of his time, and his detailed map of the Moon surpassed anything that had come before. Today, the German astronomer and geophysicist has remained a largely neglected figure, despite being one of the most important players in the history of lunar studies. This book at last makes accessible Schmidt's highly regarded German work, Der Mond. Considered an astronomical classic of the nineteenth century, Der Mond remained without a proper English counterpart for the last century and a half, until now. The author's faithful English translation provides readers with much-needed access into Schmidt's original publication, with the aim of showing the community just how vital his work and legacy have been in the international field of selenography.

This book is devoted to the most relevant issues in crystal chemistry and mineral typomorphism; the structure, physico-chemical and technological properties of minerals; and the computational modeling of mineral structure and properties. Considerable attention is paid to the latest advances in and applications of physical methods of investigation for mineral structure and composition, in particular, X-Ray diffraction, spectroscopic (optical, vibrational, ESR, Moessbauer, etc.) and microscopic (SEM, TEM, AFM, etc.) studies, as well as chemical and isotopic analysis methods. The current research trends in space and planetary mineralogy (meteorites, regolites, tektites) are also discussed. Though specifically intended for the specialist earth and planetary science readership, the book will be of interest to a broad range of scientists. It gathers the proceedings of the Tenth All-Russian Youth Scientific Conference "Minerals: structure, properties, methods of investigation." Jointly organized by the Institute of Geology and Geochemistry, the Institute of Mineralogy (Urals Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences) and Ural Federal University, the event was held in Ekaterinburg, Russia, on May 27-June 1, 2019.

Exactly what is beyond Pluto? Why, in the last ten years, has the Solar System more than doubled in size? For the first time, in almost two centuries, an entirely new population of planetary objects has been found that may well explain these two questions. This newly discovered realm of minor planets, now known as the "Kuiper Belt," has reconceptualized our understanding of how the Solar System was formed and has finally given ontological explanations for the enigmatic outer planet Pluto. Beyond Pluto is the fascinating story of how a group of theoretical physicists decided that there must be a population of unknown bodies beyond Pluto and how a small band of astronomers set out to find them. Acclaimed scientist John K. Davies recounts how they predicted the existence of these planetary bodies, how they were eventually discovered, and how Pluto was named. In addition, Davies provides biographies of the astronomers who discovered these new worlds and information on the telescopes they used. John K. Davies is a support scientist for the UK Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) atop the dormant volcano Mauna Kea in Hawaii. He holds PhDs in chemistry and astronomy, discovered six comets while teaching at Leicester University in the UK, and was a member of the ISO-CAM team at the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh, Scotland. He has contributed to magazines such as Astronomy, New Scientist, Sky & Telescope, and Space. In 2000, a small main asteroid belt was named Johndavies in recognition of his numerous contributions to astronomy.

This volume presents a full mathematical exposition of the growing field of coronal seismology which will prove invaluable for graduate students and researchers alike. Roberts' detailed and original research draws upon the principles of fluid mechanics and electromagnetism, as well as observations from the TRACE and SDO spacecraft and key results in solar wave theory. The unique challenges posed by the extreme conditions of the Sun's atmosphere, which often frustrate attempts to develop a comprehensive theory, are tackled with rigour and precision; complex models of sunspots, coronal loops and prominences are presented, based on a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) view of the solar atmosphere, and making use of Faraday's concept of magnetic flux tubes to analyse oscillatory phenomena. The rapid rate of progress in coronal seismology makes this essential reading for those hoping to gain a deeper understanding of the field.

Here is an informative, up-to-date and well-illustrated guide to planetary observations for amateurs. After chapters on the solar system and the celestial sphere, the text explains how to choose, test and use a telescope with various accessories and how to make observations and record results. For each planet and the asteroids, Price gives details of observational techniques, together with suggestions for how to make contributions of sound astronomical value. From a general description and detailed observational history of each planet, readers learn how to anticipate what they should see and assess their own observations. New to this edition is a chapter on planetary photography that includes the revolutionary use of videography, charge coupled devices and video-assisted drawing. Another new feature is a section on the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud. Other chapters on making maps and planispheres and on photoelectric photometry round out the book's up-to-date treatment, making this indispensable reading for both casual and serious observer alike.

