"And it was then that all these kinds of things thus established received their shapes from the Ordering One, through the action of Ideas of Numbers" (Plato: in Timaeus). Indeed, the Hamilton's 'Principle of Least Action' is a mathematical discrimination between inorganic and organic systems. The geometrical progression of organic life has the property of producing by simple addition, a succession of numbers or similar shapes making the homothetic (gnomonic) growth-work by 'imbibition' (from inside outwards). Whereas, inorganic matters (crystals, snowflakes, rocks) grow by 'agglutination' (from outside inwards) and final distribution of energy to cause no further motion. While in inorganic growth (hexagonal), the Principle of Least Actions tends to save energy, in organic or gnomonic growth (pentagonal) there is a tendency to save the substance. Involving the avid travelers "father jaguar and the cub," this tourbook of the "snow gallery" mathematically and geometrically analyzes the deposition, aggregation, capacitance, and velocity of the snowflake formation, vis a vis the hexagonal (honeycomb) tendency. When the tour is over, the cub classifies his most favorite snowflakes, giving them names.

Step outside on a clear night, and the number of stars in the night sky can be overwhelming. Take a pair of binoculars or a small telescope with you, and a celestial vista of star clusters and clouds, knots of gas and dust, nearby planets and distant galaxies is revealed. Since ancient times, stargazers have made sense of the night sky by grouping its stars into constellations - star patterns that often have symbolic or mythological meanings. Constellations is a guide to the night sky that focuses on these 88 distinctive patterns, revealing their often intriguing stories - their origins, mythology, present-day significance - and the multitude of wondrous objects they contain. Complete with many of the best astronomical images ever captured, a comprehensive introduction to the stars and other celestial phenomena, and a series of newly commissioned, state-of-the-art maps showing the stars that are visible from populated latitudes in both hemispheres throughout the year, this magnificent guide has all you need to know to become an expert stargazer.

50 Things to See with a Small Telescope is composed of the go-to objects observed at public stargazing events all over the Northern Hemisphere. People of all ages frequently ask, "How did you find that so quickly?" Well, this book will explain just that The planets in our solar system, the International Space Station, sunspots, birds, nebula, airplanes, and comets are just some of the items that his book will help you find If you have been having difficulties enjoying your small telescope, this book is for you. There is something interesting about pretty much everything in outer space and it is exciting how many pop-culture references are derived from things in the night sky Viewing the stars referenced in Star Trek, or talking about a character in Harry Potter named after a constellation, is just another way to make stargazing that much more fun I am very excited to share my knowledge of astronomy and I am sure you will enjoy this book for years to come. By working through the 50 items in this book you will achieve a well-rounded understanding of amateur astronomy.

On most nights and days, the Moon is visible somewhere in the sky. For many, simply noticing it is a pleasure, yet it is also a fascinating world of craters, mountains, and volcanoes worthy of a closer look. The "21st Century Atlas of the Moon "is uniquely designed for the backyard, amateur astronomer. As an indispensable guide to telescopic moon observation, it can be used at the telescope or as a desk reference. It is both accessible to the novice and valuable to the expert. With over two hundred Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter images, the highest quality images of the moon ever taken, this atlas illustrates the Moon in high resolution. The "Atlas "clearly provides unprecedented detail on more than one thousand named Moon features, while recommending additional features and images to observe. With special maps of the limb and far side, LRO altimetry-based images of major basins and their mare ridge, and maps of the Apollo and Soviet landing sites, this guide offers a level of detail never before seen in an atlas of the Moon. ?

What is time? The 5th-century philosopher St Augustine famously said that he knew what time was, so long as no one asked him. Is time a fourth dimension similar to space or does it flow in some sense? And if it flows, does it make sense to say how fast? Does the future exist? Is time travel possible? Why does time seem to pass in only one direction? These questions and others are among the deepest and most subtle that one can ask, but Introducing Time presents them - many for the first time - in an easily accessible, lucid and engaging manner, wittily illustrated by Ralph Edney.

A passion for star-gazing often starts in a modest way, with a small telescope. For some, that modest beginning becomes a theme that resonates through a lifetime. Mr. Olcott's Skies is the story of one such beginning, and of how a small telescope and an old book set the author on a long and often indirect road to the stars. It's the tale of a journey that has only just begun, and of the discovery that you really do need to look back the way you've come, to understand where you are.

