This book takes a reader on a tour of astronomical phenomena: from the vastness of the interstellar medium, to the formation and evolution of stars and planetary systems, through to white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes, the final objects of the stellar graveyard. At its heart, this book is a journey through the evolutionary history of the birth, life, and death of stars, but detours are also made to other related interesting topics. This highly accessible story of the observed contents of our Galaxy includes intuitive explanations, informative diagrams, and basic equations, as needed. It is an ideal guide for undergraduates with some physics and mathematics background who are studying astronomy and astrophysics. It is also accessible to interested laypeople, thanks to its limited equations. Key features: Includes coverage of some of the latest exciting research from the field, including star formation, exoplanets, and black holes Can be utilised as a stand-alone textbook for a one-term course or as a supplementary textbook for a more comprehensive course on astronomy and astrophysics Authored by a team respected for research, education, and outreach Shantanu Basu is an astrophysicist and a professor at The University of Western Ontario, Canada. He is known for research contributions on the formation of gravitationally-collapsed objects in the universe: stars, planets, brown dwarfs, and supermassive black holes. He is one of the originators of the migrating embryo scenario of episodic accretion onto young stars. He has been recognized for his teaching excellence and his contributions to the astronomical community include organizing many conferences and training schools. Pranav Sharma is an astronomer and science historian known for his work on the history of the Indian Space Program. He has curated the Space Museum at the B. M. Birla Science Centre (Hyderabad, India). He is in-charge of the history of Indo-French scientific partnership project supported by the Embassy of France in India. He is a national-award-winning science communicator and has extensively worked on the popularization of astronomy education in India.

Contains the latest developments and technologies from astronomical observatories and telescope facilities on the ground and in space Accompanied by a companion website with examples, tutorials, Python scripts and resources Authored by an observational astronomer with over thirty years of observing and teaching experience

This volume presents a selection of advanced case studies that address a substantial range of issues and challenges arising in space engineering. The contributing authors are well-recognized researchers and practitioners in space engineering and in applied optimization.

The key mathematical modeling and numerical solution aspects of each application case study are presented in sufficient detail. Classic and more recent space engineering problems including cargo accommodation and object placement, flight control of satellites, integrated design and trajectory optimization, interplanetary transfers with deep space manoeuvres, low energy transfers, magnetic cleanliness modeling, propulsion system design, sensor system placement, systems engineering, space traffic logistics, and trajectory optimization are discussed. Novel points of view related to computational global optimization and optimal control, and to multidisciplinary design optimization are also given proper emphasis. A particular attention is paid also to scenarios expected in the context of future interplanetary explorations.

"Modeling and Optimization in Space Engineering" will benefit researchers and practitioners working on space engineering applications. Academics, graduate and post-graduate students in the fields of aerospace and other engineering, applied mathematics, operations research and optimal control will also find the book useful, since it discusses a range of advanced model development and solution techniques and tools in the context of real-world applications and new challenges."

Dawn is the first mission to orbit a main belt asteroid and the first scientific mission to use ion propulsion. Major objectives of this mission include mapping of the surfaces of 4 Vesta and 1 Ceres, determining its topography from stereo measurements, determining its mineralogy, measuring its elemental composition and obtaining gravity data. This book describes the Dawn mission, its exploration and scientific objectives, the instruments that accomplish those objectives, the operations plan and the education and outreach plan. It is directed to those studying asteroids and the evolution of the solar system.
This volume will be a valuable reference for anyone who uses data from the instruments of the DAWN mission.
Previously published in Space Science Reviews, Vol. 163/1-4, 2012."

This book introduces the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), also known as the "The Sky Eye", one of the China's big science facilities. Using easy-to-understand language, the book covers the scientific background, construction process, achievements, and effects of FAST on the development of the national economy. With a large number of intuitive and vivid images and videos, the book presents basic information on FAST for general readers who are interested in astronomy.

