To the naked eye, the most evident defining feature of the planets
is their motion across the night sky. It was this motion that
allowed ancient civilizations to single them out as different from
fixed stars. "The Observer's Guide to Planetary Motion" takes each
planet and its moons (if it has them) in turn and describes how the
geometry of the Solar System gives rise to its observed motions.
Although the motions of the planets may be described as simple
elliptical orbits around the Sun, we have to observe them from a
particular vantage point: the Earth, which spins daily on its axis
and circles around the Sun each year. The motions of the planets as
observed relative to this spinning observatory take on more
complicated patterns. Periodically, objects become prominent in the
night sky for a few weeks or months, while at other times they pass
too close to the Sun to be observed. "The Observer's Guide to
Planetary Motion" provides accurate tables of the best time for
observing each planet, together with other notable events in their
orbits, helping amateur astronomers plan when and what to observe.
Uniquely each of the chapters includes extensive explanatory text,
relating the events listed to the physical geometry of the Solar
System. Along the way, many questions are answered: Why does Mars
take over two years between apparitions (the times when it is
visible from Earth) in the night sky, while Uranus and Neptune take
almost exactly a year? Why do planets appear higher in the night
sky when they're visible in the winter months? Why do Saturn's
rings appear to open and close every 15 years? This book places
seemingly disparate astronomical events into an understandable
three-dimensional structure, enabling an appreciation that, for
example, very good apparitions of Mars come around roughly every 15
years and that those in 2018 and 2035 will be nearly as good as
that seen in 2003. Events are listed for the time period 2010-2030
and in the case of rarer events (such as eclipses and apparitions
of Mars) even longer time periods are covered. A short closing
chapter describes the seasonal appearance of deep sky objects,
which follow an annual cycle as a result of Earth's orbital motion
around the Sun.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
