Catching Stardust

Catching Stardust PDF Author: Natalie Starkey
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472944038
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 265

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Book Description
'Astonishing' - New Scientist Icy, rocky, sometimes dusty, always mysterious – comets and asteroids are among the Solar System's very oldest inhabitants, formed within a swirling cloud of gas and dust in the area of space that eventually hosted the Sun and its planets. Locked within each of these extra-terrestrial objects is the 4.6-billion-year wisdom of Solar System events, and by studying them at close quarters using spacecraft we can coerce them into revealing their closely-guarded secrets. This offers us the chance to answer some fundamental questions about our planet and its inhabitants. Exploring comets and asteroids also allows us to shape the story of Earth's future, enabling us to protect our precious planet from the threat of a catastrophic impact from space, and maybe to even recover valuable raw materials from them. This cosmic bounty could be as useful in space as it is on Earth, providing the necessary fuel and supplies for humans as they voyage into deep space to explore more distant locations within the Solar System. Catching Stardust tells the story of these enigmatic celestial objects, revealing how scientists are using them to help understand a crucial time in our history – the birth of the Solar System, and everything contained within it.

Catching Stardust

Catching Stardust PDF Author: Natalie Starkey
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472944038
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 265

Get Book Here

Book Description
'Astonishing' - New Scientist Icy, rocky, sometimes dusty, always mysterious – comets and asteroids are among the Solar System's very oldest inhabitants, formed within a swirling cloud of gas and dust in the area of space that eventually hosted the Sun and its planets. Locked within each of these extra-terrestrial objects is the 4.6-billion-year wisdom of Solar System events, and by studying them at close quarters using spacecraft we can coerce them into revealing their closely-guarded secrets. This offers us the chance to answer some fundamental questions about our planet and its inhabitants. Exploring comets and asteroids also allows us to shape the story of Earth's future, enabling us to protect our precious planet from the threat of a catastrophic impact from space, and maybe to even recover valuable raw materials from them. This cosmic bounty could be as useful in space as it is on Earth, providing the necessary fuel and supplies for humans as they voyage into deep space to explore more distant locations within the Solar System. Catching Stardust tells the story of these enigmatic celestial objects, revealing how scientists are using them to help understand a crucial time in our history – the birth of the Solar System, and everything contained within it.

Fire and Ice

Fire and Ice PDF Author: Natalie Starkey
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472960386
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 329

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Book Description
A fascinating look at extraterrestrial volcanoes in our Solar System. The volcano – among the most familiar and perhaps the most terrifying of all geological phenomena. However, Earth isn't the only planet to harbour volcanoes. In fact, the Solar System, and probably the entire Universe, is littered with them. Our own Moon, which is now a dormant piece of rock, had lava flowing across its surface billions of years ago, while Mars can be credited with the largest volcano in the Solar System, Olympus Mons, which stands 25km high. While Mars's volcanoes are long dead, volcanic activity continues in almost every other corner of the Solar System, in the most unexpected of locations. We tend to think of Earth volcanoes as erupting hot, molten lava and emitting huge, billowing clouds of incandescent ash. However, it isn't necessarily the same across the rest of the Solar System. For a start, some volcanoes aren't even particularly hot. Those on Pluto, for example, erupt an icy slush of substances such as water, methane, nitrogen or ammonia, that freeze to form ice mountains as hard as rock. While others, like the volcanoes on one of Jupiter's moons, Io, erupt the hottest lavas in the Solar System onto a surface covered in a frosty coating of sulphur. Whether they are formed of fire or ice, volcanoes are of huge importance for scientists trying to picture the inner workings of a planet or moon. Volcanoes dredge up materials from the otherwise inaccessible depths and helpfully deliver them to the surface. The way in which they erupt, and the products they generate, can even help scientists ponder bigger questions on the possibility of life elsewhere in the Solar System. Fire and Ice is an exploration of the Solar System's volcanoes, from the highest peaks of Mars to the intensely inhospitable surface of Venus and the red-hot summits of Io, to the coldest, seemingly dormant icy carapaces of Enceladus and Europa, an unusual look at how these cosmic features are made, and whether such active planetary systems might host life.

The Stardust Revolution

The Stardust Revolution PDF Author: Jacob Berkowitz
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1633888622
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 385

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Book Description
In 1957, as Americans obsessed over the launch of the Soviet Sputnik satellite, another less noticed space-based scientific revolution was taking off. That year, astrophysicists solved a centuries-old quest for the origins of the elements, from carbon to uranium. The answer they found wasn’t on Earth, but in the stars. Their research showed that we are literally stardust. The year also marked the first conference that considered the origin of life on Earth in an astrophysical context. It was the marriage of two of the seemingly strangest bedfellows—astronomy and biology—and a turning point that award-winning science author Jacob Berkowitz calls the Stardust Revolution. In this captivating story of an exciting, deeply personal, new scientific revolution, Berkowitz weaves together the latest research results to reveal a dramatically different view of the twinkling night sky—not as an alien frontier, but as our cosmic birthplace. Reporting from the frontlines of discovery, Berkowitz uniquely captures how stardust scientists are probing the universe’s physical structure, but rather its biological nature. Evolutionary theory is entering the space age. From the amazing discovery of cosmic clouds of life’s chemical building blocks to the dramatic quest for an alien Earth, Berkowitz expertly chronicles the most profound scientific search of our era: to know not just if we are alone, but how we are connected. Like opening a long-hidden box of old family letters and diaries, The Stardust Revolution offers us a new view of where we’ve come from and brings to light our journey from stardust to thinking beings.

Dreams Of Stardust

Dreams Of Stardust PDF Author: Lynn Kurland
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1440627932
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 404

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Book Description
At last, USA Today bestselling author Lynn Kurland delivers her newest time travel romance. In the 1200s, Amanda of Artane has one summer to choose from her suitors--and find love forever.

On the Trail of Stardust

On the Trail of Stardust PDF Author: Jon Larsen
Publisher: Voyageur Press
ISBN: 0760364583
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 147

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Book Description
On the Trail of Stardust puts the heavens in your hands—in the form of cosmic dust, or micrometeorites. With this handy guide from the author of the international bestseller In Search of Stardust, Jon Larsen, you will learn how to find micrometeorites in your own neighborhood! Stardust—also known as micrometeorites—is the oldest matter anywhere. Nothing has traveled farther to reach Earth. For a century, scientists have searched everywhere for stardust, but only found it in remote areas like Antarctica and, more recently, outer space. Author and citizen scientist extraordinaire Jon Larsen was the first to find them in populated areas. With this book, you too can discover stardust as near as your own rooftop! Following his successful debut, In Search of Stardust, Larsen turns his attention from explaining the formation and various kinds of stardust to revealing his methods and techniques for finding micrometeorites in a compact, durable guide. Larsen covers everything from the origins and formation of micrometeorites to assembling the simple array of gear needed to get out there and find stardust in your own neighborhood, rooftop, or rain gutters. Larsen explains the best places to look and offers step-by-step photo sequences of the techniques he has developed to assemble his collection of 1,500-plus verified micrometeorites (and counting). And you don’t need a multi-million-dollar scanning electron microscope to document your collection; Jon shows how to assemble a serviceable photo setup from easily accessible equipment. The book is capped off with a field guide of sorts that offers a taxonomy of the various types of micrometeorites, along with sample images, as well as the kinds of man-made and terrestrial spherules that stardust hunters are likely to encounter and how to identify them as imposters. Once thought to exist only at the bottoms of oceans and atop polar ice, it turns out that stardust is everywhere…and On the Trail of Stardust is your indispensable tool to finding it for yourself.

From Sawdust to Stardust

From Sawdust to Stardust PDF Author: Terry Lee Rioux
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1416500049
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 385

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Book Description
In the forty-year history of Star Trek®, none of the television show's actors are more beloved than DeForest Kelley. His portrayal of Leonard "Bones" McCoy, the southern physician aboard the Starship Enterprise™, brought an unaffected humanity to the groundbreaking space frontier series. Jackson DeForest Kelley came of age in Depression-era Georgia. He was raised on the sawdust trail, a preacher's kid steeped in his father's literal faith and judgment. But De's natural artistic gifts called him to a different way, and a visit to California at seventeen showed a bright new world. Theater and radio defined his early career -- but it was a World War II training film he made while serving in the Army Air Corps that led to his first Paramount Studios contract. After years of struggle, his lean, weathered look became well known in notable westerns and television programs such as You Are There and Bonanza. But his work on several pilots for writer-producer Gene Roddenberry changed his destiny and the course of cultural history. This thoroughly researched actor's life is about hard work and luck, loyalty and love. It is a journey that takes us all...from sawdust to stardust.

Stardust

Stardust PDF Author: Neil Gaiman
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0061142026
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 282

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Book Description
Young Tristran Thorn will do anything to win the cold heart of beautiful Victoria—even fetch her the star they watch fall from the night sky. But to do so, he must enter the unexplored lands on the other side of the ancient wall that gives their tiny village its name. Beyond that old stone wall, Tristran learns, lies Faerie—where nothing, not even a fallen star, is what he imagined. From #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman comes a remarkable quest into the dark and miraculous—in pursuit of love and the utterly impossible.

Stardust on My Pillow

Stardust on My Pillow PDF Author: Patsy Clairmont
Publisher: Waterbrook Press
ISBN: 9781578563692
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Book Description
Best-selling Author and Beloved Storyteller Patsy Clairmont Takes an All-New Approach to Her Message of Encouragement, Healing, and Hope. From "Boxed In," the story of a woman making a startling discovery about a distant aunt she never really knew, to "Cloistered," the tale of a severely phobic woman being gently wooed back into life, popular speaker and writer Patsy Clairmont has crafted a beautiful and impressive first collection of short fiction. Through the fourteen tales featured in Stardust on My Pillow, Patsy sensitively explores the themes of compassion and kindness, holiness and hope, while providing beautifully written inspiration for all of us who desire to spread a little stardust of our own. Quotes: "Patsy Clairmont has a sensitive and compassionate voice as a storyteller." -Francine Rivers, author "I rarely read fiction, but when I do it had better be good. Well, let me tell you, friends, this is good. It incorporates Patsy's extraordinary communication skills with her unique ability to weave a charming and fantastic story. Plan to stay up late and be dazzled by stardust." -LuciSwindoll, author and speaker "Like a vase holding a spring bouquet, Patsy's book holds a wonderful variety of stories, each one with emotional color and a lingering fragrance all its own." -Ken Gire, author "As endearing as Patsy herself, these honest, poignant tales bring home messages of grace, truth, and above all, hope." -Liz Curtis Higgs, author and speaker "Patsy's short stories are sure to warm your heart and soul. Simply one of the most delightful reading experiences I've had in a long time." -Shelley Breen, Point of Grace Short Stories to Bolster Your Spirit Petite, playful, and profound. These words help to describe Patsy Clairmont's size, message, and humor. Gifted with both a quick wit and a sure command of God's Word, Patsy can simultaneously bring laughter to her audiences while imparting deep, life-changing insights. Known today as a best-selling author and popular speaker who addresses thousands of women at national conferences, Patsy once suffered as a prisoner in her own home because of agoraphobia (fear of open spaces). Her experience has given her a deep appreciation of God's healing power. In Stardust on My Pillow, Patsy courageously and skillfully breaks new ground, offering her message of God's grace for the first time through the medium of short fiction. In fourteen touching and tender tales, she explores the mystery and faithfulness of God's goodness and love, as experienced and demonstrated by his people.

Through Two Doors at Once

Through Two Doors at Once PDF Author: Anil Ananthaswamy
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101986107
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
The intellectual adventure story of the "double-slit" experiment, showing how a sunbeam split into two paths first challenged our understanding of light and then the nature of reality itself--and continues to almost two hundred years later. Many of science's greatest minds have grappled with the simple yet elusive "double-slit" experiment. Thomas Young devised it in the early 1800s to show that light behaves like a wave, and in doing so opposed Isaac Newton. Nearly a century later, Albert Einstein showed that light comes in quanta, or particles, and the experiment became key to a fierce debate between Einstein and Niels Bohr over the nature of reality. Richard Feynman held that the double slit embodies the central mystery of the quantum world. Decade after decade, hypothesis after hypothesis, scientists have returned to this ingenious experiment to help them answer deeper and deeper questions about the fabric of the universe. How can a single particle behave both like a particle and a wave? Does a particle exist before we look at it, or does the very act of looking create reality? Are there hidden aspects to reality missing from the orthodox view of quantum physics? Is there a place where the quantum world ends and the familiar classical world of our daily lives begins, and if so, can we find it? And if there's no such place, then does the universe split into two each time a particle goes through the double slit? With his extraordinarily gifted eloquence, Anil Ananthaswamy travels around the world and through history, down to the smallest scales of physical reality we have yet fathomed. Through Two Doors at Once is the most fantastic voyage you can take.

Stardust

Stardust PDF Author: Jeanne Willis
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 1536202657
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The perfect story for anyone who’s ever felt overshadowed. One little girl dreams of being a star. But whether it's finding Mom's lost wedding ring or winning the costume prize, her big sister always shines brighter. In her grandfather’s eyes, though, she is a star. As he dries her tears and they both gaze up at the night sky, he tells a story about how everything and everyone is made of stardust and we all shine in different ways. With illustrations from new talent Briony May Smith, this is a touching story about being true to yourself from award-winning author Jeanne Willis.