* Most up-to-date overview of planetary science, generously illustrated * Accessible prose with a unique perspective by professional astronomers active in planetary science research with extensive teaching experience and expertise in history of astronomy and classical astronomy * Detailed appendices that supplement the text including past, current, and future space missions

* Most up-to-date overview of planetary science, generously illustrated * Accessible prose with a unique perspective by professional astronomers active in planetary science research with extensive teaching experience and expertise in history of astronomy and classical astronomy * Detailed appendices that supplement the text including past, current, and future space missions

This book presents theoretical explorations of several fundamental problems in the dynamics and control of flexible beam systems. By integrating fresh concepts and results to form a systematic approach to control, it establishes a basic theoretical framework. It includes typical control design examples verified using MATLAB simulation, which in turn illustrate the successful practical applications of active vibration control theory for flexible beam systems. The book is primarily intended for researchers and engineers in the control system and mechanical engineering community, offering them a unique resource.

This book presents recent results on the modelling of space plasmas with Kappa distributions and their interpretation. Hot and dilute space plasmas most often do not reach thermal equilibrium, their dynamics being essentially conditioned by the kinetic effects of plasma particles, i.e., electrons, protons, and heavier ions. Deviations from thermal equilibrium shown by these plasma particles are often described by Kappa distributions. Although well-known, these distributions are still controversial in achieving a statistical characterization and a physical interpretation of non-equilibrium plasmas. The results of the Kappa modelling presented here mark a significant progress with respect to all these aspects and open perspectives to understanding the high-resolution data collected by the new generation of telescopes and spacecraft missions. The book is directed to the large community of plasma astrophysics, including graduate students and specialists from associated disciplines, given the palette of the proposed topics reaching from applications to the solar atmosphere and the solar wind, via linear and quasilinear modelling of multi-species plasmas and waves within, to the fundamental physics of nonequilibrium plasmas.

The articles in this volume cover, for the first time, all aspects of planetary magnetism, from the observations made by space missions to their interpretation in terms of the properties of all the planets in the solar system. Studies of dynamo-generated magnetic fields in Mercury, the Earth, the giant planets, as well as in Ganymede, one of Jupiter's moons, are presented. Crustal magnetic field in Mars, the Mon and the Earth are described as well as magnetic fields induced in the solar system bodies. There are several articles dealing with dynamo theory and modelling and applications to the different planets.

The space between the stars contains a large diversity of objects in which physical processes occur that are fundamental to the structure and evolution of galaxies. This book offers the reader a basic knowledge of these processes and presents simple numeric estimates of the main quantities relevant to the interstellar medium. The main objects that constitute the interstellar space are described, but the emphasis of the book lies in the physical processes occurring in these objects, which may also occur in other astrophysical environments. The book is directed tor graduate as well as advanced undergraduate students of physics and astrophysics.

This book takes a reader on a tour of astronomical phenomena: from the vastness of the interstellar medium, to the formation and evolution of stars and planetary systems, through to white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes, the final objects of the stellar graveyard. At its heart, this book is a journey through the evolutionary history of the birth, life, and death of stars, but detours are also made to other related interesting topics. This highly accessible story of the observed contents of our Galaxy includes intuitive explanations, informative diagrams, and basic equations, as needed. It is an ideal guide for undergraduates with some physics and mathematics background who are studying astronomy and astrophysics. It is also accessible to interested laypeople, thanks to its limited equations. Key features: Includes coverage of some of the latest exciting research from the field, including star formation, exoplanets, and black holes Can be utilised as a stand-alone textbook for a one-term course or as a supplementary textbook for a more comprehensive course on astronomy and astrophysics Authored by a team respected for research, education, and outreach Shantanu Basu is an astrophysicist and a professor at The University of Western Ontario, Canada. He is known for research contributions on the formation of gravitationally-collapsed objects in the universe: stars, planets, brown dwarfs, and supermassive black holes. He is one of the originators of the migrating embryo scenario of episodic accretion onto young stars. He has been recognized for his teaching excellence and his contributions to the astronomical community include organizing many conferences and training schools. Pranav Sharma is an astronomer and science historian known for his work on the history of the Indian Space Program. He has curated the Space Museum at the B. M. Birla Science Centre (Hyderabad, India). He is in-charge of the history of Indo-French scientific partnership project supported by the Embassy of France in India. He is a national-award-winning science communicator and has extensively worked on the popularization of astronomy education in India.

