This book introduces the theory of stellar atmospheres. Almost everything we know about stars is by analysis of the radiation coming from their atmospheres. Several aspects of astrophysics require accurate atmospheric parameters and abundances. Spectroscopy is one of the most powerful tools at an astronomer’s disposal, allowing the determination of the fundamental parameters of stars: surface temperature, gravity, chemical composition, magnetic field, rotation and turbulence. These can be supplemented by distance measurements or pulsation parameters providing information about stellar interior and stellar evolution, otherwise unavailable. The volume is based on lectures presented at the Wrocław's Spectroscopic School aimed at training young researchers in performing quantitative spectral analysis of low-, mid-, and high-resolution spectra of B, A, and F-type stars.

Ken M. Harrison's latest book is a complete guide for amateur astronomers who want to obtain detailed narrowband images of the Sun using a digital spectroheliograph (SHG). The SHG allows the safe imaging of the Sun without the expense of commercial 'etalon' solar filters. As the supporting software continues to be refined, the use of the digital spectroheliograph will become more and more mainstream and has the potential to replace the expensive solar filters currently in use. The early chapters briefly explain the concept of the SHG and how it can produce an image from the solar spectrum. A comparison of the currently available narrow band solar filters is followed by a detailed analysis of the critical design, construction and assembly features of the SHG. The design and optimum layout of the instrument is discussed to allow evaluation of performance. This information explains how to assemble a fully functional SHG using readily available components. The software required to process the images is explained and step by step examples provided, with various digital instruments around the world highlighted based on input from many experienced amateurs who have shared their experience in building and using their spectroheliographs. The final chapters provide a historical overview of the traditional spectroheliograph and the later spectrohelioscope, from the initial G.E.Hale and Deslandres concepts of the 1890's through to the later work by Veio and others. The construction and performance of various instruments is covered in detail, and provides a unique opportunity to record and appreciate the groundbreaking researches carried out by amateurs in the 20th century. This is an absolutely up to date book which fully addresses the watershed, game changing influence of the digital imaging revolution on the traditional spectroheliograph.

Full of personal insights and accounts of the long journey to getting a man on the moon, Missions to the Moon is the perfect companion for anyone with a love of space travel, the moon landings, or NASA, CNSA, RFSA, and the rest of the world's space programs. With dozens of stunning photographs and fascinating memorabilia - such as Apollo 11 Mission Reports and Flight Director's Logs - track the birth of the space race and Yuri Gagarin's first space flight, to the many successes and failures of the Apollo mission, all the way to that boots-on-the-ground moment we have come to know so well. Uniquely complemented by ground-breaking digital technology you can become fully immersed in this interactive story of mankind's ongoing journey into the final frontier.

This SpringerBrief details the MESSENGER Mission, the findings of which present challenges to widely held conventional views and remaining mysteries surrounding the planet. The work answers the question of why Mercury is so dense, and the implications from geochemical data on its planetary formation. It summarizes imaging and compositional data from the terrestrial planet surface processes and explains the geologic history of Mercury. It also discusses the lack of southern hemisphere coverage. Our understanding of the planet Mercury has been in a transitional phase over the decades since Mariner 10. The influx of new data from the NASA MESSENGER Mission since it was inserted into the orbit of Mercury in March of 2011 has greatly accelerated that shift. The combined compositional data of relatively high volatiles (S, K), relatively low refractories (Al, Ca), and low crustal iron, combined with an active, partially molten iron rich core, has major implications for Mercury and Solar System formation. From a scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, this presents a comprehensive overview of the discoveries from the ten-year MESSENGER mission.

