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Books > Science & Mathematics > Astronomy, space & time > Solar system
The IAU Symposium No. 62, 'The Stability of the Solar System and of
Small Stellar Systems' was held in Warsaw in Poland during the
Extraordinary General Assembly of the IAU in commemoration of the
SOOth anniversary of the birth of Nicolaus Copernicus. The
Symposium was sponsored by Commission 7 (Celestial Mechanics) and
cosponsored by Commissions 4 (Ephemerides) and 37 (Star Clusters
and Asso- ciations) of the IAU and by IUTAM. The Organizing
Committee included Y. Kozai (Chairman), J. A. Agekjan, A. Deprit,
G. N. Duboshin, S. G\lska (Local represen- tative), M. Henon, B.
Morando and C. Parkes (IUTAM representative). The Symposium was
supported financially by the IA U, the IUT AM and the Polish
Academy of Sciences. Y. KOZAI Chairman of the Organizing Committee
STABILITY THEORY IN CELESTIAL MECHANICS J MOSER Courant Institute
of Mathematical ScIences, New York University, New York, N. Y.
10012, U.S.A. Abstract, This expository lecture surveys recent
progress of the stability theory in Celestial Mechanics with
emphasis on the analytical problems. In particular, the old
question of convergence of perturbation series are discussed and
positive results obtained, in the light of the work by Kolmogorov
Arnold and Moser. For the three body problem, classes of
quasi-periodic solutions and doubly asymptotic (or homo- clinic)
orbits are discussed.
The simplest guide to astronomy and stargazing! Grasping astronomy
has never been easier. The awe of the night sky will soon turn into
knowledge of the constellations, planets, and astrological
phenomena! Bold graphics and easy-to-understand text make this
visual guide the perfect introduction to astronomy and stargazing
for those who have little time but a big thirst for knowledge.
Inside you'll find: - Simple, easy-to-understand graphics that help
to explain astronomy, space, and the night sky in a clear, visual
way - The latest astronomical information on black holes,
gravitational waves, the origin of the Universe, and the planets of
the Solar System - User-friendly star-charts that guide you through
the sky using brighter stars as "signposts" to locate harder-to-see
objects - Essential advice on the practicalities of stargazing -
from observing with the naked eye to using telescopes Each
pared-back entry covers the essentials more clearly than ever
before. The opening chapters provide an introduction to the
Universe, a visual tour of the Solar System, and a guide to more
distant objects such as stars and galaxies. Along the way, concepts
such as the Big Bang, gravity, and space-time are introduced and
explained. Later chapters describe how to navigate around the night
sky and introduce some must-see constellations, complete with
simple star charts. Whether you are a complete beginner, or simply
want a jargon-free reference to astronomy and stargazing, this
essential guide is packed with everything you need to understand
the basics quickly and easily.
Over the past two decades auroral science has developed from a
somewhat mysterious and imprecise specialty into a discipline
central in the study of the ionosphere and magnetosphere. The
investigation of aurora unites scientists with very different
backgrounds and interests so that it is difficult to write a
self-contained account of the field in a book of reasonable length.
In this work I have attempted to include those aspects of theory
which I have found valuable in predicting the effects on the
atmosphere of auroral particle precipitation. In addition I have
attempted to describe the techniques of observation with particular
emphasis on optical methods which have been useful. While the
aeronomy of aurora has been regarded as central, the mechanisms by
which particles are accelerated and precipitated into the
atmosphere is of no less interest. This aspect of the subject has
however been treated in a briefer fashion since it is a part of the
immense and rapidly developing field of magnetospheric science.
Generally I have attempted to provide a coherent introduction to
auroral science with an emphasis on relatively simple physical
interpretations and models. References are given to enable the
reader to find more extensive or rigorous discussions of particular
topics. A fairly complete, quantitative atlas of the auroral
spectrum is included.