This book describes more than 300 of the finest celestial wonders that can be viewed with common "backyard" telescopes. The author uses an abbreviated descriptive form to accommodate as much information on observation as possible for both field and armchair use. In addition to the many showpieces themselves, nearly 24 other special objects are listed. The author also points out that many of these deep-sky objects are visible to the unaided eye on a dark, clear night and prove wonderful sights in binoculars and low-power telescopes. The sun, moon, and planets in the Earth's solar system, as well as such brighter asteroids as Ceres, Juno, and Vesta, are described and their positions given, as are open star clusters, diffuse nebulas, supernova remnants, spiral galaxies, elliptical galaxies, the milky way, and a host of other astronomical phenomena. Unabridged republication of a book first published by the author in 1998.

Hierdie ten volle hersiene, bygewerkte uitgawe van die gewilde Gids tot die naghemel van Suider-Afrika bevat kleurryke illustrasies, tabelle en diagramme, en bied leiding oor die toerusting wat nodig is om sterre mee waar te neem en nuttige inligting oor die naghemel soos dit vanuit die Suidelike Halfrond te sien is. Verder maak 'n stel sterkaarte wat ontwerp is vir gebruik in Suider-Afrika dit maklik om dwarsdeur die jaar newels, galaksies en sterrehope in gewilde dele van die hemelruim uit te ken.

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.

What if Earth had several moons or massive rings like Saturn? What if the Sun were but one star in a double-star or triple-star system? What if Earth were the only planet circling the Sun? These and other imaginative scenarios are the subject of Arthur Upgren's inventive book Many Skies: Alternative Histories of the Sun, Moon, Planets, and Stars. Although the night sky as we know it seems eternal and inevitable, Upgren reminds us that, just as easily, it could have been very different. Had the solar system happened to be in the midst of a star cluster, we might have many more bright stars in the sky. Yet had it been located beyond the edge of the Milky Way galaxy, we might have no stars at all. If Venus or Mars had a moon as large as ours, we would be able to view it easily with the unaided eye. Given these or other alternative skies, what might Ptolemy or Copernicus have concluded about the center of the solar system and the Sun? This book not only examines the changes in science that these alternative solar, stellar, and galactic arrangements would have brought, it also explores the different theologies, astrologies, and methods of tracking time that would have developed to reflect them. Our perception of our surroundings, the number of gods we worship, the symbols we use in art and literature, even the way we form nations and empires are all closely tied to our particular (and accidental) placement in the universe. Many Skies, however, is not merely a fanciful play on what might have been. Upgren also explores the actual ways that human interference's such as light pollution are changing the night sky. Our atmosphere, he warns, will appear very different if we have a belt of debris circling the globe and blotting out the stars, as will happen if advertisers one day pollute space with brilliant satellites displaying their products. From fanciful to foreboding, the scenarios in Many Skies will both delight and inspire reflection, reminding us that ours is but one of many world views based on our experience of a universe that is as much a product of accident as it is of intention.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

First Snow White encounters one of the Little People, then one of the Even Smaller People, and finally one of the Truly Infinitesimal People. And no matter how diligently she searches, the only dwarves she can find are collapsed stars! Clearly, she's not at home in her well-known Brothers Grimm fairy tale, but instead in a strange new landscape that features quantum behavior, the wavelike properties of particles, and the Uncertainty Principle. She (and we) must have entered, in short, one of the worlds created by Robert Gilmore, physicist and fabulist.

"What if?" questions have always stimulated people to think in new ways. "What if the Earth Had Two Moons "leads us on a fascinating 10 world journey exploring what the Earth would be like if conditions in the universe were slightly different. The answer: Earth would be different, often in ways that would surprise us. The title chapter, for example, gives us a second moon orbiting closer to Earth than the one we have now. The night sky is a lot brighter, but not forever. Eventually the moons collide, with one more-massive moon emerging after a period during which Earth has a Saturn-like ring. The scenarios also shed new light on the burgeoning search for life on planets orbiting other stars.

