In this book, Velikovsky s ideas are seriously discussed and criticized by three astronomers, a sociologist, and an expert on ancient astronomical records. The result is a full-scale critique of Velikovsky s work from several perspectives. Lucid and informative, the book not only shows the deficiencies of Velikovsky s views, but also makes clear why these views have attracted such a strong public following."

The Encyclopedia of the Solar System, third edition provides a framework for understanding the origin and evolution of the solar system, historical discoveries, and details about planetary bodies and how they interact-with an astounding breadth of content and breathtaking visual impact. The encyclopedia includes the latest explorations and observations, hundreds of color digital images and illustrations, and over 1,000 pages. It stands alone as the definitive work in this field, and will serve as a modern messenger of scientific discovery and provide a look into the future of our solar system.

New additions to the third edition will reflect the latest progress and growth in the field, including past and present space missions to the terrestrial planets, the outer solar systems and space telescopes used to detect extrasolar planets.

Presents 700 full-color digital images and diagrams from current space missions and observatories, bringing to life the content and aiding in the understanding and retention of key concepts.
Includes a substantial appendix containing data on planetary missions, fundamental data of relevance for planets and satellites, and a glossary, providing immediately accessible mission data for ease of use in conducting further research or for use in presentations and instruction.
Contains an extensive bibliography, providing a guide for deeper studies into broader aspects of the field and serving as an excellent entry point for graduate students aiming to broaden their study of planetary science.

Planetary rings are among the most intriguing structures of our solar system and have fascinated generations of astronomers. Collating emerging knowledge in the field, this volume reviews our current understanding of ring systems with reference to the rings of Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and more. Written by leading experts, the history of ring research and the basics of ring-particle orbits is followed by a review of the known planetary ring systems. All aspects of ring system science are described in detail, including specific dynamical processes, types of structures, thermal properties and their origins, and investigations using computer simulations and laboratory experiments. The concluding chapters discuss the prospects of future missions to planetary rings, the ways in which ring science informs and is informed by the study of other astrophysical disks, and a perspective on the field's future. Researchers of all levels will benefit from this thorough and engaging presentation.

An essential reference source on Mars exploration from space, blending scientific and historical data with detailed and unique illustrations. This two-volume set charts the chronological history of Mars exploration through missions from the dawn of the Space Age to the end of the Curiosity mission in 2014. It includes information on missions that were planned and never flew, as well as unsuccessful missions. This atlas is accessible to space enthusiasts, but the bibliography and meticulous detail make it a particularly valuable reference for academic researchers and students working in planetary science and planetary mapping, and in the history of space exploration.

Finding our Place in the Solar System gives a detailed account of how the Earth was displaced from its traditional position at the center of the universe to be recognized as one of several planets orbiting the Sun under the influence of a universal gravitational force. The transition from the ancient geocentric worldview to a modern understanding of planetary motion, often called the Copernican Revolution, is one of the great intellectual achievements of humankind. This book provides a deep yet accessible explanation of the scientific disputes over our place in the solar system and the work of the great scientists who helped settle them. Readers will come away knowing not just that the Earth orbits the Sun, but why we believe that it does so. The Copernican Revolution also provides an excellent case study of what science is and how it works.

In Placing Outer Space Lisa Messeri traces how the place-making practices of planetary scientists transform the void of space into a cosmos filled with worlds that can be known and explored. Making planets into places is central to the daily practices and professional identities of the astronomers, geologists, and computer scientists Messeri studies. She takes readers to the Mars Desert Research Station and a NASA research center to discuss ways scientists experience and map Mars. At a Chilean observatory and in MIT's labs she describes how they discover exoplanets and envision what it would be like to inhabit them. Today's planetary science reveals the universe as densely inhabited by evocative worlds, which in turn tells us more about Earth, ourselves, and our place in the universe.

