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.

How are mountains formed? Why are there old and young mountains? Why do the shapes of South America and Africa fit so well together? Why is the Pacific surrounded by a ring of volcanoes and earthquake prone areas while the edges of the Atlantic are relatively peaceful? Frisch and Meschede and Blakey answer all these questions and more through the presentation and explanation of the geo-dynamic processes upon which the theory of continental drift is based and which have lead to the concept of plate tectonics.

Lunar domes are structures of volcanic origin which are usually difficult to observe due to their low heights. The Lunar Domes Handbook is a reference work on these elusive features. It provides a collection of images for a large number of lunar domes, including telescopic images acquired with advanced but still moderately intricate amateur equipment as well as recent orbital spacecraft images. Different methods for determining the morphometric properties of lunar domes (diameter, height, flank slope, edifice volume) from image data or orbital topographic data are discussed. Additionally, multispectral and hyperspectral image data are examined, providing insights into the composition of the dome material. Several classification schemes for lunar domes are described, including an approach based on the determined morphometric quantities and spectral analyses. Furthermore, the book provides a description of geophysical models of lunar domes, which yield information about the properties of the lava from which they formed and the depth of the magma source regions below the lunar surface.

Although most people have some knowledge of the essential structure of the Solar System, few are familiar with the large and varied array of objects that travel with and between the planets in their journeys around the Sun. Imaging techniques from Earth continue to improve, while missions such as Voyager, Galileo and the Hubble Space Telescope have yielded many excellent images. Most significantly of all, several missions in recent years have shown a huge diversity of objects in close-up for the first time. The book will take advantage of the rich pool of images that is available, to tell a story of the Solar System that has not been told before. Smaller Bodies will be a collection of approximately 72 stunning images, all from the public domain but not hitherto gathered into a coherent collection, with supporting text and graphics. Each main image will be accompanied by a graphic showing the location in the Solar System of the featured object. All of these graphics will be based in a simple template providing a simple representation of the Solar System. Text will not be extensive, allowing page design to have a high priority, and will be of three kinds. 'Main text' (approximately 200 words) will provide stimulating introduction and some key ideas. Text headed 'The object(s)' (25-75 words) will provide a brief description of featured objects. Text headed 'The image' (25-75 words) will provide information on the source of the image and some brief technical information where required (such as in describing use of false color). The book is intended for anybody who lives in solar orbit and takes a general interest in the solar neighborhood.

Impact cratering is an important geological process on all solid planetary bodies, and, in the case of Earth, may have had major climatic and biological effects. Most terrestrial impact craters have been erased or modified beyond recognition. However, major impacts throw ejecta over large areas of the Earth's surface. Recognition of these impact ejecta layers can help fill in the gaps in the terrestrial cratering record and at the same time provide direct correlation between major impacts and other geological events, such as climatic changes and mass extinctions. This book provides the first summary of known distal impact ejecta layers

The First Edition of The Sun from Space, completed in 1999, focused on the early accomplishments of three solar spacecraft, SOHO, Ulysses, and Yohkoh, primarily during a minimum in the Sun's 11-year cycle of magnetic activity. The comp- hensive Second Edition includes the main ndings of these three spacecraft over an entire activity cycle, including two minima and a maximum, and discusses the signi cant results of six more solar missions. Four of these, the Hinode, RHESSI, STEREO, and TRACE missions were launched after the First Edition was either nished or nearly so, and the other two, the ACE and Wind spacecraft, extend our investigations from the Sun to its varying input to the Earth. The Second Edition does not contain simple updates or cosmetic patch ups to the material in the First Edition. It instead contains the relevant discoveries of the past decade, integrated into chapters completely rewritten for the purpose. This provides a fresh perspective to the major topics of solar enquiry, written in an enjoyable, easily understood text accessible to all readers, from the interested layperson to the student or professional.