The movement of the moon in space had been well documented by the second half of the nineteenth century. In this monograph, which first appeared in 1874, James Nasmyth (1808-90) and James Carpenter (1840-99) pay closer attention to the lunar surface, notably illustrating their work with photographs of accurate plaster models. At this time, many questions about the moon's properties were still open. Could the moon support life? Did it have an atmosphere? How had its craters been formed? Marshalling the latest available evidence, Nasmyth and Carpenter provide their answers in a text accompanied by explanatory diagrams. Also included are theories on planetary formation, a discussion of lunar volcanism, and a vivid imagining of a day on the moon's surface, describing everything from low lunar gravity to the sudden, monthly sunrise. The work remains an instructive resource, reflecting the state of contemporary astronomical knowledge.

th th Mars, the Red Planet, fourth planet from the Sun, forever linked with 19 and 20 Century fantasy of a bellicose, intelligent Martian civilization. The romance and excitement of that fiction remains today, even as technologically sophisticated - botic orbiters, landers, and rovers seek to unveil Mars' secrets; but so far, they have yet to find evidence of life. The aura of excitement, though, is justified for another reason: Mars is a very special place. It is the only planetary surface in the Solar System where humans, once free from the bounds of Earth, might hope to establish habitable, self-sufficient colonies. Endowed with an insatiable drive, focused motivation, and a keen sense of - ploration and adventure, humans will undergo the extremes of physical hardship and danger to push the envelope, to do what has not yet been done. Because of their very nature, there is little doubt that humans will in fact conquer Mars. But even earth-bound extremes, such those experienced by the early polar explorers, may seem like a walk in the park compared to future experiences on Mars.

Astronomer Peter Linde takes the reader through the story of the search for extraterrestrial life in a captivating and thought-provoking way, specifically addressing the new research that is currently devoted towards discovering other planets with life. He discusses the methods used to detect possible signals from other civilizations and the ways that the space sciences are changing as a result of this new field. "Are we alone?" is a mystery that has forever fascinated mankind, gaining momentum by scientists since the 1995 discovery of the existence of exoplanets began to inspire new ways of thinking in astronomy. Here, Linde tries to answer many philosophical questions that derive from this area of research: Is humanity facing a change of paradigm, that we are not unique as intelligent beings? Is it possible to communicate with others out there, and even if we can-should we?

Humans evolved when the Sun was in the great void of the Local Bubble. The Sun entered the present environment of interstellar clouds only during the late Quaternary. Astronomical data reveal these long and short term changes in our galactic environment. Theoretical models then tell us how these changes affect interplanetary particles, planetary magnetospheres, and the Earth itself. Cosmic rays leave an isotopic signature in the paleoclimate record that helps trace the solar journey through space. "Solar Journey: The Significance of Our Galactic Environment for the Heliosphere and Earth" lays the foundation for an interdisciplinary study of the influence of interstellar material on the solar system and Earth as we travel through the Milky Way Galaxy. The solar wind bubble responds dynamically to interstellar material flowing past the Sun, regulating interstellar gas, dust, and cosmic particle fluxes in the interplanetary medium and the Earth. Cones of interstellar gas and dust focused by solar gravity, the magnetospheres of the outer planets, and cosmic rays at Earth all might yield the first hints of changes in our galactic environment. Twelve articles from leading experts in diverse fields discuss the physical changes expected as the heliosphere adjusts to its galactic environment. Topics include the interaction between the solar wind and interstellar dust and gas, cosmic ray modulation, magnetospheres, temporal variations in the solar environment, and the cosmic ray isotope record preserved in paleoclimate data. The breadth of processes discussed in this book make it a valuable resource for scientists and students doing research in the fields of Space Physics, Astronomy and the Paleoclimate. "I admire the great care that Priscilla Frisch has taken in the editorial work, the balanced subjects, the attractive and clear figures. Also the general topic is well chosen and the various chapters are presented very clearly." - C. de Jager

