How do we know that the earth travels around the sun, the universe is billions of years old, and stars are trillions of miles away? The author tells the story of the people and ideas that have brought us such knowledge of our planet and the universe, giving realistic portraits of astronomers like Tycho, Kepler, Galileo, Herschel and Hubble. Beginning in 1572 with Tycho's discovery that the heavens can change and ending with the Big Bang of the 20th century, this is an account of the quest to discover the universe.

Comet begins with a breathtaking journey through space astride a comet. Pulitzer Prize-winning astronomer Carl Sagan, author of Cosmos and Contact, and writer Ann Druyan explore the origin, nature, and future of comets, and the exotic myths and portents attached to them. The authors show how comets have spurred some of the great discoveries in the history of science and raise intriguing questions about these brilliant visitors from the interstellar dark.

From blue moons to Betelgeuse, it's all in this witty, fact-packed, profusely illustrated guide to the heavens by the author of Discover magazine's popular "Night Watchman" column.

"Let the meek inherit the earth—the rest of us are going to the stars! Here's how it's going to be done." — Robert Zubrin

"These articles are not 'just science fiction.' They are things we can do—and with any luck at all, and vision and determination, we will." — Stanley Schmidt

Take off on a thrilling journey of space exploration and speculation—to the realm where science fiction becomes science fact—as leading writers, researchers, and astronautic engineers describe a not-too-distant future of interstellar travel and colonization. From cable cars that ride "skyhooks" into space to rockets that can refuel out of Martian air, from "terraforming" planets (a process that makes them habitable for human life) to faster-than-light propulsion systems, Islands in the Sky offers an astonishing collection of challenging—and plausible—ideas and proposals from the pages of Analog magazine. Brilliant and provocative, here is fun-filled reading for everyone interested in science, technology, and the future.

Deke Slayton was one of the first seven Mercury astronauts--and he might have been the first American in space. Instead, he became the first chief of American Astronaut Corps. It was Deke Slayton who selected the crews who flew the Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab missions. It was Deke Slayton who made Neil Armstrong the first man on the moon.

Deke! is Deke Slayton's' story--told in his own words and in the voices of the men and women who worked with him and knew him best. Deke Slayton's knowledge of how the .S. manned space program worked is the missing piece of every space buff's puzzle. Now, after decades of silence, he tells his priceless stories of those years when American was engaged in the greatest voyage of exploration in human history.

Almost a half-century after is completion, the 200-inch Palomar telescope remains an unparalleled combination of vast scale and microscope detail. As huge as the Pantheon of Rome and as heavy as the Statue of Liberty, this magnificent instrument is so precisely built that its seventeen-foot mirror was hand-polished to a tolerance of 2/1,000,000 of an inch. The telescope's construction drove some to the brink of madness, made others fearful that mortals might glimpse heaven, and transfixed an entire nation. Ronald Florence weaves into his account of the creation of "the perfect machine" a stirring chronicle of the birth of Big Science and a poignant rendering of an America mired in the depression yet reaching for the stars.

In this entrancing account, space traveler Michael Collins recalls his early days as an Air Force test pilot, his astronaut training at NASA, and his unparalleled experiences in orbit, including the Apollo 11 mission, the first manned lunar landing. The final chapter to his autobiography, revised and updated for this edition, is an exciting and convincing argument in favor of mankind's continued exploration of our universe. "Several astronauts have written about their experiences, but none so well as Michael Collins...This is just the book to give the child whose parents made Yeager and The Right Stuff best sellers."-The Washington Post Book World

Are we alone in the universe, or are there other life forms 'out there'? This is one of the most scientifically and philosophically important questions that humanity can ask. Now, in the early 2020s, we are tantalizingly close to an answer. As this book shows, the answer will almost certainly be that life forms are to be found across the Milky Way and beyond. They will be thinly spread, to be sure. Yet the number of inhabited planets probably runs into the trillions. Some are close enough for us to detect evidence of life by analysing their atmospheres. This evidence may be found within a couple of decades. Its arrival will be momentous. But even before it arrives we can anticipate what life elsewhere will be like by examining the ecology and evolution of life on Earth. This book considers the current state of play in relation to these titanic issues.

