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In this unique and fascinating history of science, acclaimed
popular science writer William Sheehan - who was awarded a
Guggenheim Fellowship for Science Writing - and award-winning
geographer John Westfall take us back through the centuries to
chronicle the intrepid explorations of scientists and adventurers
who studied the transits of Venus in the quest for scientific
understanding.
Insect-Plant Interactions is a series devoted to reviews across the
breadth of the topic from cellular mechanisms to ecology and
evolution. Articles are selected from areas of particular current
interest or subjects that would especially benefit from a new
review. It is hoped that the interdisciplinary selection in each
volume will help readers to enter new fields of insect-plant
interactions.
Insect-Plant Interactions is a series devoted to reviews across the
breadth of the topic from cellular mechanisms to ecology and
evolution. Articles are selected from areas of particular current
interest or subjects that would especially benefit from a new
review. It is hoped that the interdisciplinary selection in each
volume will help readers to enter new fields of insect-plant
interactions. Volume III contains six contrasting articles.
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.
Camille Flammarion (1842-1925) began his career at 16 as a human
computer under the great mathematician U. J. J. Le Verrier at the
Paris Observatory. Â He soon tired of the drudgery; he was
drawn to more romantic vistas, and at 19 wrote a book on an idea
that he was to make his own—the habitability of other worlds.
 There followed a career as France’s greatest popularizer
of astronomy, with over 60 titles to his credit. Â An admirer
granted him a chateau at Juvisy-sur-l’Orge, and he set up a
first-rate observatory dedicated to the study of the planet Mars.
Finally, in 1892, he published his masterpiece, La Planete Mars et
ses conditions d’habitabilite, a comprehensive summary of three
centuries’ worth of literature on Mars, much of it based on his
own personal research into rare memoirs and archives. Â As a
history of that era, it has never been surpassed, and remains one
of a handful of indispensable books on the red planet. Sir Patrick
Moore (1923-2012) needs no introduction; his record of popularizing
astronomy in Britain in the 20th century equaled Flammarion’s in
France in the 19th century. Â Moore pounded out hundreds of
books as well as served as presenter of the BBC’s TV program
“Sky at Night†program for 55 years (a world record).
 Though Moore always insisted that the Moon was his
chef-d’oeuvre, Mars came a close second, and in 1980 he produced
a typescript of Flammarion’s classic.  Unfortunately, even
he found the project too daunting for his publish ers and passed
the torch of keeping the project alive to a friend, the amateur
astronomer and author William Sheehan, in 1993. Widely regarded as
a leading historian of the planet Mars, Â Sheehan has not only
meticulously compared and corrected Moore’s manuscript against
Flammarion’s original so as to produce an authoritative text, he
has  added an important introduction showing the book’s
significance in the history of Mars studies. Â Here results a
book that remains an invaluable resource and is also a literary
tour-de-force, in which the inimitable style of Flammarion has been
rendered in the equally unique style of Moore.
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.
Camille Flammarion (1842-1925) began his career at 16 as a human
computer under the great mathematician U. J. J. Le Verrier at the
Paris Observatory. He soon tired of the drudgery; he was drawn to
more romantic vistas, and at 19 wrote a book on an idea that he was
to make his own-the habitability of other worlds. There followed a
career as France's greatest popularizer of astronomy, with over 60
titles to his credit. An admirer granted him a chateau at
Juvisy-sur-l'Orge, and he set up a first-rate observatory dedicated
to the study of the planet Mars. Finally, in 1892, he published his
masterpiece, La Planete Mars et ses conditions d'habitabilite, a
comprehensive summary of three centuries' worth of literature on
Mars, much of it based on his own personal research into rare
memoirs and archives. As a history of that era, it has never been
surpassed, and remains one of a handful of indispensable books on
the red planet. Sir Patrick Moore (1923-2012) needs no
introduction; his record of popularizing astronomy in Britain in
the 20th century equaled Flammarion's in France in the 19th
century. Moore pounded out hundreds of books as well as served as
presenter of the BBC's TV program "Sky at Night" program for 55
years (a world record). Though Moore always insisted that the Moon
was his chef-d'oeuvre, Mars came a close second, and in 1980 he
produced a typescript of Flammarion's classic. Unfortunately, even
he found the project too daunting for his publish ers and passed
the torch of keeping the project alive to a friend, the amateur
astronomer and author William Sheehan, in 1993. Widely regarded as
a leading historian of the planet Mars, Sheehan has not only
meticulously compared and corrected Moore's manuscript against
Flammarion's original so as to produce an authoritative text, he
has added an important introduction showing the book's significance
in the history of Mars studies. Here results a book that remains an
invaluable resource and is also a literary tour-de-force, in which
the inimitable style of Flammarion has been rendered in the equally
unique style of Moore.
