Kategoria BISAC: Science >> Physics - Astrophysics

About the Series: Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions...

How did humans emerge from the cosmos...

The theory of relativity reveals the speed of light as the cosmic speed limit, the mind-bending ideas of time dilation and curvature of...

In Part 1, the book describes the very latest thinking on solar physics in (mostly non-mathematical) detail, incorporating the latest results from research concerning the structure and behaviour of the Sun. There is particular emphasis on the surface features visible from the Earth, and how these are the result of the extraordinary processes that are taking place within the Sun.

In Part 2, the book details the techniques for observing and imaging the Sun with commercially-available equipment. The many recent advances in optical equipment now allow amateur astronomers to observe...

Observing the Messier Objects with a Small Telescope contains descriptions and photographs of the 103 Messier objects, with instructions on how to find them without a computerized telescope or even setting circles. The photographs show how the objects appear through a 127mm Maksutov (and other instruments, where applicable). The visual appearance of a Messier object is often very different from what can be imaged with the same telescope, and a special feature of this book is that it shows what you can see with a small telescope.

It will also contain binocular descriptions of some...

Astronauts, cosmonauts, and a very limited number of people have experienced eating space food due to the unique processing and packaging required for space travel. This book allows anyone with a normal kitchen to prepare space food. Since some of the processing such as freeze dehydration, and packaging cannot be accomplished in the normal kitchen, many of the recipes will not produce the food that would be launched in space, but will prepare food similar to what the astronauts would eat after they had added the water to the food in space. Many of the space foods are prepared to the point...

On August 24, 2006, the solar system lost its ninth planet The astronomers' decision at the IAU General Assembly in Prague to demote Pluto had been precipitated by the discovery, beyond the orbit of Neptune, of a very rich population of Pluto-like objects. The study of the recently discovered remote celestial bodies grows ever more fascinating. Their great variety in color, shape, size, and orbit has astonished observers. What is more, studies of the composition of these new-found objects reveals that they among the most primitive objects in the solar system. In their simple and lively...

This handbook is a guide to exploring the classical night sky and its wonderful telescopic sights. All 88 officially recognized constellations are presented in natural groups which are related by their origin and location in the sky. Each group is explained by a fascinating story which tells what each constellation represents, how it appears in the sky, and why the other constellations of the group are close by, or related in some other manner. Some of these stories are classical myths which show how and why ancient cultures saw the constellations as related groups. Others are about more...

Astronomical Spectroscopy for Amateurs is a complete guide for amateur astronomers, both novice and experienced, who want to do something more than "run of the mill" astrophotography and are looking for a new challenge. The book is broadly divided into three parts.

First, there is a brief overview of the history and development of the spectroscope. This is followed by a short introduction to the theory of stellar spectra. The final parts of this section provide details of the necessary reference spectra required for instrument testing and spectral comparison. It concludes...

• Offers a unique combination of informative text, magnificent illustrations and stylish design
• Examines the 100 most important discoveries since the invention of the telescope
• Features spectacular photographs, taken with the largest telescopes on Earth and in space, that portray distant corners of the universe
• Author Govert Schilling is a renowned astronomy journalist and science communicator

In his Atlas of Astronomical Discoveries, astronomy journalist Govert Schilling tells the story of 400 years of telescopic astronomy. He looks at the...

The technology of the next few decades could possibly allow us to explore with robotic probes the closest stars outside our Solar System, and maybe even observe some of the recently discovered planets circling these stars. This book looks at the reasons for exploring our stellar neighbors and at the technologies we are developing to build space probes that can traverse the enormous distances between the stars.

In order to reach the nearest stars, we must first develop a propulsion technology that would take our robotic probes there in a reasonable time. Such propulsion technology has...

Celestial Delights is essentially a 'TV Guide' for teh sky. This will be its third edition. This title, which has aggregated sales of about 20,000 copies to date in its two previous editions and has found a niche with skygazers, is much awaited.

Through extensive graphics integrated with an eight-year-long calendar of sky events, it provides a look at "don't miss" sky events, mostly for naked-eye and binocular observing. The book is organized by ease of observation - lunar phases and the brighter planets come first, while solar eclipses, the aurora, and comets come later....

Every amateur astronomer has at least heard of the many different catalogs of the deep-sky objects. These catalogs are, in general, readily available. Charles Messier's famous catalog is perhaps the most widely known, along with Sir Patrick Moore's later addition to it, the Caldwell Catalogue. Then there is the Herschel Catalogue...and many others.

However, very few amateur astronomers are in a position to choose the best catalog for their particular deep-sky observing program, and fewer still realize how to use them and even how many there are out there

The Amateur...

The author describes the structures and systems of the Space Shuttle, and then follows a typical mission, explaining how the structures and systems were used in the launch, orbital operations and the return to Earth. Details of how anomalous events were dealt with on individual missions are also...