Author: Daniel C Boice
Publisher: Morgan & Claypool Publishers
ISBN: 1643274465
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 139
Book Description
Have you ever seen a comet? It is a marvelous experience, one that all humans can share, that spawns a deep yearning to understand the spectacle. Have you ever wondered what comets are and why astronomers spend so much time studying them? Now, a comet expert and an astronomical historian have come together to produce the unique book that you now hold in your hands. Using their several decades of teaching experience, the authors have concisely presented the information you need to comprehend these majestic apparitions that grace our night skies. No mathematical proficiency is needed, in fact, this book doesn't contain a single equation! Comets are cosmic Rosetta stones, bridging our current knowledge by digging back to the earliest days of our Solar Systems. How did life arise on Earth? Did comets play a significant role in bringing water and the necessary organic matter to our early Earth? How about the dinosaurs? Were they driven to extinction by a cometary impact 66 million years ago? Comets may be both the enablers and destroyers of life on Earth as we know it. These are some of the tantalizing questions discussed here. If you so desire, steps are given to join the ranks of amateur comet hunters. Astronomy is one of the last sciences where amateurs play a significant role. Your reward for discovery? A comet officially bearing your name in the history books! The next Great Comet is on its way, we just do not know when it will arrive. Armed with this book, you will be ready to enjoy this unforgettable event.
Comets in the 21st Century
Author: Daniel C Boice
Publisher: Morgan & Claypool Publishers
ISBN: 1643274465
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 139
Book Description
Have you ever seen a comet? It is a marvelous experience, one that all humans can share, that spawns a deep yearning to understand the spectacle. Have you ever wondered what comets are and why astronomers spend so much time studying them? Now, a comet expert and an astronomical historian have come together to produce the unique book that you now hold in your hands. Using their several decades of teaching experience, the authors have concisely presented the information you need to comprehend these majestic apparitions that grace our night skies. No mathematical proficiency is needed, in fact, this book doesn't contain a single equation! Comets are cosmic Rosetta stones, bridging our current knowledge by digging back to the earliest days of our Solar Systems. How did life arise on Earth? Did comets play a significant role in bringing water and the necessary organic matter to our early Earth? How about the dinosaurs? Were they driven to extinction by a cometary impact 66 million years ago? Comets may be both the enablers and destroyers of life on Earth as we know it. These are some of the tantalizing questions discussed here. If you so desire, steps are given to join the ranks of amateur comet hunters. Astronomy is one of the last sciences where amateurs play a significant role. Your reward for discovery? A comet officially bearing your name in the history books! The next Great Comet is on its way, we just do not know when it will arrive. Armed with this book, you will be ready to enjoy this unforgettable event.
Publisher: Morgan & Claypool Publishers
ISBN: 1643274465
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 139
Book Description
Have you ever seen a comet? It is a marvelous experience, one that all humans can share, that spawns a deep yearning to understand the spectacle. Have you ever wondered what comets are and why astronomers spend so much time studying them? Now, a comet expert and an astronomical historian have come together to produce the unique book that you now hold in your hands. Using their several decades of teaching experience, the authors have concisely presented the information you need to comprehend these majestic apparitions that grace our night skies. No mathematical proficiency is needed, in fact, this book doesn't contain a single equation! Comets are cosmic Rosetta stones, bridging our current knowledge by digging back to the earliest days of our Solar Systems. How did life arise on Earth? Did comets play a significant role in bringing water and the necessary organic matter to our early Earth? How about the dinosaurs? Were they driven to extinction by a cometary impact 66 million years ago? Comets may be both the enablers and destroyers of life on Earth as we know it. These are some of the tantalizing questions discussed here. If you so desire, steps are given to join the ranks of amateur comet hunters. Astronomy is one of the last sciences where amateurs play a significant role. Your reward for discovery? A comet officially bearing your name in the history books! The next Great Comet is on its way, we just do not know when it will arrive. Armed with this book, you will be ready to enjoy this unforgettable event.