Carbon plays a fundamental role on Earth. It forms the chemical backbone for all essential organic molecules produced by living organisms. Carbon-based fuels supply most of society's energy, and atmospheric carbon dioxide has a huge impact on Earth's climate. This book provides a complete history of the emergence and development of the new interdisciplinary field of deep carbon science. It traces four centuries of history during which the inner workings of the dynamic Earth were discovered, and documents extraordinary scientific revolutions that changed our understanding of carbon on Earth forever: carbon's origin in exploding stars; the discovery of the internal heat source driving the Earth's carbon cycle; and the tectonic revolution. Written with an engaging narrative style and covering the scientific endeavours of more than a hundred pioneers of deep geoscience, this is a fascinating book for students and researchers working in Earth system science and deep carbon research.

By September 2014, almost two thousand exoplanets -- planets orbiting other suns -- have been confirmed, among these are also Earth-like planets in the habitable zone of their sun. These breakthrough discoveries during the bygone two decades raise questions with regard to the existence of Life elsewhere in our Milky Way Galaxy. The present book addresses the formation of planetary systems in the wake of collapsing interstellar gas and dust clouds, and the generation as well as the survival and germination of simple molecules serving as modules for more complex molecular constructs that constitute life. In this context, the survival of extremophiles in niches on Earth, and the potentiality of primitive life forms on Mars and the subsurface oceans of selected moons in the Solar System are also addressed, as much as the through-space travel of germs, denoted as panspermia. Readers possessing basic knowledge in chemistry and astronomy will additionally profit from the text in terms of an advanced approach towards facts that introduce more complex background information, in particular information provided in sidebars. However, the book is conceptualized in such a way that the less scholarly reader will equally profit from the narrative style by which background information is provided. Along with panspermia, the Gaia hypothesis and other historical thematisations of life beyond Earth are briefly looked at.

This book's main themes focus on the environmental evolution of Mars and the exploration of the planet. Particular emphasis is given to the understanding of Mars as a "cold" planet throughout its entire geological evolution, starting as a "wet" world where liquid water was abundant on the surface, albeit the low temperatures, and its sequential transition into a "dry" planet as temperatures turned even colder. The evolution of the environmental conditions is regarded as a determinant for the emergence and maintenance of life. The book will give insights into the evolution of a variety of landscapes relating to the geological development of Mars, and their potential to harbour life, including the analysis of relevant terrestrial analogues in Antarctica. Also discussed is the cold hydrogeological evolution of Mars as recorded in the types and sequence of deposition of the aqueous minerals existing in the surface and subsurface of the planet.

The solar wind is a stream of charged particles -- a plasma -- ejected from the upper atmosphere of the sun. It consists mostly of electrons and protons with energies of about 1 keV. These particles are able to escape the sun's gravity, in part because of the high temperature of the corona, but also because of high kinetic energy that particles gain through a process that is not well-understood at this time. The solar wind creates the Heliosphere, a vast bubble in the interstellar medium surrounding the solar system. Other phenomena include geomagnetic storms that can knock out power grids on Earth, the aurorae such as the Northern Lights, and the plasma tails of comets that always point away from the sun. This book presents the latest research in the world on this topic.

Mantle Convection in the Earth and Planets is a comprehensive synthesis of all aspects of mantle convection within the Earth, the terrestrial planets, the Moon, and the Galilean satellites of Jupiter. The authors include up-to-date discussions of the latest research developments that have revolutionized our understanding of the Earth and the planets. The book features a comprehensive index, an extensive reference list, numerous illustrations (many in color) and major questions that focus the discussion and suggest avenues of future research. It is suitable as a text for graduate courses in geophysics and planetary physics, and as a supplementary reference for use at the undergraduate level. It is also an invaluable review for researchers in the broad fields of the Earth and planetary sciences.

ABOUT THIS BOOK.... The success of any plan depends not only on the availability of the necessary skills and resources, but also very decisively, on the timing. In former times people gathered knowledge of axioms such as this by direct observation. They discovered that numerous natural phenomena are directly related to the movements of the moon Johanna Paungger is one of ten children of a Tyrolean mountain farmer. She belongs to the select few in whose environment this wisdom was kept alive for centuries handed down from one generation to the next. For the first time this knowledge is now made generally available. This book has an abundance of tips and advice to do with all the important areas of our daily life, from health, the home and nutrition to farming, forestry and gardening. In Germany it has been a massive best-seller for several years. Patience is the only thing necessary to profit from this book. Working with the lunar cycles and natural harmonies can change your life.

