Solar system: the Sun and planets Books

Book Synopsis1. Himmelsmechanik .- 2. Astrodynamik.

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Book SynopsisOn July 21, 1969, the first man set foot on The Moon. When Neil Armstrong was asked if this made him feel big, he answered: "No, it made me feel really, really small." 50 years later, this publication celebrates that special moment that put life on earth into a totally different perspective. It collects pictures of the world's best photographers from the 1840s until today. Next to historical photographs and imagery printed in media, the publication features many artists that each in their own way reflect on this mystical celestial body, we call 'moon'. The book shows the diversity of meanings of The Moon, it's relation to mankind and to nature. The Moon has always both attracted and scared people around the world. It is our everyday connection to the unfathomable universe. Since time immemorial it is revered for its beauty, its stillness and mysterious appearance and yet also feared for its supernatural-seeming qualities. In mythology The Moon has always been given a central place. With its magnetic forces it changes the tides and has a direct and uncontrollable impact on mankind from above. In 1840, barely three years after the invention of photography, J.W. Draper makes the first picture ever made of The Moon and since that day photographers have never stopped following his example. The paradoxical aspects of the moon continue to fascinate and inspire. Like a photograph The Moon depends on sunlight to be visible. It has no light of its own and no apparent strength to resist our nightly city lights either. Photographers feel this close connection to The Moon's characteristics and find the perfect object in its aesthetics. The landing on The Moon was a culmination point of the1960's Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union, which quickly became a symbol of the Cold War. The images of the landing became the bearer of values and symbols of the United States and were widely spread through various media. In 1973 NASA abolished its moon program. The Moon had been conquered and the public seemed to have had lost interest. However, today people still find The Moon fascinating, and humanity continues to dream about setting foot on the sun's shadow.

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Book SynopsisThis book provides the latest scientific understanding of the Sun, sharing insights gleaned from the international solar physics project Hinode. The authors (who are the main project contributors) review, from the various viewpoints, the discoveries and advances made by the on-orbit operations of the Hinode spacecraft in its first decade. Further, they present a wealth of scientifically important photographs and data from Hinode. Launched in September 2006, Hinode is the third Japanese solar observatory on orbit, and employs three highly advanced telescopes jointly developed and operated with international partners. The book describes the background of these research topics, how the Hinode telescopes have tackled various challenges, and the scientific achievements and impacts in the first 10 years. Furthermore, it explores future perspective of researches in Japan. The book will benefit undergraduate students interested in recent advance in the solar research, as well as graduate students and researchers working in solar physics, the space sciences, astronomy, and plasma physics.Table of ContentsPart I Reviews on 10 Years of HinodeA Brief History of Hinode – Toward the Success in Orbit1 Birth of Hinode2 Instrument Overview3 Science Achievements4 International Collaboration5 As On-Orbit Solar Observatory6 Ups and Downs in Operations7 Future ProspectsReferencesHinode’s Contributions to Solar Physics1 High Resolution Observation of the Sun in the Visible Wavelengths2 Discovery of Various Waves and Corona Heating3 Active Region Outflows and the Solar Wind4 Outlook for the FutureReferencesTen-Year Results of Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) Onboard Hinode1 Scientific Objectives of Solar Optical Telescope2 Resolution of Photospheric Magnetic Structures in Quiet Sun3 Resolution of Dynamical Phenomena in the Chromosphere4 SummaryReferencesX-ray Telescope (XRT) aboard Hinode: Key instrumental features and scientific highlights1 Scientific Background of XRT and Key Instrumental Features2 Some Scientific Highlights from XRT3 SummaryReferencesSolar Extreme Ultraviolet Spectroscopy: zur NachEISzeit1 EISberg before Hinode (“Sunrise”)2 Ice-breaking (EISbrechend) scientific problems3 Scientific objectives for post-gracial age (NachEISzeit)ReferencesPart II Coronal Heating and Solar WindCoronal Heating: issues revealed from Hinode observations1 Introduction2 Before the birth of Hinode3 From Yohkoh to Hinode4 Achievements by Hinode on Coronal Heating5 Concluding RemarksReferencesImportance of MHD Waves Observed with Hinode1 Introduction2 Discoveries of waves3 Energy flux estimation using numerical simulation4 Estimation of magnetic field using MHD waves5 Waves or mass loss?6 SummaryReferencesHinode Investigations of Microflares and Nanoflares1 Small flares in the Sun2 Physical processes of microflares and nanoflares3 Investigating signatures of unresolved nanoflares4 Summary and future observationsReferencesThe Origin of the Solar Wind1 Introduction2 Fast Wind3 Slow Wind4 Future ProspectsReferencesPart III Magnetism of Solar AtmosphereNew Insights into Sunspots through Hinode Observations1 Sunspot Studies before Hinode2 Sunspot Fine-scale Structures3 Sunspot Formation4 Sunspot Decay5 Future WorksReferencesThree-Dimensional Coronal Magnetic Field Based on the Photospheric Magnetic Field by Hinode/SP Observation1 Introduction2 Nonlinear Force-Free Field Extrapolation3 NLFFF Extrapolation Based on the Observed Magnetic Field4 Current State and FutureReferencesNew Approach to Solar Flare Trigger Process with Hinode/Solar Optical Telescope1 Solar Flare Trigger Problem2 Flare-triggering Structure Observed by Hinode/SOT3 Future DirectionReferencesHinode Observations of Flows and Heating Associated with Magnetic Reconnection during Solar Flares1 Introduction2 Flows3 Heating4 Conclusions and Future ProspectsReferencesThe First Decade of Hinode: understanding Coronal Mass Ejections1 Introduction2 The build-up to a CME3 Observations of the CME4 Propagation of the CME5 SummaryReferencesUnderstanding Magneto-Convection on Solar Surface with Hinode Satellite Observation1 Why do we prefer smaller scale?2 Observational results and new knowledge obtained by Hinode3 Future tasks in the following 10 yearsReferencesHinode Observation of the Sun’s Polar Magnetic Field and Solar Cycle Variation1 Introduction2 Polar region monitoring by Hinode3 Future solar cycle variation and polar region monitoringReferencesLocal Helioseismology Analyses with Hinode/SOT Datasets1 Introduction2 Advantages of SOT Local Helioseismology3 Significant Results of SOT Helioseismology4 OutlookReferencesPart IV Newly Opened Physics and Future ObservationsPenumbral Microjets in Sunspot Chromospheres: Evidence of Magnetic Reconnection1 Dynamic Chromosphere Revealed by Hinode2 Discovery of Penumbral Microjets3 Influence on Heating of the Transition Region and Corona4 Summary and Future DirectionReferencesPhysics of Partial Ionization in the Solar Chromosphere Revealed by the Solar Optical Telescope on board Hinode1 Introduction2 Plasma parameters and theoretical treatments3 Brief overview of the SOT results4 Concluding RemarkReferencesThermal Non-equilibrium Plasma Observed by Hinode1 Introduction2 Ion Temperature in a Solar Active Region3 Non-equilibirum Ionization During a Solar Flare4 Summary and Future PerspectivesReferencesFrom Hinode to the Next-Generation Solar Observation Missions1 Introduction2 The SOLAR-C Project3 Small Size Space Missions4 Ground-based Observations5 SummaryReferences Part V Science Center and Public OutreachHinode Science Center at NAOJ - from the preparations of the establishment to the issues for the future -1 Particularity of solar observation data in astrophysical studies2 Data analysis system for solar observing satellites3 Preparation for establishing the Hinode Science Center4 10 years of Hinode Science Center5 Issues for the futureReferencesPublic Outreach and Education Activities of Solar Mission Hinode in Japan1 Introduction2 Working Group for Public Use of Hinode Data3 Let’s look at the Sun with Hinode!4 A Lot of Thought into Our Outreach Activities5 ConclusionReferencesA Hinode Image GalleryA.1 Quiet SunA.2 SunspotsA.3 ChromosphereA.4 CoronaA.5 Flares and EruptionsA.6 Astronomical EventsIndex

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Book SynopsisThis book is concerned with two tightly knit topics — those of mathematics and astronomy. Its focus is primarily concerned with planetary astronomy, and specifically the history of accounting for the spacing of planetary orbits. The story begins with the ancient Greek philosophers and continues to the modern era and the new data being gleaned from the study of exoplanetary systems. Throughout the text, the manner in which mathematical theory has been used to decipher, and impose order upon the solar system, will be examined. Attention and discussion will be directed towards the so-called Titius-Bode rule, a long-standing ordering principle, that in fact it has no physical underpinning or explanation.The story presented will look at how humanity has learned about the workings of the solar system, and it will look at the philosophical problems that arise when mathematical exposition leads observation. Furthermore, the fundamental role of mathematics in the development of physical theory is examined, and it is argued that there are some gaps in our knowledge of the solar system (and the universe) that mathematics and physical theory will never successfully bridge. The text will present material at the informed-amateur scientist, university undergraduate student level.

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Book SynopsisThis book is concerned with two tightly knit topics — those of mathematics and astronomy. Its focus is primarily concerned with planetary astronomy, and specifically the history of accounting for the spacing of planetary orbits. The story begins with the ancient Greek philosophers and continues to the modern era and the new data being gleaned from the study of exoplanetary systems. Throughout the text, the manner in which mathematical theory has been used to decipher, and impose order upon the solar system, will be examined. Attention and discussion will be directed towards the so-called Titius-Bode rule, a long-standing ordering principle, that in fact it has no physical underpinning or explanation.The story presented will look at how humanity has learned about the workings of the solar system, and it will look at the philosophical problems that arise when mathematical exposition leads observation. Furthermore, the fundamental role of mathematics in the development of physical theory is examined, and it is argued that there are some gaps in our knowledge of the solar system (and the universe) that mathematics and physical theory will never successfully bridge. The text will present material at the informed-amateur scientist, university undergraduate student level.

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Book SynopsisThis book takes an excursion through solar science, science history, and geoclimate with a husband and wife team who revealed some of our sun's most stubborn secrets.E Walter and Annie S D Maunder's work helped in understanding our sun's chemical, electromagnetic and plasma properties. They knew the sun's sunspot migration patterns and its variable, climate-affecting, inactive and active states in short and long time frames. An inactive solar period starting in the mid-seventeenth century lasted approximately seventy years, one that E Walter Maunder worked hard to make us understand: the Maunder Minimum of c 1620-1720 (which was posthumously named for him).With ongoing concern over global warming, and the continuing failure to identify root causes driving earth's climatic changes, the Maunders' story outlines how our cyclical sun can alter climate. The book goes on to view the sun-earth connection in terms of geomagnetic variation and climatic change; contemporary views on the sun's operating mechanisms are explored, and the effects these have on the earth over long and short time scales are pondered.If not a call to widen earth's climate research to include the sun, this book strives to illustrate how solar causes and effects can influence earth's climate in ways we must understand in order to enhance solar system research and our well-being.Table of ContentsA sun most pure and most lucid; background of the Maunder Minimum; the Maunder Minimum - Europe, Asia, North America; surveying the Maunder Minimum; Maunder's early life and associations; the family Maunder - the BAA and astronomy for all; a particle theory for the sun-Earth connection; our knowledge of the sun and its variability today; cycles of the sun and their tie to Earth; the Maunders and their final story. (Part contents)

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Book SynopsisThis book takes an excursion through solar science, science history, and geoclimate with a husband and wife team who revealed some of our sun's most stubborn secrets.E Walter and Annie S D Maunder's work helped in understanding our sun's chemical, electromagnetic and plasma properties. They knew the sun's sunspot migration patterns and its variable, climate-affecting, inactive and active states in short and long time frames. An inactive solar period starting in the mid-seventeenth century lasted approximately seventy years, one that E Walter Maunder worked hard to make us understand: the Maunder Minimum of c 1620-1720 (which was posthumously named for him).With ongoing concern over global warming, and the continuing failure to identify root causes driving earth's climatic changes, the Maunders' story outlines how our cyclical sun can alter climate. The book goes on to view the sun-earth connection in terms of geomagnetic variation and climatic change; contemporary views on the sun's operating mechanisms are explored, and the effects these have on the earth over long and short time scales are pondered.If not a call to widen earth's climate research to include the sun, this book strives to illustrate how solar causes and effects can influence earth's climate in ways we must understand in order to enhance solar system research and our well-being.Table of ContentsA sun most pure and most lucid; background of the Maunder Minimum; the Maunder Minimum - Europe, Asia, North America; surveying the Maunder Minimum; Maunder's early life and associations; the family Maunder - the BAA and astronomy for all; a particle theory for the sun-Earth connection; our knowledge of the sun and its variability today; cycles of the sun and their tie to Earth; the Maunders and their final story. (Part contents)

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Book SynopsisOver the last decade the physics of black holes has been revolutionized by developments that grew out of Jacob Bekenstein's realization that black holes have entropy. Stephen Hawking raised profound issues concerning the loss of information in black hole evaporation and the consistency of quantum mechanics in a world with gravity. For two decades these questions puzzled theoretical physicists and eventually led to a revolution in the way we think about space, time, matter and information. This revolution has culminated in a remarkable principle called “The Holographic Principle”, which is now a major focus of attention in gravitational research, quantum field theory and elementary particle physics. Leonard Susskind, one of the co-inventors of the Holographic Principle as well as one of the founders of String theory, develops and explains these concepts.Table of ContentsBlack Holes and Quantum Mechanics:; The Schwarzschild Black Hole; Scalar Wave Equation in a Schwarzschild Background; Quantum Fields in Rindler Space; Entropy of the Free Quantum Field in Rindler Space; Thermodynamics of Black Holes; Charged Black Holes; The Stretched Horizon; The Laws of Nature; The Puzzle of Information Conservation in Black Hole Environments; Horizons and the UV/IR Connection; Entropy Bounds and Holography:; Entropy Bounds; The Holographic Principle and Anti de Sitter Space; Black Holes in a Box; Black Holes and Strings:; Strings; Entropy of Strings and Black Holes

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Book SynopsisOver the last decade the physics of black holes has been revolutionized by developments that grew out of Jacob Bekenstein's realization that black holes have entropy. Stephen Hawking raised profound issues concerning the loss of information in black hole evaporation and the consistency of quantum mechanics in a world with gravity. For two decades these questions puzzled theoretical physicists and eventually led to a revolution in the way we think about space, time, matter and information. This revolution has culminated in a remarkable principle called “The Holographic Principle”, which is now a major focus of attention in gravitational research, quantum field theory and elementary particle physics. Leonard Susskind, one of the co-inventors of the Holographic Principle as well as one of the founders of String theory, develops and explains these concepts.

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Book SynopsisThere are several textbooks available on solar astronomy which deal with advanced astrophysical aspects of solar physics, and books which provide very elementary knowledge about the Sun. This book will help to bridge the gap. It aims to stimulate interest in solar astronomy, presenting at one place the basic methods and techniques used in the field, together with the latest findings and the excitement in solar physics. As solar astronomy is becoming very popular among amateur astronomers and laymen, the book provides the practical knowledge to build simple solar telescopes and other equipment for making solar observations. Amateur astronomers have made important contributions to solar astronomy, and this book will help to guide them in their endeavours. The book can also serve as a text for undergraduate and graduate students starting out on solar physics. Using it, graduate students can easily embark on specific topics of research in solar astronomy.Table of ContentsAncient Solar Astronomy; Modern Solar Observatories; Structure of Solar Atmosphere; The Quiet Sun; The Active Sun; Observational Techniques; Solar Optical Instrumentation; Solar Eclipses; Solar Interior Through and Helioseismology; On the Joy of Observing the Sun -- A Personal Experience.

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Book SynopsisTitan: Exploring an Earthlike World presents the most comprehensive description in book form of what is currently known about Titan, the largest satellite of the planet Saturn and arguably the most intriguing and mysterious world in the Solar System. Because of its resemblance to our own planet, Titan is often described as a “frozen primitive Earth” and is therefore of wide interest to scientists and educated laypersons from a wide range of backgrounds. The book aims to cater to all of these by using nontechnical language wherever possible, while maintaining a high standard of scientific rigor.The book is a fully revised and extensively updated edition of Titan: The Earthlike Moon, which was published in 1999, before the Cassini and Huygens missions arrived to orbit Saturn and land on Titan. As investigators on these missions, the authors use the latest results to present the most recent revelations and latest surprises about an exciting new world.Table of ContentsVoyager Missions to Titan; Observations of Titan from the Earth; Cassini-Huygens: Orbiting Saturn and Landing on Titan; Titan's Atmosphere and Climate; Chemistry and Composition; Aerosols and Condensates; Atmospheric Dynamics and Meteorology; The Surface and Interior of Titan; Titan's Origin and Evolution in the Solar System; Beyond Cassini/Huygens: The Future Exploration of Titan.

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Book SynopsisThe book begins at the Sun then travels through the solar system to see the stars, how they work, and ultimately what they mean to us. The idea is to provide an integrated view of the galaxy and its contents. Along the way we look at spectra, atmospheric phenomena, gravity and the laws of motion, telescopes and how they work, interstellar gas and dust, star birth and death, and planets orbiting other stars. Most popular books tend to focus on one particular topic. From the Sun to the Stars is one of the few that tells the story of the Sun against the background of other stars and other planets and, for that matter, of stars and other planets against the background of the Sun and solar system. This presents the subject with a breadth that few other books can match.This book grew out of the OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) lectures given by the author at the University of Illinois. It doesn't require any prior knowledge and is suitable for anyone who is interested in astronomy.

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Book SynopsisThe book begins at the Sun then travels through the solar system to see the stars, how they work, and ultimately what they mean to us. The idea is to provide an integrated view of the galaxy and its contents. Along the way we look at spectra, atmospheric phenomena, gravity and the laws of motion, telescopes and how they work, interstellar gas and dust, star birth and death, and planets orbiting other stars. Most popular books tend to focus on one particular topic. From the Sun to the Stars is one of the few that tells the story of the Sun against the background of other stars and other planets and, for that matter, of stars and other planets against the background of the Sun and solar system. This presents the subject with a breadth that few other books can match.This book grew out of the OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) lectures given by the author at the University of Illinois. It doesn't require any prior knowledge and is suitable for anyone who is interested in astronomy.

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Book SynopsisNuclear planetary science has come to play an important role in our understanding of the origin and evolution of the planetary bodies in our solar system. A newly established branch of planetary science, its study aids in humankind's exploration of the present states of the structures of various planetary bodies (including the Earth), their atmospheres and their satellites, as well as small celestial bodies (e.g. asteroids), through direct observation. Knowing the elemental composition of the planetary bodies is essential in order to understand the formation and evolution of planetary bodies — just as important as it is to know the mass, radius, density and orbit of the celestial body.Suitable for students and specialists interested in the much wider field of Earth and Planetary Science, topics related to the planets and asteroids in the solar system are dealt with in this book. Techniques related to nuclear planetary science's nuclear cosmochemical and geological methods are also covered in this book.

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Book SynopsisAstrophysical research has led to the detection of thousands of planets outside the Solar System. About one-tenth of the extrasolar planets discovered so far reside in binary- or multi-stellar systems, and some of the closest known rocky exoplanets populate these multiple-star systems. While such environments seem good places to look for a second Earth, can Earth-like planets with two or more suns be habitable? And do solar system-like configurations have to be detected to find a habitable exo-Earth?This book addresses these questions. Starting with a brief overview of the various types of double star-planet configurations that have been observed so far, the book discusses the intriguing variety of planetary motion in such environments, taking into account the stellar type, evolution, and activity, and elaborates on how the presence of an additional stellar companion affects planet formation, system architectures and the habitability of planets in binary star systems. New methodologies developed in this area of research are explained and demonstrated for systems such as Alpha-Centauri, HD41004, Kepler-35, and many others. This monograph provides a grand entry to the exciting results that we expect from new missions like TESS, CHEOPS and Plato.

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Book SynopsisThis revised edition places a unique emphasis on all the new results from ground-based, satellites and space missions — detection of molecule H2 and prompt emission lines of OH for the first time; discovery of X-rays in comets; observed diversity in chemical composition among comets; the puzzle of the constancy of spin temperature; the well-established mineralogy of cometary dust; extensive theoretical modeling carried out for understanding the observed effects; the similarity in the mineralogy of dust in circumstellar shell of stars, comets, meteorites, asteroids and IDPs, thus indicating the generic relationship between them.Table of ContentsGeneral Introduction; Dynamics; Physical Aspects; Spectra; Spectra of Coma; Gas-Production Rates in Coma; Dust Tail; Light Scattering Theory; The Nature of Dust Particles; Ion Tails; Nucleus; Origin; Relation to Other Solar System Objects; Problems and Prospects.

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Book SynopsisWhat is a planet? The answer may seem obvious; still, the definition of a planet has continuously evolved over the centuries, and their number has changed following successive discoveries. In 2006, the decision endorsed by the International Astronomical Union to remove Pluto from the list of planets has well illustrated the difficulty associated with their definition. The recent discovery of hundreds of exoplanets around nearby stars of our Galaxy opens a new and spectacular dimension to astrophysics. We presently know very little about the physical nature of exoplanets. In contrast, our knowledge on solar system planets has made huge progress over the past decades, thanks, especially, to space planetary exploration. The purpose of this book is first to characterize what planets are, in their global properties and in their diversity. Then, this knowledge is used to try to imagine the physical nature of exoplanets, starting from the few parameters we know about them. Throughout, we keep in mind the ultimate question of the search for possible extraterrestrial life: Could life exist or have existed in the solar system and beyond?Thérèse Encrenaz is Emeritus Senior Scientist at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. She works at the Observatoire de Paris, at the Laboratoire d'Etudes Spatiales et d'Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA). She is a specialist of the study of planetary atmospheres, and has been involved in several space missions.Table of ContentsIntroduction; How to Explore Planets; The Birth of Planets; Exploring Planet Earth; The Neighbors of the Earth; Further Away, the Giant Planets; Exoplanets, the New Worlds; Searching for Habitable Worlds.

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Book SynopsisDifferent techniques that enable to determine solar rotation (e.g., tracer method, spectroscopic method, helioseismology) are presented and their results are compared and interpreted.In the current literature there is no book exclusively about solar rotation published in the last several decades.

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