Comets in the 21st Century
Author: Boice Daniel C (author)
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781643274454
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781643274454
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Hazards Due to Comets and Asteroids
Author: Tom Gehrels
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
ISBN: 9780816515059
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1340
Book Description
In 1993, the U.S. Department of Defense declassified information dealing with frequent explosions in the upper atmosphere caused by meteoric impact. It is estimated that impacts have occurred of a magnitude equivalent to the atomic bomb detonated at Hiroshima. Not all such space voyagers meet their end in the atmosphere, however; huge craters attest to the bombardment of earth over millions of years, and a major impact may have resulted in the extinction of dinosaurs. An impact in Siberia near the beginning of this century proves that such events are not confined to geologic time. Hazards Due to Comets and Asteroids marks a significant step in the attempt to come to grips with the threats posed by such phenomena. It brings together more than one hundred scientists from around the world, who draw on observational and theoretical research to focus on the technical problems related to all aspects of dealing with these hazards: searching for and identifying hazardous comets and asteroids; describing their statistics and characteristics; intercepting and altering the orbits of dangerous objects; and applying existent technologies—rocket boosters, rendezvous and soft-landing techniques, instrumentation—to such missions. The book considers defensive options for diverting or disrupting an approaching body, including solar sails, kinetic-energy impacts, nuclear explosives, robotic mass drivers, and various propulsion systems. A cataclysmic impact posing a threat to life on Earth is a possibility that tomorrow's technology is capable of averting. This book examines in depth the reality of the threat and proposes practical measures that can be initiated now should we ever need to deal with it.
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
ISBN: 9780816515059
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1340
Book Description
In 1993, the U.S. Department of Defense declassified information dealing with frequent explosions in the upper atmosphere caused by meteoric impact. It is estimated that impacts have occurred of a magnitude equivalent to the atomic bomb detonated at Hiroshima. Not all such space voyagers meet their end in the atmosphere, however; huge craters attest to the bombardment of earth over millions of years, and a major impact may have resulted in the extinction of dinosaurs. An impact in Siberia near the beginning of this century proves that such events are not confined to geologic time. Hazards Due to Comets and Asteroids marks a significant step in the attempt to come to grips with the threats posed by such phenomena. It brings together more than one hundred scientists from around the world, who draw on observational and theoretical research to focus on the technical problems related to all aspects of dealing with these hazards: searching for and identifying hazardous comets and asteroids; describing their statistics and characteristics; intercepting and altering the orbits of dangerous objects; and applying existent technologies—rocket boosters, rendezvous and soft-landing techniques, instrumentation—to such missions. The book considers defensive options for diverting or disrupting an approaching body, including solar sails, kinetic-energy impacts, nuclear explosives, robotic mass drivers, and various propulsion systems. A cataclysmic impact posing a threat to life on Earth is a possibility that tomorrow's technology is capable of averting. This book examines in depth the reality of the threat and proposes practical measures that can be initiated now should we ever need to deal with it.
Seven Wonders of Asteroids, Comets, and Meteors
Author: Ron Miller
Publisher: Twenty-First Century Books
ISBN: 0761372792
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 84
Book Description
From earliest times, humans have wondered about the sky above them and have studied all visible objects. People began to identify differences between stars and planets, and as technology advanced with telescopes and space probes, they sought deeper understanding of the millions of bits of debris rocketing through the solar system. Scientists determined that most of these objects are left over from the creation of the planets and their moons. They classified these leftovers into categories such as asteroids, comets, and meteors. In this book, we'll explore seven wonders of asteroids, comets, and meteors. Ceres is a huge mountain-sized asteroid that orbits with other asteroids between Mars and Jupiter. Other marvels include Ganymede, the largest asteroid in the group called Earthgrazers or Near-Earth Objects, and Halley's comet, a ball of ice, that passes Earth every seventy-five or so years. We'll also explore the amazing impact that space debris can have on planets and moons. The Borealis Basin, a wondrous crater more than 5,000 miles across, formed when an asteroid collided with Mars in the ancient past. Then we will travel to the far-off Kuiper belt, where as many as 200 million icy bodies orbit, and wonder at the mystery of planetlike objects, such as Pluto and Charon. Finally, we’ll can experience a space wonder firsthand by standing outside on a night in August to watch the spectacular Perseid meteor shower fill the sky.