This book is one of two volumes meant to capture, to the extent practical, the scienti?c legacy of the Cassini-Huygens prime mission, a landmark in the history of planetary exploration. As the most ambitious and interdisciplinary planetary exploration mission ?own to date, it has extended our knowledge of the Saturn system to levels of detail at least an order of magnitude beyond that gained from all previous missions to Saturn. Nestled in the brilliant light of the new and deep understanding of the Saturn planetary system is the shiny nugget that is the spectacularly successful collaboration of individuals, - ganizations and governments in the achievement of Cassini-Huygens. In some ways the pa- nershipsformedandlessonslearnedmaybethemost enduringlegacyofCassini-Huygens.The broad, international coalition that is Cassini-Huygens is now conducting the Cassini Equinox Mission and planning the Cassini Solstice Mission, and in a major expansion of those fruitful efforts, has extended the collaboration to the study of new ?agship missions to both Jupiter and Saturn. Such ventures have and will continue to enrich us all, and evoke a very optimistic vision of the future of international collaboration in planetary exploration. The two volumes in the series Saturn from Cassini-Huygens and Titan from Cassini- Huygens are the direct products of the efforts of over 200 authors and co-authors. Though each book has a different set of three editors, the group of six editors for the two volumes has worked together through every step of the process to ensure that these two volumes are a set.

The mapping of the surface of stars requires diverse skills, analysis techniques and advanced modeling, i.e. the collaboration of scientists in various specialties. This volume gives insights into new techniques allowing for the first time to obtain resolved images of stars. It takes stock of what has been achieved so far in Chile, on the ESO VLTI instrument or, in the States, on the CHARA instrument. In recent times interferometry, combined with adaptive optics has allowed to reconstruct images of stars. Besides the Sun (of course) by now five stars have been resolved in detail. In addition to interferometry, this book highlights techniques used for mapping the surfaces of stars using photometry made by space observatories; Zeeman- and Doppler Imaging; mapping the surface element abundances via spectroscopy. This book will also take stock of the best images of the solar surface, made by connecting the differential rotation to the underlying physical parameters derived from helioseismology. Recent measurements of flattening of the solar surface by SDO showed that the Sun's shape is linked to the rotation of the core. It is shown how such a result is generalizable to the stars.

When this book first appeared in 1793, there had been no significant work on comets published in English since Edmond Halley's death some fifty years before. In Europe the field was dominated by French astronomers such as Pingre and Laplace, but their ornate styles were often difficult to translate. In this concise monograph, Sir Henry Englefield (c.1752 1822) draws both on this continental work and on his own correspondence with William Herschel to produce one of the few accessible manuals in English for the computation of cometary orbits. He includes mathematical examples as new formulae are introduced, along with detailed tables and appendices. Englefield's particular interest was in the development of scientific instruments suitable for travellers - he devised a portable telescope and lent his name to the Englefield mountain barometer - and his passion for efficiency shines through in this work, still valuable to researchers in the history of astronomy and comet science.

Originally published in 1953, this book first sets out some observational facts about comets, then the greater part of the book accounts for their origin and explains how comet tails are formed. The text contains 34 photographs of celebrated comets, including eight of Halley's comet. A comet index is also provided. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the development of astronomy and the history of science.

After addressing strange cosmological hypotheses in Weird Universe, David Seargent tackles the no-less bizarre theories closer to home. Alternate views on the Solar System's formation, comet composition, and the evolution of life on Earth are only some of the topics he addresses in this new work. Although these ideas exist on the fringe of mainstream astronomy, they can still shed light on the origins of life and the evolution of the planets. Continuing the author's series of books popularizing strange astronomy facts and knowledge, Weird Astronomical Theories presents an approachable exploration of the still mysterious questions about the origin of comets, the pattern of mass extinctions on Earth, and more. The alternative theories discussed here do not come from untrained amateurs. The scientists whose work is covered includes the mid-20th century Russian S. K. Vsekhsvyatskii, cosmologist Max Tegmark, British astronomers Victor Clube and William Napier, and American Tom Van Flandern, a specialist in celestial mechanics who held a variety of unusual beliefs about the possibility of intelligent life having come from elsewhere. Despite being outliers, their work reveals how much astronomical understanding is still evolving. Unconventional approaches have also pushed our scientific understanding for the better, as with R.W. Mandl's approaching Einstein with regard to gravitational lensing. Even without full substantiation (and some theories are hardly credible), their hypotheses allow for a new perspective on how the Solar System became what it is today.

