Kategoria BISAC: Science >> Space Science - Astronomy

By revealing the facts behind the fiction of some of the finest films in the sci-fi genre, "Fantastic Voyages" offers a novel approach to teaching science: using scenes from science fiction films to illustrate fundamental concepts of physics, astronomy, and biology.

On February 1^st 2003, one of the worst and most public disasters ever witnessed in the human space programme unfolded with horrifying suddenness in the skies above north central Texas. The Space Shuttle Columbia the world s first truly reusable manned spacecraft was lost during her return to Earth, along with a crew of seven. It was an event that, after the loss of Space Shuttle Challenger during a launch 17 years before, the world had hoped it would never see again. This book details each of Columbia s 28 missions in turn, as told by scientists and researchers who developed and...

Relates how NASA/ESA have sought evidence of life on Mars, with the prevailing mood sometimes being optimistic and sometimes pessimistic.

Details an account of the rationale for the tests for life carried out by the Viking missions in 1976, with an account of the debate over their results.

A concise primer for readers wishing to 'bone up' when NASA next sends a lander explicitly to seek life on Mars.

Discusses the nature of life on Mars in terms of the most...

*Combines a review of previous knowledge of Saturn, its rings and moons, including Titan, with new spacecraft results in one handy volume.

*Provides the latest and most spectacular images, which will never have appeared before in book form.

*Gives a context to enable the reader to more easily appreciate the stream of discoveries that will be made by the Cassini-Huygens mission.

There are two basic methods of recording astronomical images seen through the eyepiece of a telescope. Photography (these days, usually digital imaging with a CCD camera) is one, the other is sketching.

Astronomical sketching and drawing has a long and esteemed history. Many astronomers believe it is still unrivalled for recording and illustrating transient phenomena (such as TLPs) or for taking advantage of the fleeting moments of extreme clarity that result from the turbulent atmosphere through which Earth-based astronomers carry out all their observing.

Not all amateur astronomers who live in a suburban location realize just how very effective a chilled-chip astronomical CCD-camera and software can be at cutting through seemingly impenetrable light-pollution. CCD Astrophotography from the Suburbs details one man s approach to the problem of getting high-quality astronomical images under light-polluted conditions. Adam Stuart has written this reference book for all amateur astronomers who are interested in CCD imaging, especially those who have to work under suburban conditions. The book outlines the materials and (commercially-available)...

In 'Columbia: Final Voyage' aerospace writer Philip Chien, who has over 20 years' experience covering the US space program, provides a unique insight into the crew members who lost their lives in the Columbia disaster. Chien interviewed all seven crew members several times and got to know them as individuals. He reviews in detail their training, their scientific work and other activities during their successful 16-day flight, the background of the accident itself and a detailed first-hand account of what happened that fateful day in February 2003. The author provides a comprehensive and...

The dark matter problem is one of the most fundamental and profoundly difficult problems in the history of science. Not knowing what makes up most of the mass in the Universe goes to the heart of our understanding of the Universe and our place in it. In Search of Dark Matter is the story of the emergence of the dark matter problem, from the initial 'discovery' of dark matter by Jan Oort to contemporary explanations for the nature of dark matter and its role in the origin and evolution of the Universe.

Written for the intelligent non-scientist and scientist alike, it spans a variety...

Hubble: 15 Years of Discovery forms a key element of the European Space Agency's 15th anniversary celebration activities for the 1990 launch of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.

As an observatory in space, Hubble is one of the most successful scientific projects of all time, both in terms of scientific output and its immediate public appeal.

Hubble continues to have an enormous impact by exploiting a unique scientific niche where no other instruments can compete. It consistently delivers super-sharp images and clean, uncontaminated spectra over the entire...

On 25 May 1961, John F Kennedy announced the goal of landing an American man on the Moon by the end of the decade. This challenge forced NASA to review the planned lunar landing of a three-man spaceship named Apollo in the mid-1970s. In 1962, it was decided that a specialized vehicle would accompany the main spacecraft, to make the lunar landing while the mothership remained in lunar orbit. To send these vehicles to the Moon would require the development of an enormous rocket. Development was protracted, but in December 1968 Apollo 8 was launched on a pioneering mission to perform an...

Written in a light and friendly style, this lavishly illustrated book introduces the Sun and its physics, and describes all aspects of the Sun s interaction with us on Earth. The second edition of this book updates the popular text by providing comprehensive accounts of the most recent discoveries made by five modern solar spacecraft during the past decade. It contains a number of images never before seen in print. Breakthrough observations with the underground Sudbury Neutrino Observatory are also included. The new edition further provides modern interpretations of ozone depletion and...

Astronomy and Astrophysics is a comprehensive, fundamental, and up-to-date reference book. It is filled with vital information and basic facts for amateur astronomers and professional astrophysicists, and for anyone interested in the Universe, from the Earth and other planets to the stars, galaxies and beyond. An exceptionally thorough Index cross-references concepts, discoveries and individuals in both the Timeline section and Dictionary section. The combined result is a unique stand-alone reference volume in which the reader can quickly locate information, while also discovering new and...

This book describes our gradual awareness of a vast, previously concealed Universe. It is a story of expanding horizons and the discovery of invisible worlds. This voyage of discovery is presented within universal themes, such as invisibility, motion, content, form, impermanence, violence and emptiness, beginnings and ends. These are topics that concern us all, helping us take the Universe personally, so each chapter begins with the human aspect of some of these themes. The book is additionally broadened by including the perceptions of artists, poets and writers, as well as with line...

Calibrating the Cosmos describes hard science, but is gently written. It explains in clear, non-mathematical language the measurements and the interpretation of the resulting data that have led to the current understanding of the origin, evolution and properties of our expanding Big Bang universe.

Many people have a sketchy idea of the work of cosmologists, but Professor Levin's experience in teaching both scientific and liberal arts students has enabled him to impart much of our current thinking without resorting to difficult mathematics. Theoretical concepts are emphasized, in...

Hidden from human view, accessible only to sensitive receivers attached to huge radio telescopes, giant versions of backyard satellite dishes, the invisible universe beyond our senses continues to fascinate and intrigue our imaginations. We cannot really comprehend what it means to say that a galaxy is exploding, yet that is the nature of some of the distant radio sources in the furthest reaches of space. Closer to home, in the Milky Way galaxy, radio astronomers listen patiently to the ticking of pulsars that tell of star death and states of matter of awesome densities. And between the...