Publisher: Twenty-First Century Books
ISBN: 0761372792
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 84
Book Description
From earliest times, humans have wondered about the sky above them and have studied all visible objects. People began to identify differences between stars and planets, and as technology advanced with telescopes and space probes, they sought deeper understanding of the millions of bits of debris rocketing through the solar system. Scientists determined that most of these objects are left over from the creation of the planets and their moons. They classified these leftovers into categories such as asteroids, comets, and meteors. In this book, we'll explore seven wonders of asteroids, comets, and meteors. Ceres is a huge mountain-sized asteroid that orbits with other asteroids between Mars and Jupiter. Other marvels include Ganymede, the largest asteroid in the group called Earthgrazers or Near-Earth Objects, and Halley's comet, a ball of ice, that passes Earth every seventy-five or so years. We'll also explore the amazing impact that space debris can have on planets and moons. The Borealis Basin, a wondrous crater more than 5,000 miles across, formed when an asteroid collided with Mars in the ancient past. Then we will travel to the far-off Kuiper belt, where as many as 200 million icy bodies orbit, and wonder at the mystery of planetlike objects, such as Pluto and Charon. Finally, we’ll can experience a space wonder firsthand by standing outside on a night in August to watch the spectacular Perseid meteor shower fill the sky.
Great Comets
Author: Robert Burnham
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521646000
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 246
Book Description
Spectacular and mysterious objects that come and go in the night sky, comets have dwelt in our popular culture for untold ages. As remnants from the formation of the Solar system, they are objects of key scientific research and space missions. As one of nature's most potent and dramatic dangers, they pose a threat to our safety--and yet they were the origin of our oceans and perhaps even life itself. This beautifully illustrated book tells the story of the biggest and most awe-inspiring of all comets: those that have earned the title "Great." Robert Burnham focuses on the Great comets Hyakutake in 1996 and Hale-Bopp in 1997, which gripped attention worldwide because, for many, they were the first comets ever seen. He places these two recent comets in the context of their predecessors from past ages, among them the famous Comet Halley. Great Comets explains the exciting new discoveries that have come from these magnificent objects and profiles the spaceprobes to comets due for launch in the next few years. The book even takes a peek behind Hollywood's science-fiction fantasies to assess the real risks humanity faces from potential impacts of both comets and asteroids. For everyone interested in astronomy, this exciting book reveals the secrets of the Great Comets and provides essential tools for keeping up to date with comet discoveries in the future. Robert Burnham has been an amateur astronomer since the mid-1950s. He has been a senior editor of Astronomy magazine (1986-88) and is the author of many books and CD-ROMS, including Comet Hale-Bopp: Find and Enjoy the Great Comet and Comet Explorer.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521646000
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 246
Book Description
Spectacular and mysterious objects that come and go in the night sky, comets have dwelt in our popular culture for untold ages. As remnants from the formation of the Solar system, they are objects of key scientific research and space missions. As one of nature's most potent and dramatic dangers, they pose a threat to our safety--and yet they were the origin of our oceans and perhaps even life itself. This beautifully illustrated book tells the story of the biggest and most awe-inspiring of all comets: those that have earned the title "Great." Robert Burnham focuses on the Great comets Hyakutake in 1996 and Hale-Bopp in 1997, which gripped attention worldwide because, for many, they were the first comets ever seen. He places these two recent comets in the context of their predecessors from past ages, among them the famous Comet Halley. Great Comets explains the exciting new discoveries that have come from these magnificent objects and profiles the spaceprobes to comets due for launch in the next few years. The book even takes a peek behind Hollywood's science-fiction fantasies to assess the real risks humanity faces from potential impacts of both comets and asteroids. For everyone interested in astronomy, this exciting book reveals the secrets of the Great Comets and provides essential tools for keeping up to date with comet discoveries in the future. Robert Burnham has been an amateur astronomer since the mid-1950s. He has been a senior editor of Astronomy magazine (1986-88) and is the author of many books and CD-ROMS, including Comet Hale-Bopp: Find and Enjoy the Great Comet and Comet Explorer.