"An Introduction to Waves and Oscillations in the Sun" is intended for students and researchers who work in the area of solar and astrophysics. This book contains an introduction to the Sun, basics of electrodynamics, magneto-hydrodynamics for force-free and current-free fields. It deals with waves in uniform media with relevance to sound waves and Alfven waves, and with waves in non-uniform media like surface waves or waves in a slab and cylindrical geometry. It also touches on instabilities in fluids and observational signatures of oscillations. Finally, there is an introduction to the area of helio-seismology, which deals with the internal structure of the Sun.

This unique , authoritative book introduces and accurately depicts the current state-of-the art in the field of space storms. Professor Koskinen, renowned expert in the field, takes the basic understanding of the system, together with the pyhsics of space plasmas, and produces a treatment of space storms. He combines a solid base describing space physics phenomena with a rigourous theoretical basis. The topics range from the storms in the solar atmosphere through the solar wind, magnetosphere and ionosphere to the production of the storm-related geoelectric field on the ground. The most up-to-date information available ist presented in a clear, analytical and quantitative way. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 is a phenomenological introduction to space weather from the Sun to the Earth. Part 2 comprehensively presents the fundamental concepts of space plasma physics. It consists of discussions of fundamental concepts of plasma physics, starting from underlying electrodynamics and statistical physics of charged particles and continuing to single particle motion in homogeneous electromagnetic fields, waves in cold plasma approximation, Vlasov theory, magnetohydrodynamics, instabilities in space plasmas, reconnection and dynamo. Part 3 bridges the gap between the fundamental plasma physics and research level physics of space storms. This part discusses radiation and scattering processes, transport and diffiusion, shocks and shock acceleration, storms on the Sun, in the magnetosphere, the coupling to the atmosphere and ground. The book is concluded wtih a brief review of what is known of space stroms on other planets. One tool for building this briege ist extensive cross-referencing between the various chapters. Exercise problems of varying difficulty are embedded within the main body of the text.

During the last decade, a rapid growth of knowledge in the field of re-entry and planetary entry has resulted in many significant advances useful to the student, engineer and scientist. The purpose of offering this course is to make available to them these recent significant advances in physics and technology. Accordingly, this course is organized into five parts: Part 1, Entry Dynamics, Thermodynamics, Physics and Radiation; Part 2, Entry Abla tion and Heat Transfer; Part 3, Entry Experimentation; Part 4, Entry Concepts and Technology; and Part 5, Advanced Entry Programs. It is written in such a way so that it may easily be adopted by other universities as a textbook for a two semesters senior or graduate course on the sub ject. In addition to the undersigned who served as the course instructor and wrote Chapters, 1, 2, 3 and 4, guest lecturers included: Prof. FRANKLIN K. MOORE who wrote Chapter 5 "Entry Radiative Transfer," Prof. SHIH-I PAI who wrote Chapter 6 "Entry Radiation-Magnetogasdy namics," Dr. CARL GAZLEY, J r. who wrote Chapter 7 "Entry Deaccelera [ion and Mass Change of an Ablating Body," Dr. SINCLAIRE M. SCALA who wrote Chapter 8 "Entry Heat Transfer and Material Response," Mr.

