The authors have put forth great efforts in gathering present day knowledge about different objects within our solar system and universe. This book features the most current information on the subject with information acquired from noted scientists in this area. The main objective is to convey the importance of the subject and provide detailed information on the physical makeup of our planetary system and technologies used for research. Information on educational projects has also been included in the Radio Astronomy chapters.This information is a real plus for students and educators considering a career in Planetary Science or for increasing their knowledge about our planetary system.

The aim of this book is to introduce scientific ballooning to the many people who are interested in the use of balloons for scientific applications. The book offers a basic understanding of the engineering details and the scientific research giving rise to balloon activities going on today. Above all, the book will serve as a guidebook for young scientists and researchers seeking to become involved in space science and technology by participating in balloon projects. The book deals with three types of balloons: large stratospheric balloons used for scientific purposes, rubber balloons used for aerological observations, and planetary balloons to be used in the atmospheres of other planets. The book provides many figures and photographs, and offers a systematic description of balloon technologies and related matters from historical background to current research topics. The contents include a theoretical discussion of ballon shape design, analysis and synthesis of flight dynamics, actual launching procedure, flight operations, and typical applications of ballooning in various scientific fields. Detailed meteorological descriptions, especially of the Earth's stratosphere and the atmosphere of other planets, are provided for investigating actual flight behavior.

The far side of the Moon, also called the "dark side of the Moon" was unknown to humanity until the Luna and Lunar Orbiter pictures were returned to Earth. This wonderful book contains beautiful photographs and newly-assembled mosaic images of the far side of the Moon, cleaned of transmission, imaging stripes and processing artifacts by today's computer technology. Byrne's superb analysis documents the appearance of the features of the far side with beautiful pictures from Lunar Orbiter. Until now, the far side Lunar Orbiter photos have only been available with strong reconstruction lines, but appear here for the first time as complete photographs, unmarred by imaging and processing artifacts.

This book is primarily concerned with fundamental components of solar physics, terrestrial geophysics and general climate issues. Phenomena such as planetary influence on solar variability, the Sun's irradiance and solar wind continue to fascinate members of the scientific community. What is more astounding is the way in which our planet reacts to these occurrences; climate changes, sea levels, tides, ocean circulation and geomagnetism, all caused by the processes mentioned above. The pages that follow analyze and calculate the relationships between solar causation and terrestrial reaction. This work begins with a foreword from Walter Cunningham, the famous Apollo 7 astronaut who in 1968 took part in the first manned space flight. Section A is devoted to the concept of planetary-solar-terrestrial interaction and driving forces that represent a break-through in science. The book begins with a high-lightening of records indicating a planetary influence on solar activity and continues with multiple discussions of terrestrial variables. It concludes with an account of the physics behind the changes in the Sun and in the Earth. Section B presents the remarkable decision to terminate the journal of pattern recognition in physics because the authors concluded that we are now on our way into a new grand solar minimum. This inspires doubt in an accelerating global warming. In the name of science and ethics, five papers respond to this "modern book-burning". Section C is devoted to general conclusions, co-authored by 19 eminent scientists in the field of solar physics, geophysics, geology, hydrology and climatology. It also includes a short note on concluding editorial views.

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) was successfully launched on June 18, 2009 and joined an international eet of satellites (Japan's SELENE/Kaguya, China's Chang'E, and India's Chandrayaan-1) that have recently orbited the Moon for scienti c exploration p- poses. LRO is the rst step to ful ll the US national space goal to return humans to the Moon's surface, which is a primary objective of NASA's Exploration Systems Mission - rectorate (ESMD). TheinitialLROmissionphasehasaone-yeardurationfullyfundedunder ESMD support. LRO is expected to have an extended phase of operations for at least two additional years to undertake further lunar science measurements that are directly linked to objectives outlined in the National Academy of Science's report on the Scienti c Context for Exploration of the Moon (SCEM). All data from LRO will be deposited in the Planetary Data System (PDS) archive so as to be usable for both exploration and science by the widest possible community. A NASA Announcement of Opportunity (AO) solicited proposals for LRO instruments with associated exploration measurement investigations. A rigorous evaluation process - volving scienti c peer review, in combination with technical, cost and management risk assessments, recommended six instruments for LRO development and deployment. The competitively selected instruments are: Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Rad- tion (CRaTER), Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment (DLRE), Lyman-Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP), Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector (LEND), Lunar Orbiter Laser - timeter (LOLA), and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC).