This book presents the most important and crucial problems of space automation in context of future exploration programs. These programs could involve such issues as space situational awareness program, planetary protection, exploitation of minerals, assembly, manufacturing, and search for new habitable location for next human generations. The future exploration of Space and related activities will involve robots. In particular, new autonomous robots need to be developed with high degree of intelligence. Such robots would make space exploration possible but also they would make space automation an important factor in variety of activities related to Space.

Based on extensive primary sources, many never previously translated into English, this is the definitive account of the origins of Ceres as it went from being classified as a new planet to reclassification as the first of a previously unknown group of celestial objects. Cunningham opens this critical moment of astronomical discovery to full modern analysis for the first time. This book includes all the voluminous correspondence, translated into English, between the astronomers of Europe about the startling discovery of Ceres by Piazzi in 1801. It covers the period up to March 1802, at which time Pallas was discovered. Also included are Piazzi's two monographs about Ceres, and the sections of two books dealing with Ceres, one by Johann Bode, the other by Johann Schroeter. The origin of the word 'asteroid' is explained, along with several chapters on the antecedents of the story going back to ancient Greek times. The formulation of Bode's Law is given, as are the details on the efforts of Baron von Zach to organize a search for the supposed missing planet between Mars and Jupiter. Examples of verse created to commemorate the great discovery are included in this first volume. The author, who has a PhD in the History of Astronomy, is a dedicated scholar of the story of asteroids and his research on the discovery of Ceres is comprehensive and fully sourced. The discovery came at a time when rival astronomers were in hot competition with each other, and when the true nature of these celestial bodies was not yet known. With astronomers in France, Italy and beyond vying to understand and receive credit for the new class of astral bodies, drama was not in short supply--nor were scientific advances.

This book is the first to document in depth the history of lunar and planetary cartography in Russia. The first map of the far side of the Moon was made with the participation of Lomonosov Moscow University (Sternberg Astronomical Institute, MSU) in 1960. The developed mapping technologies were then used in preparing the "Complete Map of the Moon" in 1967 as well as other maps and globes. Over the years, various maps of Mars have emerged from the special course "Mapping of extraterrestrial objects" in the MSU Geography Department, including the hypsometric map of Mars at a scale of 1:26,000,000, compiled by J.A. Ilyukhina and published in 2004 in an edition of 5,000 copies. A more detailed version of this map has since been produced with a new hypsometric scale. In addition, maps of the northern and southern hemispheres of Mars have been compiled for the hypsometric globe of Mars. Relief maps of Venus were made in 2008, 2010, and 2011, and hypsometric maps of Phobos and Deimos at a scale of 1:60,000 were published in 2011. History of Lunar and Planetary Cartography in Russia provides detailed information on the compilation of this diverse range of maps and will be of interest to all lunar and planetary cartographers.

Short Historical Overview In the 1940s, two phenomena in the ?eld of cosmic rays (CR) forced scientists to think that the Sun is a powerful source of high-energy particles. One of these was discovered because of the daily solar variation of CR, which the maximum number of CR observed near noon (referring to the existence of continuous ?ux of CR from the direction of the Sun); this became the experimental basis of the theory that CR's originate from the Sun (or, for that matter, from within the solar system) (Alfven 1954). The second phenomenon was discovered when large ?uxes of high energy particles were detected from several solar ?ares, or solar CR. These are the - called ground level events (GLE), and were ?rst observed by ionization chambers shielded by 10 cm Pb (and detected mainly from the secondary muon-component CR that they caused) during the events of the 28th of February 1942, the 7th of March 1942, the 25th of July 1946, and the 19th of November 1949. The biggest such event was detected on the 23rd of February 1956 (see the detailed description in Chapters X and XI of Dorman, M1957). The ?rst phenomenon was investigated in detail in Dorman (M1957), by ?rst correcting experimental data on muon temperature effects and then by using coupling functions to determine the change in particle energy caused by the solar-diurnal CR variation.