Unifying the Universe: The Physics of Heaven and Earth presents a non-technical approach to physics for the lay-science enthusiast. This popular textbook, which evolved from a conceptual course at Cornell University, is intended for non-science undergraduate students taking their first physics module. This second edition maintains its unique approach in crossing boundaries between physics and humanities, with connections to art, poetry, history, and philosophy. It explores how the process of scientific thought is inextricably linked with cultural, creative, and aesthetic aspects of human endeavor, opening the readers up to new ways of looking at the world. The text has been fully updated throughout to address current and exciting new topics in the field, such as exo-planets, the accelerating Universe, dark matter, dark energy, gravitational waves, super-symmetry, string theory, big bang cosmology, and the Higgs boson. There is also an entirely new chapter on the Quantum World, which connects the fascinating topics of quantum entanglement and quantum computing. Key Features: Provides a solid, yet accessible, background to basic physics without complex mathematics Uses a human interest approach to show how science is significant for more than its technological consequences Discusses the arts and philosophies of historical periods that are pertinent to the subject

This set of lectures collects surveys of open problems in celestial dynamics and dynamical astronomy applied to solar, extra-solar and galactic systems. The discovery and thus the possibility to study many new extra-solar planetary systems have spurred new developments in the field and enabled the testing and enlargement of the domains of validity of theoretical predictions through the Nekhoroshev theorem.

This book provides the latest scientific understanding of the Sun, sharing insights gleaned from the international solar physics project Hinode. The authors (who are the main project contributors) review, from the various viewpoints, the discoveries and advances made by the on-orbit operations of the Hinode spacecraft in its first decade. Further, they present a wealth of scientifically important photographs and data from Hinode. Launched in September 2006, Hinode is the third Japanese solar observatory on orbit, and employs three highly advanced telescopes jointly developed and operated with international partners. The book describes the background of these research topics, how the Hinode telescopes have tackled various challenges, and the scientific achievements and impacts in the first 10 years. Furthermore, it explores future perspective of researches in Japan. The book will benefit undergraduate students interested in recent advance in the solar research, as well as graduate students and researchers working in solar physics, the space sciences, astronomy, and plasma physics.

The book analyzes the various legal and political concepts to resolve the problem of the existing space debris in outer space and which measures have been taken to avoid space debris or to reduce potential space debris in the course of future space missions. From a scientific and technical point of view various studies are ongoing to analyze the feasibility of active debris removal. Nevertheless it has to be highlighted that outer space is an international area where various actors with different legal and political concepts are operating, a situation that leads to different approaches concerning such activities.

Praise for the first edition: "A terrific blend of the science and the history." Martha Haynes, Goldwin Smith Professor of Astronomy, Cornell University, New York, USA "The book is a treat... Highly recommended for public and academic libraries." Peter Hepburn, now Head Librarian, College of the Canyons, Santa Clarita, California, USA Today, we recognize that we live on a planet circling the sun, that our sun is just one of billions of stars in the galaxy we call the Milky Way, and that our galaxy is but one of billions born out of the Big Bang. Yet, as recently as the early twentieth century, the general public and even astronomers had vague and confused notions about what lay beyond the visible stars. Can we see to the edge of the universe? Do we live in a system that would look, from a distance, like a spiral nebula? This fully updated second edition of Minding the Heavens: The Story of Our Discovery of the Milky Way explores how we learned that we live in a galaxy, in a universe composed of galaxies and unseen, mysterious dark matter. The story unfolds through short biographies of seven astronomers: Thomas Wright, William Herschel, and Wilhelm Struve of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; the transitional figure of William Huggins; and Jacobus Kapteyn, Harlow Shapley, and Edwin Hubble of the modern, big-telescope era. Each contributed key insights to our present understanding of where we live in the cosmos, and each was directly inspired by the work of his predecessors to decipher "the construction of the heavens." Along the way, the narrative weaves in the contributions of those in supportive roles, including Caroline Herschel-William's sister, and the first woman paid to do astronomy-and Martha Shapley, a mathematician in her own right who carried out calculations for her spouse. Through this historical perspective, readers will gain a new appreciation of our magnificent Milky Way galaxy and of the beauties of the night sky, from ghostly nebulae to sparkling star clusters. Features: Fully updated throughout to reflect the latest in our understanding of the Milky Way, from our central supermassive black hole to the prospect of future mergers with other galaxies in our Local Group. Explains the significance of current research, including from the Gaia mission mapping our galaxy in unprecedented detail. Unique and broadly appealing approach. A biographical framework and ample illustrations lead the reader by easy, enjoyable steps to a well-rounded understanding of the history of astronomy. Leila Belkora (Ph.D., Astrophysics) is a science writer. She earned her doctorate from the University of Colorado-Boulder, specializing in solar radio astronomy. She has previously taught university physics, astronomy, and communication for engineers. She lives in Southern California and enjoys local astronomy outreach activities.