Appealing to adult and young adult alike, this book is a fascinating journey through physics and astronomy, and follows on the author's previous bestseller, "What if the Moon Didn't Exist?, "with completely new scenarios backed by the latest astronomical research.

When I became the producer of the Sky at Night in 2002, I was given some friendly advice: "It's a quiet little programme, not much happens in astronomy." How wrong they were! It's been a hectic and enthralling time ever since:, with missions arriving at distant planets; new discoveries in our Universe; and leaps in technology, which mean amateurs can take pictures as good as the Hubble Space Telescope. What a privilege it is to work on a programme with such a huge heritage! I am constantly amazed looking back at the flotilla of excellent programmes which have gone out over the past five decades. The Sky at Night has always been at the sharp end of science broadcasting, whether it's showing the first view from the far side of the Moon or pictures of a new comet which has swept into our sky. Viewers can depend on Sir Patrick to tell them the latest news and explain what it means. It's an outstanding achievement and Sir Patrick still holds the world record for being the same presenter on the longest running TV programme. Our guests love coming down to Farthings, Sir Patrick's home. For them, me- ing him is like meeting their astronomical hero. Over the past five decades, the Sky at Night has managed to talk to the space scientists and astronomers making the landmark discoveries. No matter how busy they are, they make room for Sir Patrick.

Ever since the serendipitous discovery of planet Uranus in 1871, astronomers have been hunting for new worlds in the outer regions of our solar system. This exciting and ongoing quest culminated recently in the discovery of hundreds of ice dwarfs in the Kuiper belt, robbed Pluto from its 'planet' status, and led to a better understanding of the origin of the solar system.

This timely book reads like a scientific 'who done it', going from the heights of discovery to the depths of disappointment in the hunt for 'Planet X'. Based on many personal interviews with astronomers, the well-known science writer Govert Schilling introduces the heroes in the race to be the first in finding another world, bigger than Pluto.

According to a recent survey, the most popular question about science from the general public was: what came before the Big Bang? We all know on some level what the Big Bang is, but we don't know how it became the accepted theory, or how we might know what came before. In "Before the Big Bang", Brian Clegg (the critically acclaimed author of "Upgrade Me" and "The God Effect") explores the history of this remarkable concept. From the earliest creation myths, through Hershel's realization that the Milky Way was one of many galaxies, to ongoing debates about Black Holes, this is an incredible look at the origins of the universe and the many theories that led to the acceptance of the Big Bang. But the idea of Big Bang doesn't so much answer questions as raise new ones. Clegg challenges the notion of the 'Big Bang' itself, and raises the deep philosophical question of why we might want to rethink the origin of the universe. This is popular science at its best, exploratory, controversial, and utterly engrossing.

An introduction to using a telescope and observing the night sky. Telescopes and accessories are explained. There is an introduction to sky charts and their nomenclature. Some sky charts are presented indicating the position of popular celestial objects. There is a section on photography with example photos. Hopefully, there is enough to get you started in this interesting subject. There is also a section on amateur telescope making, how to make your own dobsonian telescope and scotch mount. Finally, there is a list of web links to astronomy sites, manufacturers and dealers of equipment and software.

Was the Apollo 11 Moon landing faked? Many people argue that in the 1960s the United States lacked both the ability and technology required to put a man on the Moon. At the height of the Cold War and with Kennedy's promise to put a man on the Moon before the end of the decade many have questioned the official story. Was the Moon landing one of the greatest ever hoaxes or did NASA really put two men down on the moon in 1969? This detailed book examines the evidence, the photographs and the people to find out the truth. What really happened and did the Eagle ever really land?

Have you ever found yourself looking up at the starry night, wondering and wanting to know more?

Congratulations! You're a stargazer.

Unlike its more scientific sister astronomy, stargazing requires no equipment--except perhaps something comfortable to sit on and a star map. The Stargazer's Guide provides these maps and shows you what there is to see in the sky, why it's interesting, and how previous generations viewed and interpreted it. Organized by month, The Stargazer's Guide takes you through the night sky's stories--mythological, historical, and scientific--offering simple diagrams that enable you to easily identify the constellations. Let expert stargazer Emily Winterburn enthrall you with true stories of romantic and scientific endeavors, and mythic tales of beasts and battles that led to the naming of the stars. With this enchanting, accessible, and fun guide to the heavens, you'll discover and revel in the beauty and wonder of the night sky.