Oceans were long thought to exist in all corners of the Solar System, from carbonated seas percolating beneath the clouds of Venus to features on the Moon's surface given names such as "the Bay of Rainbows" and the "Ocean of Storms." With the advent of modern telescopes and spacecraft exploration these ancient concepts of planetary seas have, for the most part, evaporated. But they have been replaced by the reality of something even more exotic. For example, although it is still uncertain whether Mars ever had actual oceans, it now seems that a web of waterways did indeed at one time spread across its surface. The "water" in many places in our Solar System is a poisoned brew mixed with ammonia or methane. Even that found on Jupiter's watery satellite Europa is believed similar to battery acid. Beyond the Galilean satellites may lie even more "alien oceans." Saturn's planet-sized moon Titan seems to be subject to methane or ethane rainfall. This creates methane pools that, in turn, become vast lakes and, perhaps, seasonal oceans. Titan has other seas in a sense, as large shifting areas of sand covering vast plains have been discovered. Mars also has these sand seas, and Venus may as well, along with oceans of frozen lava. Do super-chilled concoctions of ammonia, liquid nitrogen, and water percolate beneath the surfaces of Enceladus and Triton? For now we can only guess at the possibilities. 'Alien Seas' serves up part history, part current research, and part theory as it offers a rich buffet of "seas" on other worlds. It is organized by location and by the material of which various oceans consist, with guest authors penning specific chapters. Each chapter features new original art depicting alien seas, as well as the latest ground-based and spacecraft images. Original diagrams presents details of planetary oceans and related processes.

Much of what is known about the universe came from the study of celestial shadows. This book looks in detail at the way eclipses and other celestial shadows have given us amazing insights into the nature of the objects in our solar system and how they are even helping us discover and analyze planets that orbit stars other than our Sun. A variety of eclipses, transits, and occultations of the mooons of Jupiter and Saturn, Pluto and its satellite Charon, asteroids and stars have helped astronomers to work out their dimensions, structures, and shapes - even the existence of atmospheres and structures of exoplanets. Long before Columbus set out to reach the Far East by sailing West, the curved shadow of the Earth on the Moon during a lunar eclipse revealed that we inhabit a round world, a globe. More recently, comparisons of the sunlit and Earthlit parts of the Moon have been used to determine changes in the Earth's brightness as a way of monitoring possible effects in cloud coverage which may be related to global warming. Shadows were used by the Greek mathematician Eratosthenes to work out the first estimate of the circumference of the Earth, by Galileo to measure the heights of the lunar mountains and by eighteenth century astronomers to determine the scale of the Solar System itself. Some of the rarest and most wonderful shadows of all are those cast onto Earth by the lovely "Evening Star" Venus as it goes between the Earth and the Sun. These majestic transits of Venus occur at most two in a century; after the 2012 transit, there is not a chance to observe this phenomenon until 2117, while the more common sweep of a total solar eclipse creates one of the most dramatic and awe-inspiring events of nature. Though it may have once been a source of consternation or dread, solar eclipses now lead thousands of amateur astronomers and "eclipse-chasers" to travel the globe in order to experience the dramatic view under "totality." These phenomena are among the most spectacular available to observers and are given their full due in Westfall and Sheehan's comprehensive study.

The Mars Science Laboratory is the latest and most advanced NASA roving vehicle to explore the surface of Mars. The Curiosity rover has landed in Gale crater and will explore this region assessing conditions on the surface that might be hospitable to life and paving the way for later even more sophisticated exploration of the surface. This book describes the mission, its exploration and scientific objectives, studies leading to the design of the mission and the instruments that accomplish the objectives of the mission. This book is aimed at all those engaged in Martian studies as well as those interested in the origin of life in other environments. It will be a valuable reference for anyone who uses data from the Mars Science Laboratory. Previously published in Space Science Reviews journal, Vol. 170/1-4, 2012.