Praise for the first edition: "A terrific blend of the science and the history." Martha Haynes, Goldwin Smith Professor of Astronomy, Cornell University, New York, USA "The book is a treat... Highly recommended for public and academic libraries." Peter Hepburn, now Head Librarian, College of the Canyons, Santa Clarita, California, USA Today, we recognize that we live on a planet circling the sun, that our sun is just one of billions of stars in the galaxy we call the Milky Way, and that our galaxy is but one of billions born out of the Big Bang. Yet, as recently as the early twentieth century, the general public and even astronomers had vague and confused notions about what lay beyond the visible stars. Can we see to the edge of the universe? Do we live in a system that would look, from a distance, like a spiral nebula? This fully updated second edition of Minding the Heavens: The Story of Our Discovery of the Milky Way explores how we learned that we live in a galaxy, in a universe composed of galaxies and unseen, mysterious dark matter. The story unfolds through short biographies of seven astronomers: Thomas Wright, William Herschel, and Wilhelm Struve of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; the transitional figure of William Huggins; and Jacobus Kapteyn, Harlow Shapley, and Edwin Hubble of the modern, big-telescope era. Each contributed key insights to our present understanding of where we live in the cosmos, and each was directly inspired by the work of his predecessors to decipher "the construction of the heavens." Along the way, the narrative weaves in the contributions of those in supportive roles, including Caroline Herschel-William's sister, and the first woman paid to do astronomy-and Martha Shapley, a mathematician in her own right who carried out calculations for her spouse. Through this historical perspective, readers will gain a new appreciation of our magnificent Milky Way galaxy and of the beauties of the night sky, from ghostly nebulae to sparkling star clusters. Features: Fully updated throughout to reflect the latest in our understanding of the Milky Way, from our central supermassive black hole to the prospect of future mergers with other galaxies in our Local Group. Explains the significance of current research, including from the Gaia mission mapping our galaxy in unprecedented detail. Unique and broadly appealing approach. A biographical framework and ample illustrations lead the reader by easy, enjoyable steps to a well-rounded understanding of the history of astronomy. Leila Belkora (Ph.D., Astrophysics) is a science writer. She earned her doctorate from the University of Colorado-Boulder, specializing in solar radio astronomy. She has previously taught university physics, astronomy, and communication for engineers. She lives in Southern California and enjoys local astronomy outreach activities.

This open access book provides a comprehensive toolbox of analysis techniques for ionospheric multi-satellite missions. The immediate need for this volume was motivated by the ongoing ESA Swarm satellite mission, but the tools that are described are general and can be used for any future ionospheric multi-satellite mission with comparable instrumentation. In addition to researching the immediate plasma environment and its coupling to other regions, such a mission aims to study the Earth's main magnetic field and its anomalies caused by core, mantle, or crustal sources. The parameters for carrying out this kind of work are examined in these chapters. Besides currents, electric fields, and plasma convection, these parameters include ionospheric conductance, Joule heating, neutral gas densities, and neutral winds.