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Jupiter (Paperback)
William Sheehan, Thomas Hockey
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R614
R498
Discovery Miles 4 980
Save R116 (19%)
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Ships in 9 - 15 working days
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Now available in paperback, this beautifully illustrated volume
ranges across the entire history of Jupiter studies, from the
naked-eye observations of the Babylonians and the Greeks, through
the telescopic discoveries of Galileo and T.E.R. Phillips, to the
explosion of information received from space probes. It brings our
understanding of Jupiter right up to date and includes preliminary
findings from the Juno space probe, while also providing valuable
practical information for those who wish to make their own
observations of the planet. Introducing planetary science in an
accessible and engaging way, Jupiter will appeal to those who wish
to have a better understanding of this magnificent planet and its
unique place in the solar system.
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Venus (Hardcover)
William Sheehan, Sanjay Shridhar Limaye
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R796
R653
Discovery Miles 6 530
Save R143 (18%)
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Ships in 9 - 15 working days
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This new and beautifully illustrated account of Venus takes in the
most recent research into this mysterious, inhospitable world.
Looking at the history of our observations of the planet, from
early astronomy to future space missions, it seeks to answer many
of the questions that remain unanswered, such as why Venus and
Earth, so similar in size and mass, evolved in such different
directions, and how Venus acquired its dense carbon-dioxide
atmosphere. Above all, it assesses whether life might have escaped
from the oven-like temperatures at the surface and evolved to
become perpetually airborne - in which case Venus may not be
lifeless after all.
Presented for the first time in popular form is the fascinating
true story of the search for the phantom planet Vulcan. As with
legends of "the lost continent of Atlantis," scientists and
dreamers alike have sought to prove that Vulcan is more than just a
myth. Historians of astronomy Richard Baum and William Sheehan have
combed the continents, digging through dusty letters and journals,
to unravel this mysterious and captivating tale. The planet first
assumed a shadowy reality against a backdrop of war and revolution
early in the nineteenth century. Le Verrier, the autocratic
Director of the Paris Observatory, had unveiled a problem with the
motion of the planet Mercury. The indications were of a planet
closer to the sun than Mercury. Incredibly, the prediction was
immediately fulfilled by an obscure French country doctor using no
more than a homemade telescope. The planet, named for the Roman god
of fire, was no sooner discovered than it was lost. Still it
reappeared often enough to tantalize even skeptics into considering
its shadowy existence possible. This fast-paced tale follows the
exploits of Le Verrier, and later of his followers, in a pursuit of
his unbridled obsessions: to extend the universality of Newton's
Laws, to prove Vulcan's existence, and to secure his place in
history as one of the greatest astronomers of his time. Stranger
than fiction, the story reaches an exciting climax in the final
showdown in the unlikeliest of places: America's Wild West. Like
gunslingers at high noon, determined astronomers of the opposing
camps brave Indians and the elements in their attempt to prove once
and for all whether the planet exists. They congregate with some of
the most illustrious names of their time for the final test: a
grand eclipse of the sun.
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Saturn (Hardcover)
William Sheehan
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R791
R648
Discovery Miles 6 480
Save R143 (18%)
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Ships in 9 - 15 working days
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Saturn is the showcase of the Solar System. It may not be the
largest of the planets, nor the smallest, nor even the only planet
with rings. But it is among the most stunningly beautiful objects
in the sky, and is always breathtaking when seen in a telescope.
This is a beautifully illustrated, authoritative overview of the
entire history of humankind's fascination with the ringed planet,
from the first low-resolution views of Galileo, Huygens and other
early observers with telescopes to the most recent discoveries by
the spacecraft Cassini, which studied the planet at close range
between 2004 and 2017. The book describes the planet from inside
out, details the complicated system of rings and their interaction
with Saturn's bevy of satellites, and considers how Saturn formed
and the role it played in the early history of the Solar System.
Featuring the latest research and a spectacular array of images, it
will appeal to the wide audience for astronomy and popular science.
Ever since early stargazers discovered that some heavenly bodies
wandered among the others, people have been fascinated by the
planets. Kepler calculated their orbits from naked-eye
observations; Galileo's telescope made it possible to discern their
markings; now observations from spacecraft provide electronically
enhanced images that bring these distant worlds even closer. In
Worlds in the Sky, William Sheehan gives us a history of this long
fascination, weaving together scientific history, anecdotes
surrounding planetary discoveries, and the personal reflections of
an incurable amateur astronomer. He describes how we arrived at our
current understanding of the Moon and the planets and shows how
certain individuals in history shaped the world's knowledge about
the Solar System. The University of Arizona Press's Century
Collection employs the latest in digital technology to make
previously out-of-print books from our notable backlist available
once again. Enriching historical and cultural experiences for
readers, this collection offers these volumes unaltered from their
original publication and in affordable digital or paperback
formats.
