Average customer rating:
|
Draw 50 Aliens: The Step-by-Step Way to Draw UFOs, Galaxy Ghouls, Milky Way Marauders, and Other Extraterrestrial Creatures (Draw 50)
Lee J. Ames Manufacturer: Broadway ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 038549145X Release Date: 1998-10-20 |
Book Description
Alien fever is running high: the Alien movies and reissue of the Star Wars trilogy have made outer space fascinating to a whole new generation of children. And who better to help budding artists master their drawings of the friendly folk from the final frontier than Lee Ames--creator of the phenomenally successful Draw 50 series?Customer Reviews:
A book drawers will love.......2003-01-15
a really good book.......2001-03-25
Draw 50 Aliens plus.......2000-06-04
A Wonderful Book for Children.......2000-02-04
Average customer rating:
|
The Black Hole at the Center of Our Galaxy
Fulvio Melia Manufacturer: Princeton University Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Similar Items:
ASIN: 0691095051 |
Book Description
Could Einstein have possibly anticipated directly testing the most captivating prediction of general relativity, that there exist isolated pockets of spacetime shielded completely from our own? Now, almost a century after that theory emerged, one of the world's leading astrophysicists presents a wealth of recent evidence that just such an entity, with a mass of about three million suns, is indeed lurking at the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way--in the form of a supermassive ''black hole''!
With this superbly illustrated, elegantly written, nontechnical account of the most enigmatic astronomical object yet observed, Fulvio Melia captures all the excitement of the growing realization that we are on the verge of actually seeing this exotic object within the next few years.
Melia traces our intellectual pilgrimage to the ''brooding behemoth'' at the heart of the Milky Way. He describes the dizzying technological advances that have recently brought us to the point of seeing through all the cosmic dust to a dark spot in a clouded cluster of stars in the constellation Sagittarius. Carefully assembling the compelling circumstantial evidence for its black hole status, he shows that it is primed to reveal itself as a glorious panorama of activity within this decade--through revolutionary images of its ''event horizon'' against the bright backdrop of nearby, radiating gas.
Uniquely, this book brings together a specific and fascinating astronomical subject--black holes--with a top researcher to provide both amateur and armchair astronomers, but also professional scientists seeking a concise overview of the topic, a real sense of the palpable thrill in the scientific community when an important discovery is imminent.
Customer Reviews:
Concerning Melia's "Black Hole..".......2006-07-06
Very excited about this book.......2004-08-27
passionate, he is - but it's hard to follow.......2004-05-09
Fascinating indeed.......2004-02-01
Amazing Detective Story.......2004-02-01
Average customer rating: |
Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology: An Introduction
Peter Schneider Manufacturer: Springer ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Similar Items:
Accessories:
ASIN: 3540331743 |
Book Description
Starting with the description of our home galaxy the Milky Way, this cogently written textbook introduces the reader to the astronomy of galaxies, their structure, active galactic nuclei, evolution and large scale distribution. Then, from the extensive and thorough introduction to modern observational and theoretical cosmology, the text turns to the formation of structures and astronomical objects in the early universe. The basics of classical astronomy and stellar astrophysics needed for extragalactic astronomy are given in the appendix.
In particular, Peter Schneider’s Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology has the goal of imparting the fundamental knowledge of this fascinating subfield of astronomy, while leading readers to the forefront of astronomical research. But it seeks to accomplish this not only with extensive textual information and insights. In addition, the author’s evident admiration for the workings of the universe that shines through the lines and the many supporting color illustrations will deeply inspire the reader.
While this book has grown out of introductory university courses on astronomy and astrophysics, it will not only be appreciated by undergraduate students and lecturers. Through the comprehensive coverage of the field, even graduate students and researchers specializing in related fields will appreciate it as reliable reference.
Average customer rating: |
Planetary Nebulae Beyond the Milky Way: Proceedings of the ESO Workshop held at Garching, Germany, 19-21 May, 2004 (ESO Astrophysics Symposia)
Manufacturer: Springer ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: 3540310118 |
Book Description
In the last decade extra-galactic planetary nebulae (PNe) have gained increasing importance. Improved observational capabilities have allowed fainter and fainter PNe to be studied in galaxies well beyond the Milky Way. Planetary nebulae can be detected to at least 30Mpc. They are found in galaxies of all types and also between the galaxies in nearby galaxy clusters. They are valuable as probes, both for providing the velocity of their host stars and also the evolutionary status and relation to the stellar population from which they formed.