The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) was the first dission to orbit and eventually land on an asteroid. A phenomenal success, the mission returned with hundreds of thousands of images, spectra, and other measurements about the large near-Earth asteroid 433 Eros. Some of the scientists and engineers who made NEAR such a success describe the mission here in their own words, from the initial concept studies, through the development phase, launch, cruise operations, the flyby of asteroid Mathilde, the near-catastrophic main engine failure in 1998, the heroic rescue and recovery of the spacecraft, the amazing year-long up-close look at one of Earth's most primitive celestial neighbors, and, finally, the daring attempt to land the spacecraft on Eros at the end of the mission. The book is illustrated throughout with images from the mission and explanatory diagrams. Jim Bell is an Assistant Professor in the Cornell University Astronomy Department whose research focuses on the geology, chemistry, and mineralogy of planets, asteroids, and comets using data obtained from telescopes and spacecraft missions. He is a member of a number of space science teams, including the NASA Mars Pathfinder and NEAR. Author of some 70 first and co-authored journal publications, he is a frequent contributor to popular astronomy magazines and radio shows. The International Astronomical Union recently awarded him the honor of having asteroid 8146 Jimbell named after him. Jacqueline Mitton is the Press Officer and a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, a member of the International Astronomical Union, and a Member of the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society. She is the author or co-author of 16 astronomy books; her most recent being The Cambridge Dictionary of Astronomy (2001).

The semi-classical description of black holes, as it was originally introduced by Hawking and Bekenstein in the early seventies, where classical solutions of the Einstein equations are coupled to quantum matter fields, opened a window with a glance on the quantum aspects of gravity. This book discusses this semi-classical approach to quantum black holes. It also discuses the philosophical issues about black holes; the Randall-Sundrum II model; the gravitational collapse in alternative theories of gravity; observational limits on modern extended gravity models; and generalized Brans-Dicke models from Kaluza-Klein reductions.

This book offers a new concept of the possible genesis of primary forms of living matter in the processes that accompany a hypervelocity meteorite impact onto the surface of a planet. The concept is based on results obtained in direct impact experiments and in laboratory simulations of hypervelocity impact processes involving the generation of a plasma torch, on bona fide data on the physical processes occurring in nature, and on the available material evidence of impact consequences on Solar system bodies. The concept can explain the possibility of the emergence of extraterrestrial life in the interiors of celestial bodies with extreme surface temperatures and moderate temperatures in the inner layers provided water is present.

Recent discoveries of planet-like objects circling other sun-like stars have stirred enormous interest in what other planets may exist in the universe, and whether they could support intelligent life. This book takes us into the midst of this search for extrasolar planets. Unlike other books, it focuses on the people behind the searches -- many known personally by the author -- and the extraordinary technology that is currently on the drawing boards. The author is an experienced, award-winning science journalist who was previously technology correspondent for the Financial Times of London. He has written on many topics in astronomy and astrobiology in over 35 different newspapers and magazines worldwide.

IAU Symposium 263 provides a state-of-the-art review of icy bodies in the Solar System, a topic crucial to understanding processes involved in the Solar System's formation, the consequences for water on planets, and ultimately, the habitable zones around other stars. Ice-rich planetesimals which form beyond the snow line are discussed, using an interdisciplinary approach. The main topics covered include: accretion of icy grains in the protoplanetary disk, the long-period comet flux and the Oort cloud population, transfer mechanisms of bodies from their source regions to the Sun's neighborhood, the physics and dynamics of trans-Neptunian objects, transition objects (comets and asteroids), cryovolcanism and modeling the interiors of icy bodies, and a review of past, present and future space missions. This volume gives a broad overview of the importance of these bodies, from comets up to liquid water on terrestrial planets, and the formation of ices in the Solar System.

Moon Launch! recreates the exciting story of the astronauts and engineers, scientists and technicians, politicians and public citizens who expanded the world's understanding of humanity's potential, the people responsible for the Project Apollo flights to the moon. Through their teamwork at the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral became the spaceport for the nation and, in the minds of many, the gateway to the universe.

A companion to Gateway to the Moon and also part of the 1978 NASA History Series Moonport volume, this illustrated book describes the seven missions to the moon launched between 1969 and 1972. With the exception of the abortive Apollo 13 flight, all landed successfully. As the story progresses, astronauts explore the moon's surface in the lunar rover (complete with bucket seats and power steering), set up experiments, and bring back hundreds of pounds of lunar geological samples. The book concludes with a description of the last and most spectacular liftoff, Apollo 17, launched on a dark December night before a crowd of nearly 500,000 visitors.