How to predict and calculate the positions of stars, planets, the sun, the moon, and satellites using a personal computer and high school mathematics. Our knowledge of the universe is expanding rapidly, as space probes launched decades ago begin to send information back to earth. There has never been a better time to learn about how planets, stars, and satellites move through the heavens. This book is for amateur astronomers who want to move beyond pictures of constellations in star guides and solve the mysteries of a starry night. It is a book for readers who have wondered, for example, where Saturn will appear in the night sky, when the sun will rise and set, or how long the space station will be over their location. In Celestial Calculations, J. L. Lawrence shows readers how to find the answers to these and other astronomy questions with only a personal computer and high school math. Using an easy-to-follow step-by-step approach, Lawrence explains what calculations are required, why they are needed, and how they all fit together. Lawrence begins with basic principles: unit of measure conversions, time conversions, and coordinate systems. He combines these concepts into a computer program that can calculate the location of a star, and uses the same methods for predicting the locations of the sun, moon, and planets. He then shows how to use these methods for locating the many satellites we have sent into orbit. Finally, he describes a variety of resources and tools available to the amateur astronomer, including star charts and astronomical tables. Diagrams illustrate the major concepts, and computer programs that implement the algorithms are included. Photographs of actual celestial objects accompany the text, and interesting astronomical facts are interspersed throughout. Source code (in Python 3, JAVA, and Visual Basic) and executables for all the programs and examples presented in the book are available for download at https://CelestialCalculations.github.io.

People love to learn about science - if you keep it quick, entertaining, and to the point. "The Instant Egghead Guides" do that and more, delivering authoritative info in no time flat. In "The Instant Egghead Guide: The Universe", take a tour of the wonder and majesty of the Cosmos, from the smallest subatomic particles to the possibility of infinite universes. Two-page spreads ranging from small (atoms) to large (the Solar System) lead the reader on a fascinating exploration of all the universe has to offer. Whether you're a fan of "Scientific American"'s wildly popular '60-Second Science' podcast or just curious about science, you're going to want to dust off your telescope after enjoying the same bite-sized knowledge in "The Instant Egghead Guide: The Universe".

"The Virtue of Heresy - Confessions of a Dissident Astronomer" is a narrative account of the 30-year struggle by the author to put the "physical" back into "physics". With sporadic assistance from a fictional alter-ego character named Haquar, the author traces the history of astronomy and physics to the point of their confluence with meta-mathematics. From there on, the fundamental hypotheses of cosmology, and indeed of physical science generally, became increasingly detached from observed reality and more like psychedelic mind games than works of empirical science. Hilton Ratcliffe guilelessly confronts these issues head-on, spicing the tale with humour and fascinating anecdotes of his association with some of the finest scientific minds of our era. His passion for true science and child-like awe at the wonders of the Universe are infused in every line. A classic.

The moon landing of 1969 stands as an iconic moment for both the United States and humankind. The familiar story focuses on the journey of the brave astronauts, who brought home Moon rocks and startling photographs. But Apollo's full account includes the earthbound engineers, mounds of their crumpled paper, and smoldering metal shards of exploded engines. How exactly did the nation, step by difficult step, take men to the Moon and back? In The Apollo Chronicles, fifty years after the moon landing, author Brandon R. Brown, himself the son of an Apollo engineer, revisits the men and women who toiled behind the lights. He relays the defining twentieth-century project from its roots, bringing the engineers' work and personalities to bright life on the page. Set against the backdrop of a turbulent American decade, the narrative whisks audiences through tense deadlines and technical miracles, from President John F. Kennedy's 1961 challenge to NASA's 1969 lunar triumph, as engineers confronted wave after wave of previously unthinkable challenges. Brown immerses readers in key physical hurdles-from building the world's most powerful rockets to keeping humans alive in the hostile void of space-using language free of acronyms and technical jargon. The book also pulls back from the detailed tasks and asks larger questions. What did we learn about the Moon? And what can this uniquely innovative project teach us today?