A compelling, highly personal account of both the excitement of discovery and the frustration of dealing with misguided policies. Murray remains an optimist, proposing productive initiatives for the American space program that should be must reading for those shaping U.S. space policy. John M. Logsdon, director, Space Policy Institute"

Eade has checked the dates of more than 250 inscriptions from Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos. He reproduces old calendrists' calculations for each year from AD 638 to 2000. The introduction provides an outline of the calendrical system and an explanation of its technical aspects.

Willy Ley inspired young rocket scientists and would-be astronauts around the world to imagine a future of interplanetary travel long before space shuttles existed. This is the first biography of the science writer and rocketeer who predicted and boosted the rise of the Space Age. Born in Germany, Ley became involved in amateur rocketry until the field was taken over by the Nazis. He fled to America, where he forged a new life as a weapons expert and journalist during World War II and as a rocket researcher after the war. As America's foremost authority on rockets, missiles, and space travel, he authored books and scientific articles, while also regularly writing for science fiction pulp magazines and publishing what he termed romantic zoology--a blend of zoology, cryptozoology, history, and mythology. He even consulted for television's Tom Corbett, Space Cadet and the Disney program Man in Space, thrilling audiences with a romanticized view of what spaceflight would be like. Yet as astronauts took center stage and scientific intellectuals such as Wernher von Braun became influential during the space race, Ley lost his celebrity status. With an old-fashioned style of popular writing and eccentric perspectives influenced by romanticism and science fiction, he was ignored by younger historians. This book returns Willy Ley to his rightful place as the energizer of an era--a time when scientists and science popularizers mixed ranks and shared the spotlight so that our far-fetched, fantastic dreams could turn into the reality of tomorrow.

From the age of ten, looking up at the stars, Jerry Ross knew that he wanted to journey into space. This autobiography tells the story of how he came not only to achieve that goal, but to become the most-launched astronaut in history, as well as a NASA veteran whose career spanned the entire US Space Shuttle program. From his childhood in rural Indiana, through education at Purdue University, and a career in the US Air Force, Ross charted a path to NASA after overcoming many setbacks-from failing to qualify for Air Force pilot training because of "bad" eyesight, to an initial failure to be selected into the astronaut program. The majority of the book is an insider's account of the US Space Shuttle program, including the unforgettable experience of launch, the delights of weightless living, and the challenges of constructing the International Space Station. Ross is a uniquely qualified narrator. During seven spaceflights, he spent 1,393 hours in space, including 58 hours and 18 minutes on nine space walks. Life on the ground is also described, including the devastating experiences of the Challenger and Columbia disasters. For readers who have followed the space program from Mercury through the International Space Station and wonder what comes next, this book provides fascination; for young people interested in space exploration and reaching for their dreams, whatever they might be, this book provides inspiration. Full of stories of spaceflight that few humans have ever experienced, told with humor and honesty, Spacewalker presents a unique perspective on the hard work, determination, and faith necessary to travel beyond this world. Key Points: An insider's account of the US Space Shuttle program, from before its first launch through the final landing, and the building of the International Space Station. A firsthand account of life in space from the first human to fly seven missions. An inspirational story of a personal journey from rural Indiana to outer space, powered by a deep Christian faith.

By day, every year over 40,000 visitors pour in. Across the Rio Grande, a hundred miles away, Mexican mountaineers use the white domes as landmarks. By night, perched almost 7,000 feet above the sleeping, earthbound world, astronomers probe the secrets of the night sky. This is the University of Texas McDonald Observatory, one of the world's largest university-operated astronomical installations.

Big and Bright: A History of the McDonald Observatory is the story of a remarkable collaboration between two major universities, one a prestigious private school, the other a growing southwestern state institution. The University of Chicago had astronomers, but its Yerkes Observatory was aging and underfunded; the University of Texas had money for an observatory but no working astronomer to staff it. Out of their mutual need, they formed a thirty-year compact for a joint venture. Unusual in its day, the Yerkes-McDonald connection presaged the future. In this arrangement, one can see some of the beginnings of today's consortium "big science."

