In 1961, only a few weeks after Alan Shepherd completed the first American suborbital flight, President John F. Kennedy announced that the U.S. would put a man on the moon before the end of the decade. The next year, NASA awarded the right to meet the extraordinary challenge of building a lunar excursion module to a small airplane company called Grumman from Long Island, New York.

Chief engineer Thomas J. Kelly gives a firsthand account of designing, building, testing, and flying the Apollo lunar module. It was, he writes, "an aerospace engineer's dream job of the century". Kelly's account begins with the imaginative process of sketching solutions to a host of technical challenges with an emphasis on safety, reliability, and maintainability. He catalogs numerous test failures, including propulsion-system leaks, ascent-engine instability, stress corrosion of the aluminum alloy parts, and battery problems, as well as their fixes under the ever-present constraints of budget and schedule. He also recaptures the anticipation of the first unmanned lunar module flight with Apollo 5 in 1968, the exhilaration of hearing Apollo 11's Neil Armstrong report that "The Eagle has landed", and the pride of having inadvertently provided a vital "lifeboat" for the crew of the disabled Apollo 13.

From researching and writing the contract-winning proposal through six successful moon landings and returns, Kelly provides a compelling look at the protean efforts of the nearly 7,000 Grumman workers who together created the most important component of the first manned spaceflights.

IAU Symposium 356 summarises the most recent results in the field of active galaxies and active galactic nuclei (AGN). These are some of the most luminous sources in the Universe, also the most distant ones that we can observe, so they are very important for understanding the early Universe and its evolution through cosmic time. This volume gives an overview of the current status in the field of active galaxies including: AGN multiwavelength observations; different AGN types and their properties; AGN variability; active supermassive black holes and properties of galaxies in which they reside; triggering, feedback and shutting off AGN activity; relativistic jets and environments of active galaxies; and AGN evolution. IAU S356 was the third IAU symposium organised in Africa in the past 100 years since the IAU was established, and the first one organised in Ethiopia, highlighting current developments in astronomical research in Africa.

On 21 August 2017, over 100 million people will gather in a narrow belt across the USA to witness the most watched total solar eclipse in history. Eclipse - Journeys to the Dark Side of the Moon, written by the widely read popular science author Frank Close, describes the spellbinding allure of this most beautiful natural phenomenon. The book explains why eclipses happen, reveals their role in history, literature and myth, and focuses on eclipse chasers, who travel with ecstatic fervour to some of the most inaccessible places on the globe to be present at the moment of totality. The book includes the author's quest to solve a 3000 years old mystery: how did the moon move backwards during a total solar eclipse, as claimed in the Book of Joshua? It is an inspirational tale: how a teacher and an eclipse inspired the author, aged eight, to a life in science, and a love affair with eclipses, which takes him to a war zone in the Western Sahara, to the South Pacific and the African bush. The tale comes full circle with another eight-year old boy - the author's grandson - at the 2017 great American eclipse. Readers of all ages will be drawn to this inspirational chronicle of the mesmerizing experience of total solar eclipse.

Introducing planetary photometry as a quantitative remote sensing tool, this handbook demonstrates how reflected light can be measured and used to investigate the physical properties of bodies in our Solar System. The author explains how data gathered from telescopes and spacecraft are processed and used to infer properties such as the size, shape, albedo, and composition of celestial objects including planets, moons, asteroids, and comets. Beginning with an overview of the history and background theory of photometry, later chapters delve into the physical principles behind commonly used photometric models and the mechanics of observation, data reduction, and analysis. Real-world examples, problems, and case studies are included, all at an introductory level suitable for new graduate students, planetary scientists, amateur astronomers and researchers looking for an overview of this field.

There has been a recent surge of interest in remote sensing and its use in ecology and conservation but this is the first book to focus explicitly on the NDVI (Normalised Difference Vegetation Index), a simple numerical indicator and powerful tool that can be used to assess spatio-temporal changes in green vegetation. The NDVI opens the possibility of addressing questions on scales inaccessible to ground-based methods alone; it is mostly freely available with global coverage over several decades. This novel text provides an authoritative overview of the principles and possible applications of the NDVI in ecology, environmental and wildlife management, and conservation. NDVI data can provide valuable information about temporal and spatial changes in vegetation distribution, productivity, and dynamics; allowing monitoring of habitat degradation and fragmentation, or assessment of the ecological effects of climatic disasters such as drought or fire. The NDVI has also provided ecologists with a promising way to couple vegetation with animal distribution, abundance, movement, survival and reproductive parameters. Over the last few decades, numerous studies have highlighted the potential key role of satellite data and the NDVI in macroecology, plant ecology, animal population dynamics, environmental monitoring, habitat selection and habitat use studies, and paleoecology. The chapters are organised around two sections: the first detailing vegetation indices and the NDVI, the principles behind the NDVI, its correlation with climate, the available NDVI datasets, and the possible complications and errors associated with the use of this satellite-based vegetation index. The second section discusses the possible applications of the NDVI in ecology, environmental and wildlife management, and conservation. This practical handbook is suitable for terrestrial ecologists and conservation biologists working with remote sensing tools. It will also be of relevance and use to both graduate students in the biological and ecological sciences and specialists in the fields of conservation biology, biodiversity monitoring, and natural resource management.

This book provides an extensive survey of all the physics necessary to understand the current developments in the field of fundamental cosmology, as well as an overview of the observational data and methods. It will help students to get into research by providing definitions and main techniques and ideas discussed today. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 summarises the fundamentals in theoretical physics needed in cosmology (general relativity, field theory, particle physics). Part 2 describes the standard model of cosmology and includes cosmological solutions of Einstein equations, the hot big bang model, cosmological perturbation theory, cosmic microwave background anisotropies, lensing and evidence for dark matter, and inflation. Part 3 describes extensions of this model and opens up current research in the field: scalar-tensor theories, supersymmetry, the cosmological constant problem and acceleration of the universe, topology of the universe, grand unification and baryogenesis, topological defects and phase transitions, string inspired cosmology including branes and the latest developments. The book provides details of all derivations and leads the student up to the level of research articles.

This volume, the proceedings of IAU Symposium 363, addresses the astrophysical implications of gravitational wave and electromagnetic observations of neutron stars. It covers the state of the art understanding of mergers of binary neutron stars producing short gamma-ray bursts, and the most powerfully magnetic varieties of neutron stars, magnetars. Encapsulating both observations and modelling, the contributions address extreme transient events including kilonovae, afterglows, magnetar giant flares, and fast radio bursts. By exploring the intersection of studies of isolated neutron stars and binary system synthesis and merging, this collection sets the scene for interpreting exciting results pertaining to powerful x-ray, gamma-ray, and gravitational wave transients to be acquired in the next decade and beyond. IAU S363 will be an asset for astronomers seeking a broad and interdisciplinary overview of neutron stars, their gravitational waves and electromagnetic emission.

** An accompanying journal to the original & bestselling Almanacs by Lia Leendertz.** The Almanac Journal is a place for you to create your own personal almanac, starting and ending at any point in the year. This is a space to write down all of the things you notice about the year's turning, and your own reactions to it. There are pages where you can note all of the firsts: first swift, first rose, first frost; a place to squirrel away your favourite foraging locations - and to jot down the recipes you create from them. There are also pages for pressed flowers and seaweeds, sketches and pictures, feathers and drying leaves. Make it your own. Lia Leendertz is an award-winning garden and food writer, her reinvention of the traditional rural almanac has become an annual must-have for readers eager to connect with the seasons, appreciate the outdoors and discover ways to mark and celebrate each month. PRAISE FOR THE ALMANACS 'Indispensable' - Sir Bob Geldof 'The perfect companion to the seasons' - India Knight 'This book is your bible' - the Independent 'An ideal stocking filler' - The English Garden 'I love this gem of a book' - Cerys Matthews

The Complete Guide to Landscape Astrophotography is the ultimate manual for anyone looking to create spectacular landscape astrophotography images. By explaining the science of landscape astrophotography in clear and straightforward language, it provides insights into phenomena such as the appearance or absence of the Milky Way, the moon, and constellations. This unique approach, which combines the underlying scientific principles of astronomy with those of photography, will help deepen your understanding and give you the tools you need to fulfil your artistic vision. Key features include: * Distinguished Guest Gallery of images from renowned nightscape photographers such as Babak Tafreshi, Bryan Peterson, Alan Dyer, Brenda Tharp, Royce Bair, Wally Pacholka, and David Kingham * The twenty-five best landscape astrophotography subjects and how to photograph them * Astronomy 101 - build your knowledge of night sky objects and their motion: the Milky Way, moon, Aurora Borealis/Australis, constellations, meteors and comets * Information on state-of-the-art planning software and apps designed to enable you to capture and enhance your landscape astrophotography * Field guide for creating a detailed plan for your night shoot * Description of the best moon phases for specific types of nightscape images, and the best months and times of night to see the Milky Way * How-to guide for creating stunning time-lapse videos of the night sky, including Holy Grail transitions from pre-sunset to complete darkness * Four detailed case studies on creating landscape astrophotography images of the Milky Way, full moon, star trails, and constellations

La Caille was one of the observational astronomers and geodesists who followed Newton in developing ideas about celestial mechanics and the shape of the earth. He provided data to the great 18th-century mathematicians involved in understanding the complex gravitational effects that the heavenly bodies have on one another. Observing from the Cape of Good Hope, he made the first ever telescopic sky survey and gave many of the southern constellations their present-day names. He measured the paths of the planets and determined their distances by trigonometry. In addition, he made a controversial measurement of the radius of the earth that seemed to prove it was pear-shaped. On a practical level, La Caille developed the method of 'Lunars' for determining longitudes at sea. He mapped the Cape. As an influential teacher he propagated Newton's theory of universal gravitation at a time when it was only beginning to be accepted on the European continent. This book gives the most comprehensive overview so far available of La Caille's life and work, showing how he interacted with his often difficult colleagues. It places special emphasis on his life at, and his observations and comments on, the Cape of Good Hope, where he spent the years 1751-53.

The dark matter problem is one of the most fundamental and profoundly difficult problems in the history of science. Not knowing what makes up most of the mass in the Universe goes to the heart of our understanding of the Universe and our place in it. In Search of Dark Matter is the story of the emergence of the dark matter problem, from the initial 'discovery' of dark matter by Jan Oort to contemporary explanations for the nature of dark matter and its role in the origin and evolution of the Universe.

Written for the intelligent non-scientist and scientist alike, it spans a variety of scientific disciplines, from observational astronomy to particle physics. Concepts that the reader will encounter along the way are at the cutting edge of scientific research. However the themes are explained in such a way that no prior understanding of science beyond a high school education is necessary.

Provides novice to accomplished amateur astronomers with a firm grounding in the basics and successful use of digital astrophotography.

Provides examples of the best images, and gives readers hints and tips about how to get the best out of this extraordinary technology.

Experts in CCD astronomy from North America and Europe have contributed to this book, illustrating their help and advice with many beautiful colour images the book is in full color throughout.

Techniques range from using simple webcams to highly technical aspects such as supernovae patrolling.

Computer processing, stacking and image-enhancement are detailed, along with many hints and tips from the experts.

The Hubble Space Telescope is the largest, most complex, and most powerful observatory ever deployed in space, designed to allow astronomers to look far back into our own cosmic past with unprecedented clarity. Yet from its launch in 1990, when it was discovered that a flawed mirror was causing severe "myopia" and sending fuzzy images back to Earth, the HST has been at the center of a controversy over who was at fault for the flaw and how it should be fixed. Now Eric Chaisson, a former senior scientist on the HST project, tells the inside story of the much heralded mission to fix the telescope. Drawing on his journals, Chaisson recreates the day-to-day struggles of scientists, politicians, and publicists to fix the telescope and control the political spin. Illustrated with "before and after" full-color pictures from the telescope and updated with a new preface, The Hubble Wars tells an engaging tale of scientific comedy and error. In this new edition, coming at the half-way point in the HST's planned mission of fifteen years, Chaisson has brought the Hubble story up-to-date by sorting out the spectacular from the mundane contributions the HST has made to our knowledge of the Solar System, the Milky Way Galaxy, and the distant galaxies of deep space.

The Hubble Space Telescope has produced the most stunning images of the cosmos humanity has ever seen. It has transformed our understanding of the universe around us, revealing new information about its age and evolution, the life cycle of stars, and the very existence of black holes, among other startling discoveries. But it took an amazing amount of work and perseverance to get the first space telescope up and running. "The Universe in a Mirror" tells the story of this telescope and the visionaries responsible for its extraordinary accomplishments.

Robert Zimmerman takes readers behind the scenes of one of the most ambitious scientific instruments ever sent into space. After World War II, astronomer Lyman Spitzer and a handful of scientists waged a fifty-year struggle to build the first space telescope capable of seeing beyond Earth's atmospheric veil. Zimmerman shows how many of the telescope's advocates sacrificed careers and family to get it launched, and how others devoted their lives to Hubble only to have their hopes and reputations shattered when its mirror was found to be flawed. This is the story of an idea that would not die--and of the dauntless human spirit. Illustrated with striking color images, "The Universe in a Mirror" describes the heated battles between scientists and bureaucrats, the perseverance of astronauts to repair and maintain the telescope, and much more. Hubble, and the men and women behind it, opened a rare window onto the universe, dazzling humanity with sights never before seen.

This book tells their remarkable story. A new afterword updates the reader on the May 2009 Hubble service mission and looks to the future of astronomy, including the prospect of a new space telescope to replace Hubble.