CD-ROM and Book. When the crew of Apollo 11 returned to earth in July 1969 they brought with them a wealth of new information about the moon. Now astronauts Charles (Pete) Conrad, Alan Bean and Richard Gordon would return to the moon and build on that knowledge. The real test for the crew of Apollo 12 was not to see if they could get to the moon, but to see if they could get to an exact place on the moon. Their target was in an area known as the Ocean of Storms. On 14 November 1969 the crew of Apollo 12 blasted off to their place in history. Not only would Conrad and Bean become the third and fourth men to walk on the moon but they would land the lunar module Intrepid within 600 feet of their designated target. Waiting for them was the unmanned space probe Surveyor 3 which had soft-landed in April 1967. The flight of Apollo 12, which began almost catastrophically when the huge Saturn V was struck by lightning just moments after lift off, went on to yield an enormous amount of valuable data collected during over seven and a half hours on the lunar surface. On their return home the crew of Apollo 12 became the first humans to witness an eclipse of the Sun by the Earth.

This book looks at the persistence of life and how difficult it would be to annihilate life, especially a species as successful as humanity. The idea that life in general is fragile is challenged by the hardiness of microbes, which shows that astrobiology on exoplanets and other satellites must be robust and plentiful. Microbes have adapted to virtually every niche on the planet, from the deep, hot biosphere, to the frigid heights of the upper troposphere. Life, it seems, is almost indestructible. The chapters in this work examine the various scenarios that might lead to the extermination of life, and why they will almost always fail. Life's highly adaptive nature ensures that it will cling on no matter how difficult the circumstances. Scientists are increasingly probing and questioning life's true limits in, on and above the Earth, and how these limits could be pushed elsewhere in the universe. This investigation puts life in its true astronomical context, with the reader taken on a journey to illustrate life's potential and perseverance.

This is just the resource you need to get middle schoolers ready for August 21, 2017—the day when millions of North Americans will have the rare chance to witness a total solar eclipse. But the book’s usefulness won’t end when the eclipse does! Solar Science offers more than three dozen hands-on, inquiry-based activities on many fascinating aspects of solar astronomy. The activities cover the Sun’s motions, space weather caused by the Sun, the measuring of time and seasons in our daily lives, and much more. The authors are award-winning experts in both astronomy and science education, so they know how to prompt students to work like scientists by asking questions, doing experiments, comparing notes, and refining and reporting results. They also know you have to make the most of every instructional minute. The book contains plenty of ideas for related writing projects; grade-appropriate math examples; and connections to music, art, fiction, and history. It’s also aligned with the three-dimensional learning encouraged by the Next Generation Science Standards and connects to the Common Core State Standards. Solar Science is ideal for teachers, informal science educators, youth group leaders, curriculum specialists, and teacher trainers. You can use these versatile activities one at a time, as the basis of a stand-alone unit on the Sun, or as a comprehensive curriculum. You get to determine the best way for your students to learn a lot while having fun with the Sun.

What is life and where can it exist? What searches are being made to identify conditions for life on other worlds? If extraterrestrial inhabited worlds are found, how can we explore them? In this book, two leading astrophysicists provide an engaging account of where we stand in our quest for habitable environments, in the Solar System and beyond. Starting from basic concepts, the narrative builds scientifically, including more in-depth material as boxed additions to the main text. The authors recount fascinating recent discoveries from space missions and observations using ground-based telescopes, of possible life-related artefacts in Martian meteorites, extrasolar planets, and subsurface oceans on Europa, Titan and Enceladus. They also provide a forward look to future missions. This is an exciting, informative read for anyone interested in the search for habitable and inhabited planets, and an excellent primer for students in astrobiology, habitability, planetary science and astronomy.

