Academic : Space Sciences : General : Astronomers

A fascinating introduction to the basic principles of orbital mechanics. It has been three hundred years since Isaac Newton first formulated laws to explain the orbits of the Moon and the planets of our solar system. In so doing he laid the groundwork for modern science's understanding of the workings of the cosmos and helped pave the way to the age of space exploration. Adventures in Celestial Mechanics offers students an enjoyable way to become acquainted with the basic principles involved in the motions of natural and human-made bodies in space. Packed with examples in which these principles are applied to everything from a falling stone to the Sun, from space probes to galaxies, this updated and revised Second Edition is an ideal introduction to celestial mechanics for students of astronomy, physics, and aerospace engineering. Other features that helped make the first edition of this book the text of choice in colleges and universities across North America include:. * Lively historical accounts of important discoveries in celestial mechanics and the men and women who made them. * Superb illustrations, photographs, charts, and tables. * Helpful chapter-end examples and problem sets more...

Price: $120.00

Biographer Charles Cerami mines the available data, eschews the apocryphal, and renders his subject human. Captured completely is the flowering genius of a largely home-schooled boy wonder, exhibiting mathematical wizardry while devouring the Bible, Plato, Epictetus, and virtually every other extant tome. The fabled memory that could have reproduced L'Enfant's plan for the entire District of Columbia becomes palpable and real. more...

Price: $24.95

Nicolaus Copernicus gave the world perhaps the most important scientific insight of the modern age, the theory that the earth and the other planets revolve around the sun. He was also the first to proclaim that the earth rotates on its axis once every twenty-four hours. His theory was truly radical: during his lifetime nearly everyone believed that a perfectly still earth rested in the middle of the cosmos, where all the heavenly bodies revolved around it. Copernicus' Secret recreates the life and world of the scientific genius whose work revolutionized astronomy and altered our understanding of our place in the world. It tells the surprising, little-known story behind the dawn of the scientific age. more...

Price: $16.00

Fred Hoyle was a down-to-earth, argumentative Yorkshireman who became the voice of British astronomy. For fifty years, he spoke out for astronomy in the newspapers, on government committees, at scientific meetings, in popular books and on the radio. He devised the steady-state theory of the universe and worked out how the elements are formed in the nuclei of stars. He also founded a prestigious institute, led the project to build a giant telescope and, if it rained on his summer. holiday, he sat in his caravan and wrote science fiction novels for his legions of fans around the world. This book tells the behind-the-scenes story of one of the twentieth century's most distinguished and controversial scientists. - ;Fred Hoyle was one of the most widely acclaimed and colourful scientists of the twentieth century, a down-to-earth Yorkshireman who combined a brilliant scientific mind with a relish for communication and controversy. Best known for his steady-state theory of cosmology, he described a universe with both an infinite past and an infinite future. He coined the phrase 'big bang' to describe the main competing theory, and sustained a long-running, sometimes ill-tempered, and typically public debate with his scientific rivals. He showed how the elements are formed by nuclear reactions inside stars, and explained how we are therefore all formed from stardust. He also claimed that diseases fall from the sky,. attacked Darwinism, and branded the famous fossil of the feathered Archaeopteryx a fake. Throughout his career, Hoyle played a major role in the popularization of science. Through his radio broadcasts and his highly successful science fiction novels he became a household name, though his outspokenness and support for increasingly outlandish causes later in life at times antagonized the scientific community. Jane Gregory builds up a vivid picture of Hoyle's role in the ideas, the organization, and the popularization of astronomy in post-war Britai more...

Price: $48.00

This text presents an account of the great mathematician and physicist Galileo Galilei. The story of his life and times, of his epoch-making experiments and discoveries, of his stubbornness and pride, of his patrons in the house of Medici, of his enemies and friends - all is brought vividly to life in this book. more...

Price: $44.95