This book describes the fundamentals of particle detectors as well as their applications. Detector development is an important part of nuclear, particle and astroparticle physics, and through its applications in radiation imaging, it paves the way for advancements in the biomedical and materials sciences. Knowledge in detector physics is one of the required skills of an experimental physicist in these fields. The breadth of knowledge required for detector development comprises many areas of physics and technology, starting from interactions of particles with matter, gas- and solid-state physics, over charge transport and signal development, to elements of microelectronics. The book's aim is to describe the fundamentals of detectors and their different variants and implementations as clearly as possible and as deeply as needed for a thorough understanding. While this comprehensive opus contains all the materials taught in experimental particle physics lectures or modules addressing detector physics at the Master's level, it also goes well beyond these basic requirements. This is an essential text for students who want to deepen their knowledge in this field. It is also a highly useful guide for lecturers and scientists looking for a starting point for detector development work.

In September of 1859, the entire Earth was engulfed in a gigantic cloud of seething gas, and a blood-red aurora erupted across the planet from the poles to the tropics. Around the world, telegraph systems crashed, machines burst into flames, and electric shocks rendered operators unconscious. Compasses and other sensitive instruments reeled as if struck by a massive magnetic fist. For the first time, people began to suspect that the Earth was not isolated from the rest of the universe. However, nobody knew what could have released such strange forces upon the Earth--nobody, that is, except the amateur English astronomer Richard Carrington.

In this riveting account, Stuart Clark tells for the first time the full story behind Carrington's observations of a mysterious explosion on the surface of the Sun and how his brilliant insight--that the Sun's magnetism directly influences the Earth--helped to usher in the modern era of astronomy. Clark vividly brings to life the scientists who roundly rejected the significance of Carrington's discovery of solar flares, as well as those who took up his struggle to prove the notion that the Earth could be touched by influences from space. Clark also reveals new details about the sordid scandal that destroyed Carrington's reputation and led him from the highest echelons of science to the very lowest reaches of love, villainy, and revenge.

"The Sun Kings" transports us back to Victorian England, into the very heart of the great nineteenth-century scientific controversy about the Sun's hidden influence over our planet.

In the field of astrophysics, modern developments of practice are emerging in order to further understand the spectral information derived from cosmic sources. Radio telescopes are a current mode of practice used to observe these occurrences. Despite the various accommodations that this technology offers, physicists around the globe need a better understanding of the underlying physics and operational components of radio telescopes as well as an explanation of the cosmic objects that are being detected. Analyzing the Physics of Radio Telescopes and Radio Astronomy is an essential reference source that discusses the principles of the astronomical instruments involved in the construction of radio telescopes and the analysis of cosmic sources and celestial objects detected by this machinery. Featuring research on topics such as electromagnetic theory, antenna design, and geometrical optics, this book is ideally designed for astrophysicists, engineers, researchers, astronomers, students, and educators seeking coverage on the operational methods of radio telescopes and understanding the physical processes of radio astronomy.

Big Data in Radio Astronomy: Scientific Data Processing for Advanced Radio Telescopes provides the latest research developments in big data methods and techniques for radio astronomy. Providing examples from such projects as the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), the world's largest radio telescope that generates over an Exabyte of data every day, the book offers solutions for coping with the challenges and opportunities presented by the exponential growth of astronomical data. Presenting state-of-the-art results and research, this book is a timely reference for both practitioners and researchers working in radio astronomy, as well as students looking for a basic understanding of big data in astronomy.

Masers are observed at a range of scales - from comets, through star-forming clouds, to galactic nuclei - and have many astrophysical applications, for example measuring cosmological distances. Written for postgraduate students and professional researchers in molecular astrophysics, this volume is an up-to-date survey of the theory and observations of astrophysical maser sources and their use as astronomical tools. The book summarizes the history of the discovery of various maser molecules and lines, and discusses maser observations on various scales. The theory is discussed in detail, including the quantum-mechanical response of the molecules, before being linked to more general radiation transfer. A discussion of spectral-line radio astronomy techniques shows how maser observations can be applied more generally to radio astronomy. The book introduces new and projected instruments, including ALMA and SKA. Additional topics address the radiation statistics of astrophysical masers, and numerical methods of analysis.