It was about fourteen years ago that some of us became intrigued
with the idea of searching the sky for X-ray and gamma-ray sources
other than the Sun, the only celestial emitter of high-energy
photons known at that time. It was, of course, clear that an effort
in this direction would not have been successful unless there
occurred, somewhere in space, processes capable of producing
high-energy photons much more efficiently than the processes
responsible for the radiative emission of the Sun or of ordinary
stars. The possible existence of such processes became the subject
of much study and discussion. As an important part of this
activity, I wish to recall a one-day conference on X-ray astronomy
held at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in 1960. The
theoretical predictions did not provide much encouragement. While
several 'unusual' celestial objects were pin-pointed as possible,
or even likely, sources of X-rays, it did not look as if any of
them would be strong enough to be observable with instru mentation
not too far beyond the state of the art. Fortunately, we did not
allow our selves to be dissuaded. As far as I am personally
concerned, I must admit that my main motivation for pressing
forward was a deep-seated faith in the boundless re sourcefulness
of nature, which so often leaves the most daring imagination of man
far behind."
The aim of the present book will be to summarize the results of the
space exploration of the Moon in the past fifteen years
-culminating in the manned Apollo missions of 1969-1972 -on the
background of our previous acquaintance with our satellite made in
the past by astronomical observations at a distance. Astronomy is
one of the oldest branches of science conceived by the inquisitive
human mind; though until quite recently it had been debarred from
the status of a genuine experimental science by the remoteness of
the objects of its study. With the sole exception of meteoritic
matter which occasionally finds its way into our labora tories, all
celestial bodies could be investigated only at a distance: namely,
from the effects of attraction exerted by their mass, or from the
ciphered messages of their light carried by nimble-footed photons
across the intervening gaps of space. A dramatic emergence
oflong-range spacecraft -capable of carrying men with their
instruments not only outside the confines of our atmosphere, but to
the actual surface of our nearest celestial neighbour - has since
1957 thoroughly changed this time honoured picture. In particular
(as we shall detail in Chapter 1 of this book) space astronomy
ofthe Moon is barely 15 years old. But relative infant as it is by
age, it has already provided us with such a tremendous amount of
new and previously inacces sible scientific data as to virtually
revolutionalize our subject."
The devotion of an IA U symposium entirely to the topic of chromo
spheric fine structure at a time when models of the spherically
symmetric chromosphere are still evolving constitutes a valid
recognition of the growing feeling among solar astron omers that
the chromosphere cannot be understood independently of its discrete
structural features. Network structure, which seemingly borders the
photospheric supergranule cells, persists intact throughout the
chromosphere and most of the chromosphere-corona transition region.
The network is the locus of the bright coarse mottles, and the
spicule bushes and is the terminus for one end of the quiet chromo
spheric fibrils as well. Additionally, it is the locus of most of
the magnetic flux of the quiet chromosphere. It is not surprising,
therefore, that current studies of the chromosphere tend to center
around efforts to better describe the network phenom ena and to
ascertain the physical properties of the network features. Clearly,
the supergranule cells and associated network structures constitute
a fundamental and singularly important feature of solar structure
in the boundary layers. Just as it is now clear that much of the
chromo spheric fine structure is associated with the network
bordering supergranule cells, it seems equally clear that
structural features are almost universally associated with both
fluid flow and magnetic geometry. Indeed, many observers claim that
the brightness features faithfully map the mag netic lines offorce
while still others claim that associated with each class of
brightness feature there is a more or less unique fluid flow."
o beaute sans seconde SeuIe sembIabIe Ii toi SOLEIL pour tout Ie
monde ... JEAN-FRANc;OIS SARASIN (1615-1654) The last decade has
seen the publication of monographs covering most areas of solar
activity: flares (Smith and Smith, 1963), sunspots (Bray and
Loughhead, 1964) and the corona (Billings, 1966). Consequently, of
all the major manifestations of solar activity only prominences are
without a comprehensive and unified treatment in the current
literature. The present book is written in an attempt to remedy
this situation, and to furnish an account of some of the most
spectacular and most beautiful aspects of solar activity. Our
ultimate aim is an understanding of the physical processes
involved. I hope that this book may provide if only a small step
toward this goal. After an historical introduction and some general
definitions Chapter I proceeds with an account of several
classification schemes for prominences. Most of the observational
material is presented in Chapter II and forms the basis on which
different models of prominences are built in Chapter III. Chapters
IV and V give most of the physics of prominences, treating, as they
do, the formation and stability of these objects. The interaction
of prominences with other manifestations of solar activity is the
subject of Chapter VI, and the final Chapter VII considers
prominences in the larger context: as an integral part of the
corona.