Over the last fifteen years, space-based exploration of the solar system has increased dramatically, with more and more sophisticated orbiters and landers being sent to Mars. This intense period, rich in unprecedented scientific results, has led to immense progress in our perception of Mars and of its evolution over geological time. In parallel, advances in numerical simulations and laboratory experiments also shed new light on the geochemical evolution of the planet Mars. The ISSI-Europlanet Workshop entitled "Quantifying the Martian Geochemical Reservoirs" was held in Bern in April 2011 with the objective to create a diverse interdisciplinary forum composed of scientists directly involved in space-based exploration of the Martian surface, meteoriticists studying SNC meteorites, and planetary and/or Earth scientists simulating, numerically or experimentally, the physical and chemical processes occurring on or within Mars. The chapters of this book provide an overview of current knowledge of the past and present Martian geochemical reservoirs, from the accretionary history to the secondary alteration processes at the surface. In addition to the detailed description of data from Mars and the methods used to obtain them, the contributions also emphasize comparison with features on Earth, providing a perspective on the extent to which our knowledge of terrestrial systems influences interpretation of data from Mars. Areas that would benefit from future work and measurements are also identified, providing a view of the short-term and long-term future of the study of Mars. This collection of chapters constitutes a timely perspective on current knowledge and thinking concerning the geochemical evolution of Mars, providing context and a valuable reference point for even more exciting future discoveries. It is aimed at graduate students and researchers active in geochemistry and space science. Previously published in Space Science Reviews, Vol. 174/1-4, 2013.

This abundantly illustrated book provides a concise overview of our understanding of the entire mantle, its evolution since early differentiation and the consequences of superplumes for earth surface processes. The book's balanced authorship has produced a state-of-the-science report on the emerging concept of superplumes. This presents a new concept to explain catastrophic events on Earth through geologic time.

Several major breakthroughs have helped contribute to the emerging field of astrobiology. Focusing on these developments, this fascinating book explores some of the most important problems in this field. It examines how planetary systems formed, and how water and the biomolecules necessary for life were produced. It then focuses on how life may have originated and evolved on Earth. Building on these two themes, the final section takes the reader on a search for life elsewhere in the Solar System. It presents the latest results of missions to Mars and Titan, and explores the possibilities of life in the ice-covered ocean of Europa. This interdisciplinary book is an enjoyable overview of this exciting field for students and researchers in astrophysics, planetary science, geosciences, biochemistry, and evolutionary biology. Colour versions of some of the figures are available at www.cambridge.org/9780521875486.

over to nominal operations and began making our groundbreaking science observations. Remarkably, the IBEX project was able to do all this work including developing an entirely new launch capability, building and ying a unique and highly specialized spacecraft and instrument suite, and maintaining full funding for our Education and Public Outreach and Phase E science activities, while still under-running our original cost cap (as modi ed by NASA-directed changes), by roughly three-quarters of a million dollars. This book comprises a set of papers that describe the IBEX science, instruments, and mission and put these in the context of the existing knowledge of the interstellar interaction at the time of the launch. The book sets the stage for research that will be based on data from the IBEX mission. We sincerely hope that future researchers, authors and students will use this information to help in their studies. Chapter 1 [McComas et al. ] provides an overview of the entire IBEX program including the IBEX science, hardware, and mission. Chapter 2 describes the IBEX spacecraft and ight system [Scherrer et al. ]. Chapters 3-4 provide the details of the IBEX-Hi instrument [Funsten et al. ] and background monitor that is built into it [Allegrini et al. ], while Chapters 5-7 describe the IBEX-Lo instrument [Fuselier et al. ], how IBEX-Lo can measure the interstellar neutrals directly entering the heliosphere [Moebius et al.