Now the McDonald Observatory's early history can be put in proper perspective. Blessed with a gifted and driving founding director, the world's (then) second-largest telescope, and an isolation that permitted it to be virtually the only major astronomical observatory that continued operations throughout World War II, the staff of McDonald Observatory helped lay the foundations of modern astrophysics during the 1940s. For over a decade after the war, a lonely mountaintop in West Texas was the mecca that drew nearly all the most important astronomers from all over the world.

Based on personal reminiscences and archival material, as well as published historical sources, Big and Bright is one of the few histories of a major observatory, unique in its focus on the human side of the story.

An inspiration to amateur and professional astronomers alike, the Yearbook of Astronomy warrants a place on the bookshelf of all sky watchers and stargazers. Maintaining its appealing style and presentation, the Yearbook of Astronomy 2019 contains an authoritative set of sky charts and comprehensive jargon-free monthly sky notes to enable backyard astronomers everywhere to plan their viewing of the year's eclipses, comets, meteor showers and deep sky objects. In addition, a variety of entertaining and informative articles present the reader with information on a wide range of topics including, among others, The Cassini-Huygens Mission to the Saturn System; 100 Years of the International Astronomical Union; The First Micro-Quasar; Getting the Measure of Double Stars; Asaph Hall: Man of Mars; and Science Fiction and the Future of Astronomy. The Yearbook of Astronomy has been around for well over half a century and, as it heads towards its Diamond Jubilee edition in 2022, continues to be essential reading for anyone lured by the magic of astronomy and who wants to extend their knowledge of the Universe and the wonders it plays host to.

Mailer's superb account, written as it was happening, of the first attempt to land men on the moon 'Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.' A Fire on the Moon tells the scarcely credible story of the Apollo 11 mission. It is suffused with Mailer's obsession both with the astronauts themselves and with his own anxieties and terrors about the extremity of what they were trying to achieve. Mailer is both admiring and appalled and the result is a book which is both a gripping narrative and a brilliant depiction of the now-forgotten technical issues and uncertainties around the mission. A Fire on the Moon is also a matchless portrait of an America caught in a morass of introspection and misery, torn apart by the war in Vietnam. But for one, extraordinary week in the summer of 1969 all eyes were on the fates of three men in a rocket, travelling a quarter of a million miles away from Earth. With an introduction by Geoff Dyer.

Written by an active researcher in the field, Galaxy: Mapping the Cosmos tells the rich scientific story of galaxy evolution and observation - discoveries of `spiral nebulae', the nature of galaxies and the current `World Model'. Astronomer James Geach takes us on a tour of what is currently known and unknown, discussing why the ancient science of astronomy continues to fascinate humanity. Appealing to all readers interested in astronomy and cosmology, and featuring 108 superb colour photographs, Galaxy explores the enigma of our cosmic habitat, chronicling how our home in the Universe came to be.

Ist Gott, wie ihn der christliche Glaube bekennt, vereinbar mit dem naturwissenschaftlichen Weltbild? Physiker sind sich weitgehend darin einig, dass ihre auf Experimenten in der Energie-Materie-Welt beruhende Wissenschaft in Sachen Religion nichts widerlegen oder beweisen kann. Und dennoch wird die Frage weiterhin viel diskutiert. Reiner Kummel, Professor der theoretischen Physik, beschreibt in diesem Buch das Naturverstandnis der modernen Physik, das von Relativitatstheorie und Quantenmechanik gepragt wird. Demgemass ist die Zeit die vierte Dimension der Welt. Zusammen mit den drei raumlichen Dimensionen ist sie im Urknall aus Energie entstanden. Ihr Fliessen macht sich durch die Produktion von Entropie, sprich Unordnung, bemerkbar, die unsere Gesellschaft in Krise und Umbruch treibt. Beobachtete naturliche Ereignisse und Strukturen zeigen uns eine Welt, in der Gegegensatze zusammenfallen. Der Autor weist darauf hin, dass diese "Coincidentia Oppositorum" auch Gott eignet. Sie fuhrt zur "Creatio Continua", in der Gott, uberzeitlich und jederzeit, die gesamte Schoepfung von ihrem Anfang bis zum Ende schafft und sieht. Das Buch versucht eine Darstellung des Sehens in die Zeit, an dem vielleicht auch wir einst teilhaben durfen. Es wendet sich an alle, die sich fragen, woher wir kommen und wohin wir gehen und eroeffnet eine Sicht auf Gott und die Welt, in der Glaube und Naturwissenschaft gut zusammen passen.

What happens when a star dies? How many asteroids are in our solar system? Can galaxies collide? What is dark energy? Astronomy in Minutes answers all these questions and more as it condenses 200 key concepts into easily digestible essays. From Trojan asteroids to stellar black holes, and from superclusters to cosmic microwave background, this book will take you on an essential tour around the universe. Beginning with the specks and constellations that we see in the night sky, and then zooming in on the objects and 'matter' beyond the naked eye, Astronomy in Minutes draws on established theories and recent research. Each essay is accompanied by an image or a clear diagram to help unravel complex ideas. Beginning with the constellations and finishing with the latest cosmological theories, this is the perfect reference guide to this fascinating subject. Contents include: The celestial sphere, Piscis Austrinus, the Earth-Moon system, Io and Ganymede, Kuiper Belt Objects, Measuring stellar properties, Nuclear fusion, Red and orange dwarfs, Open star clusters, Planetary nebulae, Supernova remnants, Cosmic expansion, Quasars and blazars, Nature of spacetime, Nucleosynthesis and the Anthropic Principle.

Ambassadors from Earth reminds us that our first mad scrambles to reach orbit, the moon, and the planets were littered with enough histrionics and cliff-hanging turmoil to rival the most far-out sci-fi film. But it all really happened! Drawing on original interviews with key players and bolstered by previously unpublished photographs, journal excerpts, and primary source documents, Jay Gallentine delivers a quirky and unforgettable look at the lives and legacy of the people who conceived, built, and guided our first unmanned spacecraft and planetary probes. From the Sputnik and Explorer satellites of the late 1950s, to the thrilling Voyager "Grand Tour" of the '70s and '80s, they yielded some of the most celebrated successes and spectacular failures of the space age. Confessed one participant, "We were making it up as we went along." Gallentine fearlessly clambers to the bottom of a surprisingly bitter controversy over who first developed the technique of using gravity to steer a spacecraft. Also of special note are his candid discussions with James Van Allen, the discoverer of the rings of planetary radiation that now bear his name.

In a world divided by the ideological struggles of the Cold War, the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement, more than one-fifth of the people on the planet paused to watch the live transmission of the Apollo 11 mission. To watch as humanity took a giant leap forward. A companion book to the landmark documentary series on BBC TV. The journey from Cape Canaveral to the Moon was a tremendous achievement of human courage and ingenuity. It was also a long, deadly march, haunted by the possibility of catastrophic failure on the world's stage. In an era when the most advanced portable computer weighed 70 pounds, had a 36-kilobite memory and operated on less power than a 60-watt lightbulb, the sheer audacity of the goal is breath-taking. But the triumph of imagination and the unity of the Earth that day would change the world. Based on eyewitness accounts and newly discovered archival material, Chasing the Moon reveals the unknown stories of the individuals who made the Moon landing a possibility, from inspirational science fiction writer Arthur C. Clark and controversial engineer Wernher von Braun, to pioneers like mathematician Poppy Northcutt and astronaut Edward Dwight. It vividly revisits the dawn of the Space Age, a heady time of scientific innovation, political calculation, media spectacle, visionary impulses and personal drama.

Ci sono 365 notti in un anno (366 se bisestile) e per l astrofilo non ce ne sono mai due uguali. Il cielo ogni notte propone un suo show che ha per protagonisti migliaia di oggetti come stelle, costellazioni, pianeti, nebulose, da riconoscere uno ad uno, da ammirare e studiare.

Sir Patrick Moore celeberrimo conduttore televisivo inglese, astrofilo e divulgatore noto in tutto il mondo ha scritto questo libro per suggerire all amante del cielo quali oggetti di particolare interesse possono essere osservati in ciascuna diversa notte dell anno. Vengono proposte mappe stellari di facile interpretazione, mentre il testo tratta di fisica, delle stelle e della loro storia, di sistemi binari, galassie, della Luna e dei pianeti: di tutto cio che la volta celeste offre all astrofilo curioso.

Cosa hanno detto della prima edizione:

" ben scritto e pieno di entusiasmo." New Scientist

"Patrick Moore si e ripetuto. Che libro eccellente e questo." Astronomy and Space"

The planets fascinate us, and naturally we care about our own Earth, and things like how well we can forecast the weather and whether climate is really changing. Exploring the Planets offers a personal account on how the space programme evolved. It begins in the era of the first blurry views of our Earth as seen from space, and ends with current plans for sophisticated robots on places as near as our neighbours Venus and Mars and as far away as the rainy lakelands of Saturn's planet-sized moon Titan. Examining the scientific goals of these complex voyages of discovery, and the joys and hardships of working to achieve them. The Space Age is now about 50 years old and for those lucky enough to be part of it at its inception, it's filled a worklong lifetime. Today, several satellites around the Earth have studied the atmosphere and the climate using instruments on board that the author helped design and build. 'Deep space' missions were embarked upon to visit the planets: all of the major bodies (six planets, the Moon and minor bodies, asteroids and comets) of the classical Solar System have been scrutinised close-up by experiments built in various laboratories worldwide. Most of the narrative is based on the author's experiences at the world's space agencies, research labs, and conferences, and at other places as diverse as Cape Canaveral and No. 10 Downing Street.

'Fascinating new book examines the history of Nasa's Apollo space missions' Daily Mail _______ Eight key lessons to revolutionise your life with the mindset that got man to the moon. 20th July 1969: Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to walk on the Moon. We all recognize this to be one of mankind's greatest achievements. Yet what did it take to make John F. Kennedy's dream a reality? In this remarkable book, Professor Richard Wiseman presents a pioneering study of the mindset that took humanity to the Moon, and shows how you can harness and use it to achieve the extraordinary in your everyday life. Combining personal interviews, mission archives and cutting-edge psychology, Wiseman embarks on the ultimate voyage through inner space. Along the way he identifies eight key principles that make up the Apollo Mindset, including how pessimism is crucial to success, and how fear and tragedy can be transformed into hope and optimism. You will discover a series of practical techniques that you can use to incorporate these winning principles into both your professional and personal life. Whether you want to start a business venture, change careers, find your perfect partner, raise a loving family, get promoted, gain a new qualification, escape the rat race, or pursue a lifelong passion, these techniques will help you to reach your own Moon.

The last of the five naked-eye planets discovered in ancient times, Mercury has long been an elusive, enigmatic world. As seen from the Earth, it never emerges far from the Sun, and astronomers in the telescopic era found it challenging to work out such basic data as its rotation period, the inclination of its axis, and whether or not it possessed an atmosphere. In this up-to-date and beautifully illustrated volume, William Sheehan brings our understanding of the planet into clear focus. He deftly traces the history from the earliest observations right up to the most recent explorations using radar and spacecraft. The planet has been surveyed in great detail, revealing vast volcanic plains, water-ice deposits in craters near the poles, and a remarkable core having the highest iron content of any body of the Solar System. A fascinating world in its own right, Mercury also holds important clues for scientists attempting to better understand the origin and evolution of the Earth.

PixInsight has taken the astro-imaging world by storm. As the first comprehensive postprocessing platform to be created by astro-imagers for astro-imagers, it has for many replaced other generic graphics editors as the software of choice. PixInsight has been embraced by professionals such as the James Webb (and Hubble) Space Telescope's science imager Joseph DePasquale and Calar Alto's Vicent Peris, as well as thousands of amateurs around the world. While PixInsight is extremely powerful, very little has been printed on the subject. The first edition of this book broke that mold, offering a comprehensive look into the software's capabilities. This second edition expands on the several new processes added to the PixInsight platform since that time, detailing and demonstrating each one with a now-expanded workflow. Addressing topics such as PhotometricColorCalibration, Large-Scale Pixel Rejection, LocalNormalization and a host of other functions, this text remains the authoritative guide to PixInsight.