This didactic book uses a data-driven approach to connect measurements made by plasma instruments to the real world. This approach makes full use of the instruments' capability and examines the data at the most detailed level an experiment can provide. Students using this approach will learn what instruments can measure, and working with real-world data will pave their way to models consistent with these observations. While conceived as a teaching tool, the book contains a considerable amount of new information. It emphasizes recent results, such as particle measurements made from the Cluster ion experiment, explores the consequences of new discoveries, and evaluates new trends or techniques in the field. At the same time, the author ensures that the physical concepts used to interpret the data are general and widely applicable. The topics included help readers understand basic problems fundamental to space plasma physics. Some are appearing for the first time in a space physics textbook. Others present different perspectives and interpretations of old problems and models that were previously considered incontestable. This book is essential reading for graduate students in space plasma physics, and a useful reference for the broader astrophysics community.

From the Earth's atmosphere to the edges of our Universe, the presence of dust is ubiquitous. One of the main challenges in studying dust in these various environments is thus to harmonize the diverse research techniques and results, including in-situ measurement, remote observation, laboratory experiments and modelling, and analysis of returned samples. For the first time in over a decade, this volume accomplishes exactly that, providing an overarching picture of the current state of dust science and research. Where possible, the papers in this volume emphasize the interconnections, similarities, and differences in the field, synthesizing results from several techniques into one cohesive view. Importantly, astrobiological connections have now been considered. The dust hazard, future technology and research, and space mission requirements and scenarios are also addressed. The outcome of this endeavor is an interdisciplinary compendium with a unified perspective on cosmic dust science. Originally published in Space Science Reviews in the Topical Collection "Cosmic Dust from the Laboratory to the Stars"

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.

This book investigates the mineralogy and shock effects of Yanzhuang chondrite, using modern micro-mineralogical experimental techniques, including SEM, TEM, EPMA, Raman microprobe spectroscopy, instrumental neutron activation analysis, X-ray micro-diffraction analysis, micro-PIXE analysis and laser ablation ICP-MS. The micro-structural and micro-morphological characteristics as well as chemical composition of minerals were studied in details. Based on the studies in the shock effects of rocks and minerals, and the detailed study in the shock-produced melt, the book concludes that Yanzhuang chondrite is the most heavily shocked ordinary H group chondrite ever found and that it contains the most abundant shock induced melt among all known shock-melt-bearing chondritic meteorites.

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.

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.

With the discovery of planets beyond our solar system 25 years ago, exoplanet research has expanded dramatically, with new state-of-the-art ground-based and space-based missions dedicated to their discovery and characterisation. With more than 3,500 exoplanets now known, the complexity of the discovery techniques, observations and physical characterisation have grown exponentially. This Handbook ties all these avenues of research together across a broad range of exoplanet science. Planet formation, exoplanet interiors and atmospheres, and habitability are discussed, providing in-depth coverage of our knowledge to date. Comprehensively updated from the first edition, it includes instrumental and observational developments, in-depth treatment of the new Kepler mission results and hot Jupiter atmospheric studies, and major updates on models of exoplanet formation. With extensive references to the research literature and appendices covering all individual exoplanet discoveries, it is a valuable reference to this exciting field for both incoming and established researchers.

This SpringerBrief explores the technological, economic, physiological, and psychological comparisons between a journey to the Moon versus a journey to Mars, taking into consideration the national and international perspectives at play. The author spent over six years interviewing leading space experts from around the world to learn why lunar habitats and the creation of a permanent presence on the Moon are an essential next step to human exploration and settlement in space. Practical reasons related to energy, telecommunications and networking, robotic systems, medical and scientific research, material processing, and more show why it must be the Moon First and Mars Second. These findings and recommendations have been adopted by current NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, as well as the current U. S. president. The research in this text reflects the author's experiences working internally within NASA Headquarters, the FAA Commercial Spaceflight Office, as well as the International Space University. It is partially based on Reneau's award-winning Harvard thesis in conjunction with her Master's in International Relations.