Totality: The Great American Eclipses is a complete guide to the most stunning of celestial sights, total eclipses of the Sun. It focuses on the eclipses of August 21, 2017 and April 8, 2024 that pass across the United States. The U.S. mainland has not experienced a total solar eclipse since 1979. This book provides information, photographs, and illustrations to help the public understand and safely enjoy all aspects of these eclipses including: How to observe a total eclipse of the Sun How to photograph and video record an eclipse Why solar eclipses happen The earliest attempts to understand and predict eclipses The mythology and folklore of eclipses The response of animals to total solar eclipses The response of man to total eclipses through time How scientists used total eclipses to understand how the Sun works How astronomers used a total solar eclipse in 1919 to confirm Einstein's general theory of relativity Weather prospects for the 2017 eclipse Detailed maps of the path of totality for the 2017 eclipse and the eclipses of 2018 through 2024 Precise local times for the eclipses of 2017 and 2024 (the next total solar eclipse to visit the U.S.) Color and black-and-white photographs, diagrams, and charts to illustrate and explain total solar eclipses Global maps of total solar eclipses from 2017 to 2045 and lists of total and annual solar eclipses from 1970 through 2070

The U.S. Government is the largest provider of environmental and Earth-system data in the world. Voluminous amounts of data and information come from a complex array of satellites, ocean buoys, stream gauges, human surveys, and other platforms for collecting what the scientific community calls Earth observations. These data are used every day to protect life and property and answer key questions about our planet. This book establishes a framework for increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the Nation's Earth-observation enterprise. The National Plan for Civil Earth Observations aims to maximize the value of observations collected by Federal agencies of the Earth's land surfaces, oceans, and atmosphere.

This is a George Adams' classic text, written in 1766, reprinted. George Adams (c. 1720-1773), optician and scientific writer, is best remembered as a maker of fine mathematical instruments and globes. He founded his eponymous company George Adams of London and was appointed Instrument Maker to the King. Late 18thC England witnessed the rise of an increasing public awareness of science, spreading beyond learned societies which found new devotees in royal courts, coffee houses, salons, lecture theatres, and in the homes of the gentry. "Science", no longer confined to the Royal Society of London, was transmitted by a growing body of lecturers and by the publication of ever more books, instruction manuals, and pamphlets on scientific subjects of which Adams' "Essay on the Use of Celestial & Terrestrial Globes" was a major publication of its time running to five editions between 1766 and 1808. This facsimile edition was first published by Pelican in 2006.

Celestial Delights is essentially a 'TV Guide' for teh sky. This will be its third edition. This title, which has aggregated sales of about 20,000 copies to date in its two previous editions and has found a niche with skygazers, is much awaited. Through extensive graphics integrated with an eight-year-long calendar of sky events, it provides a look at "don't miss" sky events, mostly for naked-eye and binocular observing. The book is organized by ease of observation - lunar phases and the brighter planets come first, while solar eclipses, the aurora, and comets come later. Celestial Delights also includes a hefty dose of sky lore, astronomical history, and clear overviews of current science. It provides a handy reference to upcoming naked-eye events, with information broken out in clear and simple diagrams and tables that are cross-referenced against a detailed almanac for each year covered. Most broad-ranging astronomy field guides focus on stars, constellations, and the deep sky, but tend to ignore planetary events, which are in by far the most widely observable aspects of the changing night sky. Celestial Delights puts a variety of information all in one place, presents it in a friendly way that does not require prior in-depth astronomical knowledge, but provides the context and historical background for understanding events that astronomical computer programs or web sites lack.

Praise for Star Ware

"Star Ware is still a tour de force that any experienced amateur will find invaluable, and which hardware-minded beginners will thoroughly enjoy."

-- Robert Burnham, Sky & Telescope magazine

"Star Ware condenses between two covers what would normally take a telescope buyer many months to accumulate."

-- John Shibley, Astronomy magazine

Whether you're shopping for your first telescope or your fifth, don't be surprised if you feel overwhelmed by the dazzling array of product choices, bells and whistles, and the literature that describes them all. That's why you need Star Ware.

In this revised and updated Fourth Edition of the essential guide to comparing and selecting sky-watching equipment, award-winning astronomy writer Philip Harrington takes you telescope shopping the easy way. He analyzes and explains today's astronomy market and compares brands and models point by point. Star Ware gives you the confidence you need to buy the telescope and accessories that are right for you and the knowledge to get the most out of your new purchase, with:

Extensive, expanded reviews of leading models and accessories--including dozens of new products

A clear, step-by-step guide to every aspect of selecting telescopes, binoculars, filters, mounts, lenses, cameras, film, star charts, guides and references, and much more

Ten new do-it-yourself projects for building your own astronomical equipment

Easy tips on setting up, using, and caring for telescopes and other astronomical equipment

Lists of where to find everything astronomical, including Web sites and resources; distributors, dealers, and conventions; and corporate listings for products andservices