This book provides readers with an understanding of the basic
physics and mathematics that governs our solar system. It explores
the mechanics of our Sun and planets; their orbits, tides, eclipses
and many other fascinating phenomena. This book is a valuable
resource for undergraduate students studying astronomy and should
be used in conjunction with other introductory astronomy textbooks
in the field to provide additional learning opportunities.
Features: Written in an engaging and approachable manner, with
fully explained mathematics and physics concepts Suitable as a
companion to all introductory astronomy textbooks Accessible to a
general audience
Meteorites are fascinating cosmic visitors. Using accessible
language, this book documents the history of mineralogy and
meteorite research, summarizes the mineralogical characteristics of
the myriad varieties of meteorites, and explains the mineralogical
characteristics of Solar System bodies visited by spacecraft. Some
of these bodies contain minerals that do not occur naturally on
Earth or in meteorites. The book explains how to recognize
different phases under the microscope and in back-scattered
electron images. It summarizes the major ways in which meteoritic
minerals form - from condensation in the expanding atmospheres of
dying stars to crystallization in deep-seated magmas, from
flash-melting in the solar nebula to weathering in the terrestrial
environment. Containing spectacular back-scattered electron images,
colour photographs of meteorite minerals, and with an accompanying
online list of meteorite minerals, this book provides a useful
resource for meteorite researchers, terrestrial mineralogists,
cosmochemists and planetary scientists, as well as graduate
students in these fields
Illustrated with breathtaking images of the Solar System and of the
Universe around it, this book explores how the discoveries within
the Solar System and of exoplanets far beyond it come together to
help us understand the habitability of Earth, and how these
findings guide the search for exoplanets that could support life.
The author highlights how, within two decades of the discovery of
the first planets outside the Solar System in the 1990s, scientists
concluded that planets are so common that most stars are orbited by
them. The lives of exoplanets and their stars, as of our Solar
System and its Sun, are inextricably interwoven. Stars are the
seeds around which planets form, and they provide light and warmth
for as long as they shine. At the end of their lives, stars expel
massive amounts of newly forged elements into deep space, and that
ejected material is incorporated into subsequent generations of
planets. How do we learn about these distant worlds? What does the
exploration of other planets tell us about Earth? Can we find out
what the distant future may have in store for us? What do we know
about exoworlds and starbirth, and where do migrating hot Jupiters,
polluted white dwarfs, and free-roaming nomad planets fit in? And
what does all that have to do with the habitability of Earth, the
possibility of finding extraterrestrial life, and the operation of
the globe-spanning network of the sciences?
This book provides readers with an understanding of the basic
physics and mathematics that governs our solar system. It explores
the mechanics of our Sun and planets; their orbits, tides, eclipses
and many other fascinating phenomena. This book is a valuable
resource for undergraduate students studying astronomy and should
be used in conjunction with other introductory astronomy textbooks
in the field to provide additional learning opportunities.
Features: Written in an engaging and approachable manner, with
fully explained mathematics and physics concepts Suitable as a
companion to all introductory astronomy textbooks Accessible to a
general audience
Many astrophysical bodies produce winds, jets or explosions, which
blow spectacular bubbles. From a nonmathematical, unifying
perspective, based on the understanding of bubbles, the authors
address many of the most exciting topics in modern astrophysics
including supernovae, the production of structure in the Early
Universe, the environments of supermassive black holes and
gamma-ray bursts.
This book introduces the reader to all the basic physical building
blocks of climate needed to understand the present and past climate
of Earth, the climates of Solar System planets, and the climates of
extrasolar planets. These building blocks include thermodynamics,
infrared radiative transfer, scattering, surface heat transfer and
various processes governing the evolution of atmospheric
composition. Nearly four hundred problems are supplied to help
consolidate the reader's understanding, and to lead the reader
towards original research on planetary climate. This textbook is
invaluable for advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate
students in atmospheric science, Earth and planetary science,
astrobiology, and physics. It also provides a superb reference text
for researchers in these subjects, and is very suitable for
academic researchers trained in physics or chemistry who wish to
rapidly gain enough background to participate in the excitement of
the new research opportunities opening in planetary climate.