In The Earth as a Distant Planet, the authors become external observers of our solar system from a distance and try to determine how one can understand how Earth, the third in distance to the central star, is essentially unique and capable of sustaining life. The knowledge gained from this original perspective is then applied to the search for other planets outside the solar system, or exoplanets. Since the discovery in 1992 of the first exoplanet, the number of planet detections has increased exponentially and ambitious missions are already being planned for the future. The exploration of Earth and the rest of the rocky planets are Rosetta stones in classifying and understanding the multiplicity of planetary systems that exist in our galaxy. In time, statistics on the formation and evolution of exoplanets will be available and will provide vital information for solving some of the unanswered questions about the formation, as well as evolution of our own world and solar system. Special attention is paid to the biosignatures (signs of life) detectable in the Earth's reflected spectra and the search for life in the universe. The authors are experts on the subject of extrasolar planets. They provide an introductory but also very much up-to-date text, making this book suitable for researchers and for advanced students in astronomy and astrophysics.

Readers will find grouped together here the most recent observations, current theoretical models and present understanding of the coupled atmosphere, magnetosphere and solar wind system. The book begins with a general discussion of mass, energy and momentum transport in magnetodiscs. The physics of partially ionized plasmas of the giant planet magnetodiscs is of general interest throughout the field of space physics, heliophysics and astrophysical plasmas; therefore, understanding the basic physical processes associated with magnetodiscs has universal applications. The second chapter characterizes the solar wind interaction and auroral responses to solar wind driven dynamics. The third chapter describes the role of magnetic reconnection and the effects on plasma transport. Finally, the last chapter characterizes the spectral and spatial properties of auroral emissions, distinguishing between solar wind drivers and internal driving mechanisms. The in-depth reviews provide an excellent reference for future research in this discipline.

This book gives a detailed introduction to the thousands and thousands of smaller bodies in the solar system. Written for interested laymen, amateur astronomers and students it describes the nature and origin of asteroids, dwarf planets and comets, and gives detailed information about their role in the solar system. The author nicely reviews the history of small-world-exploration and describes past, current and future space craft missions studying small worlds, and presents their results. Readers will learn that small solar system worlds have a dramatically different nature and appearance than the planets. Even though research activity on small worlds has increased in the recent past many of their properties are still in the dark and need further research.

This book reviews the field of helioseismology and its outstanding challenges and also offers a detailed discussion of the latest computational methodologies. The focus is on the development and implementation of techniques to create 3-D images of convection and magnetism in the solar interior and to introduce the latest computational and theoretical methods to the interested reader. With the increasing availability of computational resources, demand for greater accuracy in the interpretation of helioseismic measurements and the advent of billion-dollar instruments taking high-quality observations, computational methods of helioseismology that enable probing the 3-D structure of the Sun have increasingly become central. This book will benefit students and researchers with proficiency in basic numerical methods, differential equations and linear algebra who are interested in helioseismology.

"The Hatfield Lunar Atlas" has become an amateur lunar observer's bible since it was first published in 1968. A major update of the atlas was made in 1998, using the same wonderful photographs that Commander Henry Hatfield made with his purpose-built 12-inch (300 mm) telescope, but bringing the lunar nomenclature up to date and changing the units from Imperial to S.I. metric This edition is important since the fact is that modern telescope optics, digital imaging equipment and computer enhancement can easily surpass what was achieved with Henry Hatfield's 12-inch telescope and a film camera. This limits the usefulness of the original atlas to visual observing or imaging rather small amateur telescopes. The new, digitally re-mastered edition vastly improves the clarity and definition of the original photographs - significantly beyond the resolution limits of the photographic grains present in earlier atlas versions - while preserving the layout and style of the original publications. This has been achieved by merging computer-visualized Earth-based views of the lunar surface, derived from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter data, with scanned copies of Commander Hatfield's photographic plates, using the author's own software. The results is a "The Hatfield Lunar Atlas" for 21st century amateur telescopes up to and beyond 12-inch aperture.