This book follows the development of research on the origin of the Moon from the late 18th century to the present. By gathering together the major texts, papers, and events of the time, it provides a thorough chronicle of the paradigmatic shift in planetary science that arose from the notion that the Earth-Moon system was formed from two colliding planetary bodies. The book covers pre-Apollo ideas, the conceptual evolution during and subsequent to the Apollo explorations of the Moon, and the development of the Earth-Moon system consensus. A plethora of excerpts from key publications are included to demonstrate the shift in scientific focus over the centuries. Through its comprehensive review of lunar science research and literature, this book shows how new technologies and discoveries catalyzed the community and revolutionized our understanding of the Moon's formation.

The Venus Express spacecraft, which was launched in November 2005 and ceased activity in December 2014, has brought about a new wealth of data on Venus's atmosphere, surface, and space environment. Following the completion of this landmark mission, an overview of the current state of scientific understanding of Venus has been assembled into a single collection. The ten papers in this book, written by an international team of specialists, are the products of this effort. They review our knowledge of Venus's interior structure, surface composition, and atmosphere in terms of thermal structure, dynamics, composition, chemistry, clouds, aeronomy, and interaction with the solar wind. Additionally, they identify the questions and measurements that remain open for study in ongoing and future research and exploration efforts. The resulting volume is primarily intended for students and researchers of planetary science. This book is a follow-up to the pioneering book Venus, published in 1983, and its successor volume Venus II, published in 1997, stood at their respective times as the most authoritative single-volume works available on the planet. Originally published in Space Science Reviews in the Topical Collection "Venus III"

This book serves as both a primer to astronomical polarimetry and an authoritative overview of its application to various types of astronomical objects from AGN, compact stars, binary systems, stars across the HR diagram, transients, the interstellar medium and solar system bodies. It starts with an historical perspective, a discussion of polarimetric theory, instrumentation and techniques in wave bands from the near infrared to gamma rays. The book presents the state of the art in astronomical polarimetry. It is motivated by the new X-ray polarimeters due to be launched in the next four years and improved optical polarimeters on large telescopes requiring a new analysis of polarimetric theory, methodology and results.This book will be suitable as advanced undergraduate companion text, a primer for graduate students and all researchers with an interest in astronomical polarimetry.

How are mountains formed? Why are there old and young mountains? Why do the shapes of South America and Africa fit so well together? Why is the Pacific surrounded by a ring of volcanoes and earthquake prone areas while the edges of the Atlantic are relatively peaceful? Frisch and Meschede and Blakey answer all these questions and more through the presentation and explanation of the geo-dynamic processes upon which the theory of continental drift is based and which have lead to the concept of plate tectonics.

The book covers intimately all the topics necessary for the development of a robust magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) code within the framework of the cell-centered finite volume method (FVM) and its applications in space weather study. First, it presents a brief review of existing MHD models in studying solar corona and the heliosphere. Then it introduces the cell-centered FVM in three-dimensional computational domain. Finally, the book presents some applications of FVM to the MHD codes on spherical coordinates in various research fields of space weather, focusing on the development of the 3D Solar-InterPlanetary space-time Conservation Element and Solution Element (SIP-CESE) MHD model and its applications to space weather studies in various aspects. The book is written for senior undergraduates, graduate students, lecturers, engineers and researchers in solar-terrestrial physics, space weather theory, modeling, and prediction, computational fluid dynamics, and MHD simulations. It helps readers to fully understand and implement a robust and versatile MHD code based on the cell-centered FVM.

This thesis focuses on ULF (Ultra-low-frequency) waves' interaction with plasmasphere particles and ring current ions in the inner magnetosphere. It first reports and reveals mutual effect between ULF waves and plasmasphere using Van Allen Probes data. The differences and similarities of different ring current ions interacting with ULF waves are extensively explored using Cluster data, which provides a potential explanation for O+-dominated ring current during the magnetic storms. Furthermore, this thesis finds a method to study the phase relationship between ULF waves and drift-bounce resonant particles, and proposes that the phase relationship can be used to diagnose the parallel structure of standing wave electric field and energy transfer directions between waves and particles. The findings in this thesis can significantly promote our understanding of ULF waves' role in the dynamics of inner magnetosphere.