The early development of life, a fundamental question for humankind, requires the presence of a suitable planetary climate. Our understanding of how habitable planets come to be begins with the worlds closest to home. Venus, Earth, and Mars differ only modestly in their mass and distance from the Sun, yet their current climates could scarcely be more divergent. Only Earth has abundant liquid water, Venus has a runaway greenhouse, and evidence for life-supporting conditions on Mars points to a bygone era. In addition, an Earth-like hydrologic cycle has been revealed in a surprising place: Saturn's cloud-covered satellite Titan has liquid hydrocarbon rain, lakes, and river networks.
Deducing the initial conditions for these diverse worlds and unraveling how and why they diverged to their current climates is a challenge at the forefront of planetary science. Through the contributions of more than sixty leading experts in the field, "Comparative Climatology of Terrestrial Planets" sets forth the foundations for this emerging new science and brings the reader to the forefront of our current understanding of atmospheric formation and climate evolution. Particular emphasis is given to surface-atmosphere interactions, evolving stellar flux, mantle processes, photochemistry, and interactions with the interplanetary environment, all of which influence the climatology of terrestrial planets. From this cornerstone, both current professionals and most especially new students are brought to the threshold, enabling the next generation of new advances in our own solar system and beyond.
Contents
Part I: Foundations
Jim Hansen
Mark Bullock
Scot Rafkin
Caitlin Griffith
Shawn Domagal-Goldman and Antigona Segura
Kevin Zahnle
Part II: The Greenhouse Effect and Atmospheric Dynamics
Curt Covey
G. Schubert and J. Mitchell
Tim Dowling
Francois Forget and Sebastien Lebonnois
Vladimir Krasnopolsky
Adam Showman
Part III: Clouds, Hazes, and Precipitation
Larry Esposito
A. Maattanen, K. Perot, F. Montmessin, and A. Hauchecorne
Nilton Renno
Zibi Turtle
Mark Marley
Part IV: Surface-Atmosphere Interactions
Colin Goldblatt
Teresa Segura et al.
John Grotzinger
Adrian Lenardic
D. A. Brain, F. Leblanc, J. G. Luhmann, T. E. Moore, and F. Tian
Part V: Solar Influences on Planetary Climate
Aaron Zent
Jerry Harder
F. Tian, E. Chassefiere, F. Leblanc, and D. Brain
David Des Marais

On March 13, 1989, the entire Quebec power grid collapsed, automatic garage doors in California suburbs began to open and close without apparent reason, and microchip production came to a halt in the Northeast; in space, communications satellites had to be manually repointed after flipping upside down, and pressure readings on hydrogen tank supplies on board the Space Shuttle Discovery peaked, causing NASA to consider aborting the mission. What was the cause of all these seemingly disparate events? Sten Odenwald gives convincing evidence of the mischievous -- and potentially catastrophic -- power of solar storms and the far-reaching effects of the coming "big one" brewing in the sun and estimated to culminate in the twenty-third cycle in the year 2001 and beyond. When the sun undergoes its cyclic "solar maximum," a time when fierce solar flares and storms erupt, fantastic auroras will be seen around the world. But the breathtaking spectacles will herald a potentially disastrous chain of events that merit greater preparation than Y2K. Is anyone listening?

The 23rd Cycle traces the previously untold history of solar storms and the ways in which they were perceived by astronomers -- and even occasionally covered up by satellite companies. Punctuated with an insert containing dramatic color images showing the erupting sun, the book also includes a history of the record of auroral sightings, accounts of communications blackouts from the twentieth century, a list of industries sensitive to solar storms, and information about radiation and health issues.

Concentrating on Photovoltaic (PV) Solar Power and its scientific, technological, industrial, political, environmental and social implications, this authoritative account provides a historical summary of the present applications, and future strategies for development and implementation. Describing how modern PV was invented in 1954 in association with the transistor, how the PV markets have experienced exponential growth since 2005, and how its development has involved hundreds of companies worldwide--in effect creating 100,000 jobs and tens of thousands of experts--this in-depth guide is published in full-color with more than 100 pictures and illustrations from 41 leading pioneers in the solar industry, and is an invaluable reference for students of the history and future of renewable energy resources.

This book develops the statistical mechanics of the formation of gravitating cosmogonical bodies in the investigation of our solar system and other exoplanetary systems. The first part of the text acquaints the reader with the developing statistical theory of gravitating cosmogonical body formation. Within the framework of this theory, the models and evolution equations of the statistical mechanics are proposed, while well-known problems of gravitational condensation of infinite distributed cosmic substances are solved on the basis of the proposed statistical model of spheroidal bodies. The second section of the book details theoretical and practical approaches to investigating the solar system and other exoplanetary systems. In particular, it considers a new universal stellar law (USL) for extrasolar planetary systems connecting the temperature, the size and the mass of each star. Within the framework of the developed statistical theory, a new law (generalizing the famous law of O. Schmidt) for the distribution of planetary in the solar system is also provided.

The volume begins with contributions on solar modelling, starting with the Standard Model. The experimental results on solar neutrinos precedes recent theoretical ideas on neutrino masses. Helioseismology is presented from both a theoretical and an experimental point of view, describing recent resul

Fascinating, engaging and extremely visual,THE SOLAR SYSTEM, 10th Edition, is renowned for its current coverage, reader-friendly presentation and detailed--yet clear--explanations. The authors' goals are to help you use Astronomy to understand science, and use science to answer two fundamental questions: What are we? And how do we know? Available with WebAssign, the powerful digital solution that enriches the teaching and learning experience. It includes Virtual Astronomy Labs 3.0--a set of 20 interactive activities that combine analysis of real astronomical data with robust simulations--providing a true online laboratory experience for your Introductory Astronomy course.