This book is devoted to the problems that occur when attempting to understand and construct a concise representation of the original conditions, composition and dynamics of the evolution of the Earth-Moon system in the form in which it is seen today. This volume will perhaps contribute to a better understanding of what is necessary to research the dynamics of the Solar system.

Analysis of the orbital motion of the Earth, the Moon and other planets and their satellites led to the discovery that all bodies in the Solar System are moving with the first cosmic velocity of their proto parents. The mean orbital velocity of each planet is equal to the first cosmic velocity of the Protosun, the radius of which is equal to the semi-major axis of the planet's orbit. The same applies for the planets' satellites. All the small planets, comets, other bodies and the Sun itself follow this law, a finding that has also been proven by astronomical observations. The theoretical solutions based on the Jacobi dynamics explain the process of the system creation and decay, as well as the nature of Kepler's laws.

Starting from Mars outward this concise handbook provides thorough information on the satellites of the planets in the solar system. Each chapter begins with a section on the discovery and the naming of the planet's satellites or rings. This is followed by a section presenting the historic sources of those names. The book contains tables with the orbital and physical parameters of all satellites and is illustrated throughout with modern photos of the planets and their moons as well as historical and mythological drawings. The Cyrillic transcriptions of the satellite names are provided in a register. Readers interested in the history of astronomy and its mythological backgrounds will enjoy this beautiful volume.

This book is one of two volumes meant to capture, to the extent practical, the sci- ti? c legacy of the Cassini-Huygens prime mission, a landmark in the history of pl- etary 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 ne w and deep understanding of the Saturn pl- etary system is the shiny nugget that is the spectacularly successful collaboration of individuals, organizations and governments in the achievement of Cassini-Huygens. In some ways the partnerships formed and lessons learned may be the most enduring legacy of Cassini-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.

In the last thirty years humans have probed the Universe, explored the Solar System and visited with spacecraft some of the most incredible places humans have ever laid eyes upon. We have expanded our knowledge slowly and surely, but still now only see a glimpse of the bigger picture. The Cosmic Keyhole explores the big discoveries of recent years and asks what's next? How prolific is life in the Universe? How far back to the Big Bang can we probe? And what hidden treasures still await us in the hidden corners of our Solar System?

The reality of sunlight-based sailing in space began in May 2010, and solar sail technology and science have continued to evolve rapidly through new space missions. Using the power of the Sun's light for regular travel propulsion will be the next major leap forward in our journey to other worlds. This book is the second edition of the fascinating explanation of solar sails, how they work and how they will be used in the exploration of space. Updated with 35% new material, this second edition includes three new chapters on missions operated by Japan and the US, as well as projects that are in progress. The remainder of the book describes the heritage of exploration in water-borne sailing ships and the evolution to space-vehicle propulsion; as well as nuclear, solar-electric, nuclear-electric and antimatter rocket devices. It also discusses various sail systems that may use either sunlight or solar wind, and the design, fabrication and steering challenges associated with solar sails. The first edition was met with overwhelmingly positive reviews, and deemed "a title that needs to be on your shelf if you're seriously interested in the next step as we move beyond rocketry" (Centauri Dreams, September 2008). Written with a mixed approach, this book appeals to both the general public as well as those with a more scientifically technical background.

The role of laboratory research and simulations in advancing our understanding of solar system ices (including satellites, KBOs, comets, and giant planets) is becoming increasingly important. Understanding ice surface radiation processing, particle and radiation penetration depths, surface and subsurface chemistry, morphology, phases, density, conductivity, etc., are only a few examples of the inventory of issues that are being addressed by Earth-based laboratory research. As a response to the growing need for cross-disciplinary dialog and communication in the Planetary Ices science community, this book aims to achieve direct dialog and foster focused collaborations among the observational, modeling, and laboratory research communities.