Copernicus sowed the seed from which science has grown to be a
dominant aspect of modern culture, fundamental in shaping our
understanding of the workings of the cosmos. John Henry reveals why
Copernicus was led to such a seemingly outrageous and implausible
idea as a swiftly moving Earth.
How do planetary scientists analyze and interpret data from
laboratory, telescopic, and spacecraft observations of planetary
surfaces? What elements, minerals, and volatiles are found on the
surfaces of our Solar System's planets, moons, asteroids, and
comets? This comprehensive volume answers these topical questions
by providing an overview of the theory and techniques of remote
compositional analysis of planetary surfaces. Bringing together
eminent researchers in Solar System exploration, it describes
state-of-the-art results from spectroscopic, mineralogical, and
geochemical techniques used to analyze the surfaces of planets,
moons, and small bodies. The book introduces the methodology and
theoretical background of each technique, and presents the latest
advances in space exploration, telescopic and laboratory
instrumentation, and major new work in theoretical studies. This
engaging volume provides a comprehensive reference on planetary
surface composition and mineralogy for advanced students,
researchers, and professional scientists.
Thirty-five million years ago, a meteorite three miles wide and
moving sixty times faster than a bullet slammed into the sea bed
near what is now Chesapeake Bay. The impact, more powerful than the
combined explosion of every nuclear bomb on Earth, blasted out a
crater fifty miles wide and one mile deep. Shock waves radiated
through the Earth for thousands of miles, shaking the foundations
of the Appalachians, as gigantic waves and winds of white-hot
debris transformed the eastern seaboard into a lifeless wasteland.
Chesapeake Invader is the story of this cataclysm, told by the man
who discovered it happened. Wylie Poag, a senior scientist with the
U.S. Geological Survey, explains when and why the catastrophe
occurred, what destruction it caused, how scientists unearthed
evidence of the impact, and how the meteorite's effects are felt
even today. Poag begins by reviewing how scientists in the decades
after World War II uncovered a series of seemingly inexplicable
geological features along the Virginia coast. As he worked to
interpret one of these puzzling findings in the 1980s in his own
field of paleontology, Poag began to suspect that the underlying
explanation was the impact of a giant meteorite. He guides us along
the path that he and dozens of colleagues subsequently followed
as--in true scientific tradition--they combined seemingly
outrageous hypotheses, painstaking research, and equal parts good
and bad luck as they worked toward the discovery of what turned out
to be the largest impact crater in the U.S. We join Poag in the
lab, on deep-sea drilling ships, on the road for clues in Virginia,
and in heated debates about his findings. He introduces us in
clear, accessible language to the science behind meteorite impacts,
to life and death on Earth thirty-five million years ago, and to
the ways in which the meteorite shaped the Chesapeake Bay area by,
for example, determining the Bay's very location and creating the
notoriously briny groundwater underneath Virginia. This is a
compelling work of geological detective work and a paean to the
joys and satisfactions of a life in science. Originally published
in 1999. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest
print-on-demand technology to again make available previously
out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton
University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of
these important books while presenting them in durable paperback
and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is
to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in
the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press
since its founding in 1905.
Chondrites are the largest group of meteorites. They can provide
unique insights into the origins and early evolution of our Solar
System, and even into the relationships between our Solar System
and other stars in the vicinity of our Sun. The largest structural
components of most chondrites are the glass-bearing chondrules, and
there are numerous theories for their origin. This clear and
systematic text summarizes the ideas surrounding the origin and
history of chondrules and chondrites, drawing on research from the
various scientific disciplines involved. With citations to a large
number of published papers on the topic, it forms a comprehensive
bibliography of the key research areas, and extensive illustrations
provide a clear visual representation of the scientific theories.
This text will be a valuable reference for graduate students and
researchers in planetary science, geology, and astronomy.
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