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Mercury (Hardcover)
William Sheehan
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R783
R639
Discovery Miles 6 390
Save R144 (18%)
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Ships in 9 - 15 working days
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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.
This full-length biography of Edward Emerson Barnard, tells the
remarkable tale of endurance and achievement of one of the leading
astronomers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
As a 'man who was never known to sleep', Barnard scoured the
heavens endlessly, leaving an astonishing legacy of observations -
of planets, satellites, comets, double stars, bright and dark
nebulae and globular clusters - that make him one of the greatest
observers of all time. This book traces Barnard's life from poverty
to international recognition. We are told how he grew up fatherless
and in hardship during the American Civil War; that he later
acquired a small telescope and discovered so many comets that,
despite his lack of formal education, he won a position at the Lick
Observatory, California. His success as a professional astronomer
then unfolds, and we are told, in particular, how he discovered the
fifth satellite of Jupiter and pioneered wide-angle photography of
comets and the Milky Way.
The intriguing narrative of one of astronomy's strangest searches
for a planet that never existed.
Discovering Pluto is an authoritative account of the exploration of
Pluto and its moons, from the first inklings of tentative knowledge
through the exciting discoveries made during the flyby of the NASA
New Horizons research spacecraft in July 2015. Co-author Dale P.
Cruikshank was a co-investigator on the New Horizons mission, while
co-author William Sheehan is a noted historian of the Solar System.
Telling the tale of Pluto's discovery, the authors recount the
grand story of our unfolding knowledge of the outer Solar System,
from William Herschel's serendipitous discovery of Uranus in 1781,
to the mathematical prediction of Neptune's existence, to Percival
Lowell's studies of the wayward motions of those giant planets
leading to his prediction of another world farther out. Lowell's
efforts led to Clyde Tombaugh's heroic search and discovery of
Pluto-then a mere speck in the telescope-at Lowell Observatory in
1930. Pluto was finally recognized as the premier body in the
Kuiper Belt, the so-called third zone of our Solar System. The
first zone contains the terrestrial planets (Mercury through Mars)
and the asteroid belt; the second, the gas-giant planets Jupiter
through Neptune. The third zone, holding Pluto and the rest of the
Kuiper Belt, is the largest and most populous region of the solar
system. Now well beyond Pluto, New Horizons will continue to wend
its lonely way through the galaxy, but it is still transmitting
data, even today. Its ultimate legacy may be to inspire future
generations to uncover more secrets of Pluto, the Solar System, and
the Universe.
Discovering Pluto is an authoritative account of the exploration of
Pluto and its moons, from the first inklings of tentative knowledge
through the exciting discoveries made during the flyby of the NASA
research spacecraft New Horizons in July 2015. Co-author Dale P.
Cruikshank was co-investigator on the New Horizons mission, while
co-author William Sheehan is a noted historian of the solar system.
Telling the tale of Pluto's discovery, the authors recount the
grand story of our unfolding knowledge of the outer solar system,
from William Herschel's serendipitous discovery of Uranus in 1781,
to the mathematical prediction in 1846 of Neptune's existence, to
Percival Lowell's studies of the wayward motions of those giant
planets leading to his prediction of another world farther out.
Lowell's efforts led to Clyde Tombaugh's heroic search and
discovery of Pluto-then a mere speck in the telescope-at Lowell
Observatory in 1930. Pluto was finally recognized as the premier
body in the Kuiper Belt, the so-called third zone of our solar
system. The first zone contains the terrestrial planets (Mercury
through Mars) and the asteroid belt; the second, the gas-giant
planets Jupiter through Neptune. The third zone, holding Pluto and
the rest of the Kuiper Belt, is the largest and most populous
region of the solar system. Now well beyond Pluto, New Horizons
will continue to wend its lonely way through the galaxy, but it is
still transmitting data, even today. Its ultimate legacy may be to
inspire future generations to uncover more secrets of Pluto, the
solar system, and the universe.
Do we really know what we see through a telescope? How does the
ocular system construct planetary images, and how does the brain
interpret them? Drawing on both astronomical and psychological
data, William Sheehan now offers the first systematic analysis of
the perceptual and cognitive factors that go into the initial
structuring of a planetary image and its subsequent elaboration.
Sheehan details the development of lunar and planetary astronomy
beginning with Galileo's study of the moon, and focuses
particularly on the discover of "canals" on Mars. Through each
episode he underscores a perceptual or psychological theme, such as
the importance of differences in vision, tachistoscopic perceptual
effects, the influence of expectation and suggestion on what one
sees, and the social psychology of scientific discovery. Planets
and Perception is a provocative book that will intrigue anyone who
has ever looked through a telescope. In addition, it offers the
psychologically-oriented reader a case history in the processes of
perception unlike any other in the literature.
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