Former NASA Astronaut Harrison Schmitt advocates a private, investor-based approach to returning humans to the Moon-to extract Helium 3 for energy production, to use the Moon as a platform for science and manufacturing, and to establish permanent human colonies there in a kind of stepping stone community on the way to deeper space. With governments playing a supporting role-just as they have in the development of modern commercial aeronautics and agricultural production-Schmitt believes that a fundamentally private enterprise is the only type of organization capable of sustaining such an effort and, eventually, even making it pay off.

This book is primarily concerned with the computational aspects of predictability of dynamical systems - in particular those where observations, modeling and computation are strongly interdependent. Unlike with physical systems under control in laboratories, in astronomy it is uncommon to have the possibility of altering the key parameters of the studied objects. Therefore, the numerical simulations offer an essential tool for analysing these systems, and their reliability is of ever-increasing interest and importance. In this interdisciplinary scenario, the underlying physics provide the simulated models, nonlinear dynamics provides their chaoticity and instability properties, and the computer sciences provide the actual numerical implementation. This book introduces and explores precisely this link between the models and their predictability characterization based on concepts derived from the field of nonlinear dynamics, with a focus on the strong sensitivity to initial conditions and the use of Lyapunov exponents to characterize this sensitivity. This method is illustrated using several well-known continuous dynamical systems, such as the Contopoulos, Henon-Heiles and Roessler systems. This second edition revises and significantly enlarges the material of the first edition by providing new entry points for discussing new predictability issues on a variety of areas such as machine decision-making, partial differential equations or the analysis of attractors and basins. Finally, the parts of the book devoted to the application of these ideas to astronomy have been greatly enlarged, by first presenting some basics aspects of predictability in astronomy and then by expanding these ideas to a detailed analysis of a galactic potential.

Y. Fujimori, Symposium Programme Committee Chair, and Faculty Member, International Space University e-mail: [email protected] M.Rycroft, Faculty Member, International Space University e-mail: [email protected] N. Crosby, International Space University e-mail: [email protected] For the sixth annual ISU Symposium the theme was "Smaller Satellites: Bigger Business? Concepts, Applications and Markets for Micro/Nanosatellites in a New Information World." Thus, the Symposium addressed the crucial question: are small satellites the saviour of space programmes around the world It did this from the unique perspective of the International Space today? University - the interdisciplinary, international and intercultural perspective. This Symposium brought together a variety of people working on small satellites - engineers, scientists, planners, providers, operators, policy makers and business executives, together with representatives from regulatory bodies, from national and international organizations, and from the finance sector, and also entrepreneurs. Discussion and debate were encouraged, based on the papers presented and those published here.

This book is the first comprehensive source for the Space Politics and Policies of the United States Civil, Military, Intelligence, and Commercial Space Programs.

Space Politics and Policy: An Evolutionary Perspective provides a comprehensive survey of Space Policy. This book is organized around two themes. Space Policy is evolutionary in that it has responded to dramatic political events, such as the launching of Sputnik and the Cold War, and has undergone dynamic and evolutionary policy changes over the course of the space age. Space Policy is an integral part of and interacts with public policy processes in the United States and abroad.

The book analyzes Space Policy at several levels including historical context, political actors and institutions, political processes and policy outcomes. It examines the symbiotic relationships between policy, technology, and science; provides a review and synthesis of the existing body of knowledge in Space Policy; and identifies Space Policy trends and developments from the beginnings of the space age through the current era of the twenty-first century.

The book is intended for those interested in Space Policy, especially Space Policy decision-makers, program and project managers, as well as students and lecturers of Space Policy.

This book describes the status quo of space science in China, details the scientific questions to be addressed by the Chinese space science community in 2016-2030, and proposes key strategic goals, space science programs and missions, the roadmap and implementation approaches. Further, it explores the supporting technologies needed and provides an outlook of space science beyond the year 2030. "Taikong" means "outer space" in Chinese, and space science is one of the most important areas China plans to develop in the near future. This book is authored by Ji Wu, a leader of China's space science program, together with National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, a leading institute responsible for planning and managing most of China's space science missions. It also embodies the viewpoints shared by many space scientists and experts on future space science development. Through this book, general readers and researchers alike will gain essential insights into the current developments and future prospects of space science in China. Government decision-makers will also find the book a useful reference for strategies and planning in the field of space science.