Comets in the 21st Century
Author: Daniel Craig Boice
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781643274447
Category : SCIENCE
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
The purpose of this book is to bring comets into the living rooms of general households, to familiarize politicians with these fascinating objects when they ponder funding for comet research, to teach children and young students and to provide teaching tools about these very unusual objects in our skies. The presentation is very comprehensive in its description of orbits around the Sun, the development of the coma (escaping atmosphere) from a comet's nucleus and source of all activities, various types of comet tails, trailing as well as leading as a comet orbits our Sun, ancient beliefs and explanations of these phenomena and the most recent discovery of the first interstellar comet.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781643274447
Category : SCIENCE
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
The purpose of this book is to bring comets into the living rooms of general households, to familiarize politicians with these fascinating objects when they ponder funding for comet research, to teach children and young students and to provide teaching tools about these very unusual objects in our skies. The presentation is very comprehensive in its description of orbits around the Sun, the development of the coma (escaping atmosphere) from a comet's nucleus and source of all activities, various types of comet tails, trailing as well as leading as a comet orbits our Sun, ancient beliefs and explanations of these phenomena and the most recent discovery of the first interstellar comet.
The Comet Seekers
Author: Helen Sedgwick
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1473524806
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 311
Book Description
Two lives. One night sky. Róisín and François first meet in the snowy white expanse of Antarctica, searching for a comet overhead. While Róisín grew up in a tiny village in Ireland, ablaze with a passion for science and the skies, François was raised by his restless young mother, who dreamt of new worlds but was unable to turn her back on her past. As we loop back through their lives we see their paths cross as they come closer and closer to this moment, brought together by the infinite possibilities of the night sky.
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1473524806
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 311
Book Description
Two lives. One night sky. Róisín and François first meet in the snowy white expanse of Antarctica, searching for a comet overhead. While Róisín grew up in a tiny village in Ireland, ablaze with a passion for science and the skies, François was raised by his restless young mother, who dreamt of new worlds but was unable to turn her back on her past. As we loop back through their lives we see their paths cross as they come closer and closer to this moment, brought together by the infinite possibilities of the night sky.
Heart of the Comet
Author: Gregory Benford
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780984915460
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 513
Book Description
A group of men and women, from a shattered society, ride a ball of ice through the solar system in search of a future.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780984915460
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 513
Book Description
A group of men and women, from a shattered society, ride a ball of ice through the solar system in search of a future.
Comet of Nostradamus
Author: R. W. Welch
Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide
ISBN: 9781567188165
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 340
Book Description
In this book readers discover that Nostradamus foresaw for the years following 2000, including a giant comet hurtling toward Europe and a great war extending throughout the Mediterranean and beyond.
Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide
ISBN: 9781567188165
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 340
Book Description
In this book readers discover that Nostradamus foresaw for the years following 2000, including a giant comet hurtling toward Europe and a great war extending throughout the Mediterranean and beyond.
Exodus to Arthur
Author: M. G. L. Baillie
Publisher: Batsford
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 280
Book Description
This account argues that the Earth has undergone several catastrophic encounters with comets and their debris in the last five millennia, with mythology preserving the story better than history.
Publisher: Batsford
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 280
Book Description
This account argues that the Earth has undergone several catastrophic encounters with comets and their debris in the last five millennia, with mythology preserving the story better than history.