This book includes the proceedings of the conference "Problems of the Geocosmos" held by the Earth Physics Department, St. Petersburg State University, Russia, every two years since 1996. Covering a broad range of topics in solid Earth physics and solar-terrestrial physics, as well as more applied subjects such as engineering geology and ecology, the book reviews the latest research in planetary geophysics, focusing on the interaction between the Earth's shells and the near-Earth space in a unified system. This book is divided into four sections: * Exploration and Environmental Geophysics (EG), which covers two broad areas of environmental and engineering geophysics - near-surface research and deep geoelectric studies; * Paleomagnetism and Rock Magnetism (P), which includes research on magnetostratigraphy, paleomagnetism applied to tectonics, environmental magnetism, and marine magnetic anomalies; * Seismology (S), which covers the theory of seismic wave propagation, Earth's structure from seismic data, global and regional seismicity and sources of earthquakes, and novel seismic instruments and data processing methods; and * Physics of Solar-Terrestrial Connections (STP), which includes magnetospheric phenomena, space weather, and the interrelationship between solar activity and climate.

This book explores the dynamics of planetary and stellar fluid layers, including atmospheres, oceans, iron cores, and convective and radiative zones in stars, describing the different theoretical, computational and experimental methods used to study these problems in fluid mechanics, including the advantages and limitations of each method for different problems. This scientific domain is by nature interdisciplinary and multi-method, but while much effort has been devoted to solving open questions within the various fields of mechanics, applied mathematics, physics, earth sciences and astrophysics, and while much progress has been made within each domain using theoretical, numerical and experimental approaches, cross-fertilizations have remained marginal. Going beyond the state of the art, the book provides readers with a global introduction and an up-to-date overview of relevant studies, fully addressing the wide range of disciplines and methods involved. The content builds on the CISM course "Fluid mechanics of planets and stars", held in April 2018, which was part of the research project FLUDYCO, supported by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program.

This volume comprises a selection of papers describing the main features of the Lanzarote and Chinijo Islands Geopark (Canary Archipelago, Spain). Of all the Global Geoparks worldwide, it is the only one that has officially evaluated and characterized specific areas as analogues for the geological and astrobiological exploration of Mars. The identification and characterization of terrestrial sites that can be used as planetary analogues are currently considered vital study areas of planetary geology and astrobiology. Written by experts in the various fields, this multidisciplinary book is a unique resource for graduate students and professionals alike.

This book covers solar energy and the use of solar radiation in connection with lighting. It provides a detailed introduction to solar energy, photovoltaic (PV) solar energy conversion, and solar lighting technologies, while also discussing all of these elements in the context of the Balkan Peninsula. In the context of solar energy, the book covers a range of elements, from the structure of the sun, to PV solar plants. It subsequently addresses the status quo of solar technologies in Bulgaria, Serbia and the Republika Srpska and analyses the development of these technologies over the years, including their economic status, and how these aspects have shaped their current status. Undergraduate and graduate students, researchers and professionals, particularly those based in the Balkans, will find this book both informative and interesting.

This book describes the discovery of quasicrystals (icosahedral and decagonal) in an extraterrestrial rock from the Koryak Mountains of Far Eastern Russia. After a decade-long search for a natural quasicrystal, this discovery opened a new avenue in mineralogy and crystallography that could lead to further discoveries in geoscience, astronomy, condensed matter physics, and materials engineering. For the first time, minerals have been discovered that violate the symmetry restrictions of conventional crystallography. The natural occurrence of such crystals was unexpected, involving previously unknown processes. The fact that the quasicrystals were found in a meteorite formed in the earliest moments of the solar system means these processes have been active for over 4.5 billion years and have influenced the composition of the first objects to condense around the Sun. Finding quasicrystals formed in these extreme environments also informed the longstanding debate concerning the stability and robustness of quasicrystals. Recent shock experiments lend support to the hypothesis that the extraterrestrial quasicrystals formed as a result of hypervelocity impacts between objects in the early Solar system, and that they are probably less rare in the Milky Way.

Describes the branch of astronomy in which processes in the universe are investigated with experimental methods employed in particle-physics experiments. After a historical introduction the basics of elementary particles, Explains particle interactions and the relevant detection techniques, while modern aspects of astroparticle physics are described in a chapter on cosmology. Provides an orientation in the field of astroparticle physics that many beginners might seek and appreciate because the underlying physics fundamentals are presented with little mathematics, and the results are illustrated by many diagrams. Readers have a chance to enter this field of astronomy with a book that closes the gap between expert and popular level.