Investigation of the interplanetary dust cloud is characterized by contributions from quite different methods and fields, such as research on zodiacal light, meteors, micrometeoroids, asteroids, and comets. Since the earth's environment and interplanetary space became accessible to space vehicles these interrelations are clearly evident and extremely useful. Space measurements by micrometeoroid detectors, for example, provide individual and eventually detailed information on impact events, which however are limited in number and therefore restricted in statistical significance. On the other hand, zodiacal light measurements involve scattered light from many particles and therefore provide global information about the average values of physical properties and spatial distribution of interplanetary grains. Additional knowledge stems from lunar samples and from dust collections in the atmosphere and in deep sea sediments. All these sources of complementary information must be put together into a synoptical synthesis. This also has to take into account dynamical aspects and the results of laboratory investigations concerning physical properties of small grains. Such considerable effort is not merely an academic exercise for a few specialists interested in the solar dust cloud. Since this same cloud exclusively allows direct in-situ acess to investigate extraterrestrial dust particles over a wide range of sizes and materials, it provides valuable information for realistic treatment of dust phenomena in other remote cosmic regions such as in dense molecular clouds, circumstellar dust shells, and even protostellar or protoplanetary systems.

The word "landscape" can mean picture as well as natural scenery. Recent advances in space exploration imaging have allowed us to now have landscapes never before possible, and this book collects some of the greatest views and vistas of Mars, Venus's Titan, Io and more in their full glory, with background information to put into context the foreign landforms of our Solar System. Here, literally, are 'other-worldly' visions of strange new scenes, all captured by the latest technology by landing and roving vehicles or by very low-flying spacecraft. There is more than scientific interest in these views. They are also aesthetically beautiful and intriguing, and Dr. Murdin in a final chapter compares them to terrestrial landscapes in fine art. Planetary Vistas is a science book and a travel book across the planets and moons of the Solar System for armchair space explorers who want to be amazed and informed. This book shows what future space explorers will experience, because these are the landscapes that astronauts and space tourists will see.

A unique pictorial history of astronomical exploration from the earliest prehistoric observatories to the latest satellite images

With 280 spectacular images and an inspiring story imparting the excitement of discovery, Sun and Moon marks the anniversary of the first moon landing by Apollo 11 in July 1969, and the 40th anniversary of NASA's geological survey of the moon, with its extraordinary cartography.

It illustrates how the development of photography and cartography - the means of documenting other worlds - is linked indelibly to the charting of the heavens, from the first image on a glass plate to the Hubble Space Telescope.

Sun and Moon is the gift of the season for anyone who has ever gazed at the stars or looked through a telescope.

This volume is dedicated to the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), which was launched 11 February 2010. The articles focus on the spacecraft and its instruments: the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA), the Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE), and the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI). Articles within also describe calibration results and data processing pipelines that are critical to understanding the data and products, concluding with a description of the successful Education and Public Outreach activities. This book is geared towards anyone interested in using the unprecedented data from SDO, whether for fundamental heliophysics research, space weather modeling and forecasting, or educational purposes. Previously published in Solar Physics journal, Vol. 275/1-2, 2012. Selected articles in this book are published open access under a CC BY-NC 2.5 license at link.springer.com. For further details, please see the license information in the chapters.

This textbook is intended as an introduction to the physics of solar and stellar coronae, emphasizing kinetic plasma processes. It is addressed to observational astronomers, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates without a ba- ground in plasma physics. Coronal physics is today a vast field with many different aims and goals. So- ing out the really important aspects of an observed phenomenon and using the physics best suited for the case is a formidable problem. There are already several excellent books, oriented toward the interests of astrophysicists, that deal with the magnetohydrodynamics of stellar atmospheres, radiation transport, and radiation theory. In kinetic processes, the different particle velocities play an important role. This is the case when particle collisions can be neglected, for example in very brief phenomena - such as one period of a high-frequency wave - or in effects produced by energetic particles with very long collision times. Some of the most persistent problems of solar physics, like coronal heating, shock waves, flare energy release, and particle acceleration, are likely to be at least partially related to such p- cesses. Study of the Sun is not regarded here as an end in itself, but as the source of information for more general stellar applications. Our understanding of stellar processes relies heavily, in turn, on our understanding of solar processes. Thus an introduction to what is happening in hot, dilute coronae necessarily starts with the plasma physics of our nearest star.