How do magnets work? What is the theory of relativity all about? Is light made of waves or particles? And how on earth can a levitating goat teach us about atomic structure? In this age of smartphones, artificial intelligence, supercolliders, supercomputers and other cutting-edge technology, we've lost touch with many of the most basic science concepts that launched our information age. For Bruce Benamren, science is about stories and characters. Why, for instance, did pirates wear eye patches? That's all to do with how the retina processes light. Pirates running down to the gun deck would have no time to let their eyes get used to the dark, so they kept one eye gun-deck ready. Bruce isn't pretending that science isn't tricky, but in simple, maths-free explanations and just-the-good-parts historical recaps, he shows us that the greatest scientific discoveries and theories don't have to remain beyond our grasp. Whether you haven't picked up a test tube since school and feel like you're missing out on something marvellous, or you're a professor who wants to look at the world with starry-eyed wonder again, How to Speak Science is a witty yet deeply revelatory exploration of the essential mysteries of the universe. Because if a goat can explain scientific theory, you can too.

Devoted to exploring questions about the origin and evolution of life in our Universe, this highly interdisciplinary book brings together a broad array of scientists. Thirty chapters assembled in eight major sections convey the knowledge accumulated and the richness of the debates generated by this challenging theme. The text explores the latest research on the conditions and processes that led to the emergence of life on Earth and, by extension, perhaps on other planetary bodies. Diverse sources of knowledge are integrated, from astronomical and geophysical data, to the role of water, the origin of minimal life properties and the oldest traces of biological activity on our planet. This text will not only appeal to graduate students but to the large body of scientists interested in the challenges presented by the origin of life, its evolution, and its possible existence beyond Earth.

Questions about the origin and nature of Earth and the life on it have long preoccupied human thought and the scientific endeavor. Deciphering the planet's history and processes could improve the ability to predict catastrophes like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, to manage Earth's resources, and to anticipate changes in climate and geologic processes. At the request of the U.S. Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Science Foundation, and U.S. Geological Survey, the National Research Council assembled a committee to propose and explore grand questions in geological and planetary science. This book captures, in a series of questions, the essential scientific challenges that constitute the frontier of Earth science at the start of the 21st century. Table of Contents Front Matter Summary 1 Origins 2 Earth's Interior 3 A Habitable Planet 4 Hazards and Resources References Appendix A: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members Appendix B: Acronyms and Abbreviations

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

This comprehensive collection of reviews and research reports covers the processes involved in the formation of the Sun and Earth-like planets. Specific topics range from star formation to protoplanetary disks, planet formation, and the basics of life. It provides an interdisciplinary overview of the complex chain of events leading to habitable planets and life, covering research from the fields of astrophysics, astrochemistry, planetary sciences, chemistry, and biology, through theory, observations, and experiments. These observations reveal the chemistry and dust content of young disks, the location of water that is essential to life, and some of the dynamical processes that affect the growth of forming planets. IAU Symposium 345 reviews some of the most modern concepts in star and planet formation and is essential reading for students, teachers, and researchers who will someday answer humanity's biggest question: what is our origin?

As a new wave of interplanetary exploration unfolds, a talented young planetary scientist charts our centuries-old obsession with Mars. 'Beautifully written, emotive - a love letter to a planet' DERMOT O'LEARY, BBC Radio 2 Mars - bewilderingly empty, coated in red dust - is an unlikely place to pin our hopes of finding life elsewhere. And yet, right now multiple spacecraft are circling, sweeping over Terra Sabaea, Syrtis Major, the dunes of Elysium and Mare Sirenum - on the brink, perhaps, of a discovery that would inspire humankind as much as any in our history. With poetic precision and grace, Sarah Stewart Johnson traces the evocative history of our explorations of Mars. She interlaces her personal journey as a scientist with tales of other seekers - from Galileo to William Herschel to Carl Sagan - who have scoured this enigmatic planet for signs of life and transformed it in our understanding from a distant point of light into a complex world. Ultimately, she shows how its story is also a story about Earth: it is a foil, a mirror, a tell-tale reflection of our own anxieties and yearnings to find - if we're lucky - that we're not alone. 'Elegantly written and boundlessly entertaining' Sunday Telegraph 'Beguiling' The Times 'Johnson's prose swirls with lyrical wonder, as varied and multi-hued as the apricot deserts, butterscotch skies and blue sunsets of Mars' Anthony Doerr, New York Times Book Review 'Elegantly crafted' Lord Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal