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Books > Science & Mathematics > Astronomy, space & time > Space travel & exploration
Considering the development of life on Earth, the existence of life in extreme environments and the potential for life elsewhere in the Universe, this book gives a fascinating insight into our place in the Universe. Chris Impey leads the reader through the history, from the Copernican revolution to the emergence of the field of astrobiology - the study of life in the cosmos. He examines how life on Earth began, exploring its incredible variety and the extreme environments in which it can survive. Finally, Impey turns his attention to our Solar System and the planets beyond, discussing whether there may be life elsewhere in the Universe. Written in non-technical language, this book is ideal for anyone wanting to know more about astrobiology and how it is changing our views of life and the Universe. An accompanying website available at www.cambridge.org/9780521173841 features podcasts, articles and news stories on astrobiology.
Federal patronage of science was never contemplated by the framers of the Constitution, but they did seek to "promote the Progress of Science and useful Art" by granting inventors patent rights. However, direct subvention to scientists and scientific organizations was not considered appropriate activity of the central government. In the 19th Century, American science was funded almost entirely through private investors. Since WWII, however, the federal government has become the primary patron of American science. From the race-to-space in the 1950s to current furor over global warming, Bennett traces the subtle and not-so-subtle ways in which government has co-opted scientific research and reinforced a culture in which challengers to proscribed wisdom are frozen out. Citing original documents and media reports, Bennett offers a compelling, entertaining, and thought-provoking perspective on political influence on scientific research and its implications for a democratic society. "During the Nineteenth Century, almost entirely on private funding, American science grew from practically nothing to world class. Now, however, over fifty percent of American science is funded by the federal government. Dr. Bennett traces the path, "crisis" after "crisis," by which American science became practically an arm of the federal government. His tale is a cautionary one, warning against future "crisis mongers" who would extend the government's already majority control of American science even further. His warning is a timely one, and it should be heeded." Joseph P. Martino, author of Science Funding: Politics and Porkbarrel "Bennett's latest book offers a challenging interpretation of the rise of the American federal science establishment since World War II. Focusing primarily on the growth of the space program, Bennett argues that crisis, real or imagined, is the source of state power and state funding for science. The Doomsday Lobby offers what no doubt will be viewed as a controversial contribution to the history of American science policy, and more broadly to an understanding of the role of the state in society." James D. Savage, Professor of Politics, University of Virginia, and author of Funding Science in America
Orbiting at the edge of the outer Solar System, Pluto is an intriguing object in astronomy. Since the fascinating events surrounding its discovery, it has helped increase our understanding of the origin and evolution of the Solar System, and raised questions about the nature and benefits of scientific classification. This is a timely and exciting account of Pluto and its satellites. The author uses Pluto as a case study to discuss discovery in astronomy, how remote astronomical bodies are investigated, and the role of classification in science by discussing Pluto's recent classification as a dwarf planet. Besides Pluto, the book also explores the rich assortment of bodies that constitute the Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt, of which Pluto is the largest innermost member. Richly illustrated, this text is written for general readers, amateur astronomers and students alike. Boxed text provides more advanced information especially for readers who wish to delve deeper into the subject.
The fascinating story of how NASA sent humans to explore outer space, told through a treasure trove of documents from the NASA archives Among all the technological accomplishments of the last century, none has captured our imagination more deeply than the movement of humans into outer space. From Sputnik to SpaceX, the story of that journey is told as never before in The Penguin Book of Outer Space Exploration. Renowned space historian John Logsdon has uncovered the most fascinating items in the NASA archive and woven them together with expert narrative guidance to create a history of how Americans got to space and what they've done there. Beginning with rocket genius Wernher von Braun's vision for voyaging to Mars and closing with Elon Musk's contemporary plan to get there, this volume traces major events like the founding of NASA, the first American astronauts in space, the moon landings, the Challenger disaster, the daring Hubble Telescope repairs and more.
On October 1, 1958, the world's first civilian space agency opened for business as an emergency response to the Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik a year earlier. Within a decade, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, universally known as NASA, had evolved from modest research teams experimenting with small converted rockets into one of the greatest technological and managerial enterprises ever known, capable of sending people to the Moon aboard gigantic rockets and of dispatching robot explorers to Venus, Mars, and worlds far beyond. In spite of occasional, tragic setbacks in NASA's history, the Apollo lunar landing project remains a byword for American ingenuity; the winged space shuttles spearheaded the International Space Station and a dazzling array of astronomical satellites and robotic landers, and Earth observation programs have transformed our understanding of the cosmos and our home world's fragile place within it. Throughout NASA's 60-year history, images have played a central role. Who today is not familiar with the Hubble Space Telescope's mesmerizing views of the universe or the pin-sharp panoramas of Mars from NASA's surface rovers? And who could forget the photographs of the first men walking on the Moon? Researched with the collaboration of NASA, this collection gathers more than 400 historic photographs and rare concept renderings, scanned and remastered using the latest technology and reproduced in extra-large size. Texts by science and technology journalist Piers Bizony, former NASA chief historian Roger Launius, and best-selling Apollo historian Andrew Chaikin-and an extensive mission checklist documenting the key human and robotic missions-round out this comprehensive exploration of NASA, from its earliest days to its current development of new space systems for the future. The NASA Archives is more than just a fascinating pictorial history of the U.S. space program. It is also a profound meditation on why we choose to explore space and how we will carry on this grandest of all adventures in the years to come.
Gli anni della Luna ripercorre la storia dell'astronautica
durante il periodo piu esaltante della conquista dello spazio,
quello compreso tra il lancio dello Sputnik, nel 1957, e l'ultima
missione lunare portata a termine dall'Apollo 17 nel 1972. Leggendo quello che si raccontava un tempo emerge lo spaccato della nostra societa, e del mondo che la circondava con le sue inquietudini e le sue speranze."
Astrophysics is often -with some justification - regarded as incomprehensible without the use of higher mathematics. Consequently, many amateur astronomers miss out on some of the most fascinating aspects of the subject. Astrophysics Is Easy! cuts through the difficult mathematics and explains the basics of astrophysics in accessible terms. Using nothing more than plain arithmetic and simple examples, the workings of the universe are outlined in a straightforward yet detailed and easy-to-grasp manner. Following on the success of the first and second editions, this fully updated third edition covers the significant changes in astrophysics theories and research that have occurred in the last five years, including new material on: exomoons, exocomets and exoasteroids; Special and General Relativity; gravitational waves, their origins and detection; telescope optics; black hole astrophysics; and more. For each topic under discussion, an observing list is included so that observers can actually see for themselves the concepts presented - stars of the spectral sequence, nebulae, galaxies, even black holes. The book also features in-text, nonmathematical questions and end-of-chapter problems - all with their accompanying solutions - to help readers discuss and digest the material.
Molti astrofili ritengono che l'astrofisica sia un argomento difficile, che richiede conoscenze matematiche almeno a livello universitario. Non e necessariamente cosi. L'approccio quantitativo adottato da Mike Inglis riesce a spiegare tutti gli aspetti dell'astrofisica in termini semplici, evitando i tecnicismi matematici con i quali questa disciplina viene spesso associata. L'astrofisica e facile! inizia considerando il diagramma H-R e altri strumenti di base dell'astrofisico, poi spazia nell'Universo, trattando del mezzo interstellare, delle nebulose, della nascita, dell'evoluzione e della morte delle stelle, fino a considerare la fisica delle galassie e degli ammassi di galassie. Per ogni argomento, l'autore elenca una lista di oggetti che si prestano ad essere osservati con strumenti amatoriali, di modo che l'astrofilo puo uscire ad ammirare sulla volta celeste le stelle, le nebulose, le galassie di cui il libro sta trattando.
All the matter and light we can see in the universe makes up a trivial
5 per cent of everything. The rest is hidden. This could be the biggest
puzzle that science has ever faced.
Jupiter is an extraordinarily colourful and dynamic planet. Over minutes, one can watch tiny shadows cast by its moons slide over its surface; over days and weeks parades of diverse, giant swirling storms can be seen to move and evolve. It is because of this richness of visual and physical properties that Jupiter has intrigued amateur and professional astronomers and has been the goal of several space missions. This highly illustrated volume provides a comprehensive and accessible account of Jupiter and its satellites. It reviews systematic telescopic observations that have stretched over more than a hundred years, in addition to modern observations and theories, and the wealth of data from the Pioneer, Voyager and Ulysses space missions. As well as a thorough survey of the planet's atmosphere, this volume presents an up-to-date account of our present knowledge of Jupiter's satellites and magnetosphere, at a level accessible to the non-specialist. This volume provides the definitive account of Jupiter for advanced amateur astronomers, professional astronomers and planetary scientists.
'Inspirational' Buzz Aldrin When exactly did life begin? What really happened during the big bang - and before it? Is the universe expanding? Is dark matter real? Do we live in one of many worlds? What's more, how can we prove any of this? This book is all about how we - any of us - can gain an understanding of the Universe in all its awe-inspiring glory. Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw take us on an epic journey of scientific exploration, revealing how the biggest questions - from the size of the earth to the distance to the stars - are answerable from our own back gardens. You don't need a Large Hadron Collider or a Hubble Space Telescope to explore the cosmos. You just need this book.
Non sono necessariamente richiesti strumenti mastodontici per produrre risultati scientificamente validi nel campo dell'astronomia. Anche l'astrofilo dotato di un piccolo telescopio, con un diametro di soli 8-9 cm, puo contribuire alla scienza del cielo realizzando utili osservazioni del Sole, della Luna, dei pianeti, delle comete, degli asteroidi, delle stelle doppie o variabili, delle nebulose e degli ammassi stellari. Il manuale di M.K. Gainer spiega quale sia la dotazione minima (un piccolo telescopio, un computer, una semplice fotocamera digitale), come utilizzarla, e quali siano le tecniche appropriate da adottare nelle osservazioni. Offre inoltre schemi per interpretare e ridurre i dati raccolti, nonche schede da compilare e da spedire ai centri di raccolta internazionali. Questo libro e il passaporto grazie al quale l'astrofilo puo entrare a pieno titolo nel mondo affascinante della scienza astronomica.
"Le bolle stavano turbinando tutto intorno a me e massaggiavano il mio corpo ... Mentre me la godevo in questo fantastico bagno di bolle, i miei occhi si fecero pesanti e mi lasciaii trasportare in un dormiveglia sublimamente estatico." Cosi inizia l incontro di Alfie con una vasca da bagno eccezionale e rivelatrice, acquistata da un vicino misterioso di nome Al. L Enigma di Einstein, ovvero buchi neri nel mio bagno di schiuma, racconta la storia della teoria della gravitazione, dai suoi primordi fino agli ultimi sviluppi in astrofisica, focalizzandosi sulla teoria della relativita generale di Albert Einstein e sulla fisica dei buchi neri. Tramite conversazioni avvincenti e diagrammi scarabocchiati su tovaglioli di carta, si susseguono a ruota i rudimenti della relativita, dello spazio-tempo e di molti aspetti della fisica moderna. In scenette narrate con abilita pedagogica e notevole talento letterario, il lettore s imbattera nelle lezioni informali che un astrofisico cosmopolita tiene al suo amico Alfie, organizzatore free lance di progetti di ricerca. Unitevi al divertimento intellettuale ed emozionatevi con le idee spumeggianti, mentre con la fantasia vi godete un rilassante bagno in questa vasca magica "
L'astronomia a Roma c'e sempre stata, ma un po' nascosta: era nei palazzi, nelle chiese o, meglio, sopra le chiese, specole disseminate lungo un percorso che oramai conoscono in pochi. I romani hanno assistito, incuriositi ed impauriti, al rogo di Giordano Bruno in un angolo di Campo de' Fiori a loro familiare, ma probabilmente non capirono bene di quale colpa fosse accusato. Non pensarono certo che si trattasse di un filosofo e di uno scienziato che aveva cercato di immaginare in che modo era fatto il mondo. Chi era questo Galileo, di cui si celebrava il processo a S. Maria sopra Minerva? Era un uomo che voleva cambiare la prospettiva del mondo e che, per questo, era stato ammonito da Roberto Bellarmino. E chi era questo gesuita, Secchi, che nel 1870 costringeva gli Italiani a privare Roma del suo Osservatorio Astronomico, visto che il Direttore non riconosceva lo Stato Italiano? Come e possibile che dopo la visita di Hitler a Mussolini alla vigilia della Guerra, la Germania decise di regalare all'Italia un Osservatorio Astronomico completo? Forse, e a causa di questa storia che i luoghi dell'astronomia a Roma si trovano disseminati lungo un percorso nel quale ancora oggi si possono ritrovare i segni di Osservatori Astronomici che sono stati attivi e che, per la loro natura, restano nascosti e misteriosi. E che, proprio per questo, vale la pena di non dimenticare.
110 times wider than Earth; 15 million degrees at its core; an atmosphere so huge that Earth is actually within it: come and meet the star of our solar system Light takes eight minutes to reach Earth from the surface of the Sun. But its journey within the Sun takes hundreds of thousands of years. What is going on in there? What are light and heat? How does the Sun produce them and how on earth did scientists discover this? In this astonishing and enlightening adventure, you'll travel millions of miles from inside the Sun to its surface and to Earth, where the light at the end of its journey is allowing you to read right now. You'll discover how the Sun works (including what it sounds like), the latest research in solar physics and how a solar storm could threaten everything we know. And you'll meet the groundbreaking scientists, including the author, who pieced this extraordinary story together.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE ROYAL SOCIETY SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE 2021 FINALIST FOR THE PEN/E.O. WILSON LITERARY SCIENCE WRITING AWARD AN AMAZON BEST BOOK OF 2020 To be an astronomer is to journey to some of the most inaccessible parts of the globe, braving mountain passes, sub-zero temperatures, and hostile flora and fauna. Not to mention the stress of handling equipment worth millions. It is a life of unique delights and absurdities ... and one that may be drawing to a close. Since Galileo first pointed his telescope at the heavens, astronomy has stood as a fount of human creativity and discovery, but soon it will be the robots gazing at the sky while we are left to sift through the data. In The Last Stargazers, Emily Levesque reveals the hidden world of the professional astronomer. She celebrates an era of ingenuity and curiosity, and asks us to think twice before we cast aside our sense of wonder at the universe.
Meteorites are among the rarest objects on Earth, yet they have left a pervasive mark on our planet and civilization. Arriving amidst thunderous blasts and flame-streaked skies, meteorites were once thought to be messengers from the gods, embodiments of the divine. Prized for their outlandish qualities, meteorites are a collectible, a commodity, objects of art and artists' desires and a literary muse. 'Meteorite hunting' is an adventurous, lucrative profession for some, and an addictive hobby for thousands of others. Meteorite: Nature and Culture is a unique, richly illustrated cultural history of these ancient and mysterious phenomena. Taking in a wide range of sources Maria Golia pays homage to the scientists, scholars and aficionados who have scoured the skies and combed the Earth's most unforgiving reaches for meteorites, contributing to a body of work that situates our planet and ourselves within the vastness of the Universe.Appealing to collectors and hobbyists alike, as well as any lovers of nature, marvel and paradox, this book offers an accessible overview of what science has learned from meteorites, beginning with the scientific community's reluctant embrace of their interplanetary origins, and explores their power to reawaken that precious, yet near-forgotten human trait - the capacity for awe.
Le economiche webcam stanno rivoluzionando l'imaging astronomico amatoriale, fornendo un'alternativa conveniente ai CCD raffreddati, quanto meno per i soggetti piu luminosi. Le webcam, che costano solo poche decine di euro, sono in grado di realizzare riprese di piu alta risoluzione rispetto alle macchine fotografiche digitali grazie alla maggiore velocita di scaricamento dell'immagine che "congela" i dettagli planetari, nonostante il disturbo della turbolenta atmosfera terrestre. La loro struttura e piuttosto semplice, ed e facile rimuovere la lente frontale per utilizzarle in proiezione dell'oculare con un telescopio astronomico. Le webcam si collegano direttamente a un PC, in modo tale che si puo utilizzare un apposito software per sommare sequenze di immagini, ottenendo cosi un notevole miglioramento qualitativo dell'immagine finale. In questo libro, Martin Mobberley introduce l'astrofilo all'uso delle webcam e all'elaborazione digitale delle immagini, mentre fornisce suggerimenti dettagliati per la ripresa del Sole, della Luna e dei pianeti. Ogni oggetto, con le specifiche tecniche di ripresa ed elaborazione, viene trattato in un capitolo a se. Attraverso le immagini di questo libro, l'astrofilo potra rendersi conto di quanto si possa fare applicando una webcam al proprio telescopio
In meno di due decenni l'astronomia amatoriale ha cambiato volto. Il motivo, naturalmente, e il progresso tecnologico. Telescopi economici, ma di alta qualita, montature "go-to" controllate dal computer, autoguide, camere CCD, videocamere e (come sempre) computer e Internet sono soltanto alcuni degli elementi che hanno rivoluzionato l'astronomia del XXI secolo. Non solo hanno reso l'astronomia amatoriale piu "amichevole" e divertente, ma hanno anche ampliato enormemente le potenzialita dell'astrofilo. Martin Mobberley dapprima affronta le tematiche di base per poi analizzare in modo approfondito quali sono gli strumenti disponibili sul mercato. Da qui prende le mosse per passare in rassegna le rivoluzionarie possibilita che si aprono per gli astrofili, dalla ripresa di immagini, alla spettroscopia, alla fotometria, alla sorveglianza degli oggetti Near-Earth - comete e asteroidi che possono avvicinarsi pericolosamente alla Terra. L'astrofilo moderno e una valida guida alla nuova astronomia. Sia il neofita che chiede di essere introdotto in questo campo, sia l'astrofilo esperto che voglia tenersi al passo delle innovazioni troveranno in questo libro cio che fa per loro.
The awe-inspiring Sunday Times Bestseller from astronaut Tim Peake Shortlisted for the British Book Award 2018 'Amazing . . . A brilliant book' Chris Evans, BBC Radio 2 Have you ever thought of becoming an astronaut? Ask an Astronaut is Tim Peake's personal guide to life in space, based on his historic Principia mission, and the thousands of questions he has been asked since his return to Earth. How does it feel to orbit the earth ten times faster than a speeding bullet? What's it like to eat, sleep and go to the toilet in space? And where to next - the moon, mars or beyond? From training to launch, historic spacewalk to re-entry, Tim has a fascinating answer to everything you ever wanted to know. He reveals for readers of all ages the extraordinary secrets, cutting-edge science, and everyday wonders of life onboard the International Space Station. 'Everything you ever wanted to know about life in space' Times
Paul Davies' The Eerie Silence: Searching For Ourselves in the Universe is an engaging and lucid guide to the 'Fermi Paradox' - why isn't the universe teeming with alien life? If aliens ever contact us, it will be the single most significant event in human history. And Paul Davies will be responsible for saying something back. For fifty years the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence has been scanning the skies. Now Davies, head of SETI's Post-Detection Task Group, with 'a rare talent for making physics mind-bogglingly vivid and exciting' (Times Higher Education), explores what the mysterious silence it has encountered could mean. Here he looks at exciting new ways to make contact with extra-terrestrial life. He considers what form advanced alien intelligence is likely to take if it exists. And more importantly, what exactly it would mean if it didn't - how extraordinary it would be if we were alone, to be human and here in this staggering, eerie silence... 'A magnificent cosmic tour of what might be out there in space' Sunday Times 'Rather wonderful' New Scientist 'Conveys excellently the fascination of the quest' The Times 'An authoritatively written, immensely clear, lay person's guide to the many things we don't know about the rest of the universe' Guardian Paul Davies is Director of the BEYOND Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science, and co-Director of the Cosmology Initiative, both at Arizona State University. An internationally-acclaimed physicist, writer and broadcaster, Davies is the author of some twenty award-winning books, including The Eerie Silence: Searching for Ourselves in the Universe, The Goldilocks Enigma: Why is the Universe Just Right for Life? and The Mind of God: Science and the Search for Ultimate Meaning.
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.
This introduction to the night sky is for amateur astronomers who desire a deeper understanding of the principles and observations of naked-eye astronomy. It covers topics such as terrestrial and astronomical coordinate systems, stars and constellations, the relative motions of the sky, sun, moon and earth leading to an understanding of the seasons, phases of the moon, and eclipses. Topics are discussed and compared for observers located in both the northern and southern hemispheres. Written in a conversational style, only addition and subtraction are needed to understand the basic principles and a more advanced mathematical treatment is available in the appendices. Each chapter contains a set of review questions and simple exercises to reinforce the reader's understanding of the material. The last chapter is a set of self-contained observation projects to get readers started with making observations about the concepts they have learned. William Charles Millar, currently Professor of Astronomy at Grand Rapids Community College in Michigan, has been teaching the subject for almost twenty years and is very involved with local amateur astronomy groups. Millar also belongs to The Planetary Society and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and has traveled to Europe and South America to observe solar eclipses. Millar holds a Masters degree in Physics from Western Michigan University.
The most beautiful and influential photographs ever made were of the whole earth seen from space. They were taken from the moon, almost as an afterthought, by the astronauts of the Apollo space programme. They inspired a generation to think more seriously about our responsibility for this tiny oasis in space, the 'blue marble' falling through empty darkness. This is a book about the long road to the capture of those unforgettable images. It is a history of the space programme and of the ways in which it transformed our view of the earth and changed the lives of the astronauts who walked in space and on the moon. It is the story of the often blemished visionaries who inspired that journey into space: Charles Lindbergh, Robert Goddard and Wernher Von Braun, and of the courageous pilots who were the first humans to escape the Earth's orbit. |
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