This book contains the proceedings of a workshop held at ESO headquarters in Garching in 2004, the first meeting devoted entirely to Extra-galactic Planetary Nebulae. A wide range of topics is covered, from stellar and nebular astrophysics to galactic dynamics and galaxy clusters, making this volume a unique and timely reference of broad astrophysical interest.
Average customer rating: |
Astronomy of the Milky Way
Mike Inglis Manufacturer: Springer ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 1852337435 |
Book Description
One of the wonders of the universe we live in is the Milky Way. It spans the entire sky and can be seen every night of the year from anywhere on Earth. This is the first book that deals specifically with what can be seen within the Milky Way from a practical observer's point of view. Astronomy of the Milky Way covers every constellation that the Milky Way passes through, and describes in detail the many objects that can be found therein, including stars, double and multiple stars, emission nebulae, planetary nebulae, dark nebulae and supernovae remnants, open and galactic clusters, and galaxies. It also describes the one thing that is often left out of observing guides - the amazing star clouds of the Milky Way itself. It is one of a two-volume set that deal with the entire Milky Way - this second volume looks at what can be seen predominantly from the Southern skies In addition to the descriptive text there are many star charts and maps, as well as the latest up-to-date images made by observatories around the world and in space, as well as images taken by amateur astronomers. Equipped with this book, an amateur astronomer can go out on any clear night of the year and observe the galaxy we live in - The Milky Way.
Average customer rating: |
The Milky Way And Other Galaxies (Our Solar System)
Dana Meachen Rau Manufacturer: Compass Point Books ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Similar Items: ASIN: 0756508533 |
Average customer rating:
|
The Guide to the Galaxy
Nigel Henbest , and Heather Couper Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: 0521306221 |
Customer Reviews:
A great way to learn about the neighborhood.......2001-10-17
Excellent introduction for someone curious about our stars.......1998-02-11
superb reading and pictures, no bla bla.......1997-11-10
An armchair astronomer's dream........1997-07-14
Average customer rating:
|
Galactic Astronomy: Structure and Kinematics of Galaxies
James Binney Manufacturer: W H Freeman & Co (Sd) ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: 0716712806 |
Customer Reviews:
The biggest things in the universe..........2003-05-21
This is a revision of a text first written in 1967 -- as scientific advances have proceeded at an ever increasing speed, this text too is lacking in many of the most recent discoveries and interpretations. However, it still provides a significant introduction to many basic ideas and patterns that have not changed over time. There has been a follow-up by James Binney and Michael Merrifield published recently.
Galactic astronomy, with the increasing understanding of large-scale physics and the increasing data from telescopes, both visual and extra-visual, has made great strides in understanding the composition, motions and developments of galaxies -- not only spiral galaxies such as our own, but other galactic shapes and structures, too. This book addresses the structure and kinematics. A word of explanation: kinematics is the study of motion without reference to the forces which cause the motion -- dynamics addresses that, and that is not included in this text, but rather left for a second volume.
This volume begins with a basic overview of the our conception of our own galaxy, giving a brief historical overview of explanations about the Milky Way and how this developed into the idea of a disc of stars; the recognition of our Sun being not in the centre but rather in a more unremarkable spot on one of the arms of the galaxy; the increasing knowledge from better and better observational data of the number of stars and other constituents of the galaxy, and the plotting of movement of individual stars and the collective motion of the galaxy. With the additional charting of dark matter, globular clusters, and other pieces, an increasingly accurate portrait of our home galaxy has been made.
The volume then gives a 'refresher' on astronomical terminology and concepts as related to galactic astronomy. Positions and coordinate systems, motions, measurements using parallax, stellar spectra, magnitudes and colours, energy distributions, and a refresher on the cataloguing system help to put the rest of the text in perspective. Particularly as galaxies are primarily made up of stars, the physical properties stars--masses, evolution, types of stars--are examined in detail, along with information about interstellar absorption and other galactic constituents.
Then, galactic astronomy begins in earnest, with a discussion of the distribution of stars and other elements in our own galaxy. Methods of star counting, apparent versus real distribution of stars and elements, distribution in the disc and distribution in the spheroidal component, as well as stellar populations are covered. From here, a description of other types of galaxies (morphology, magnitudes, distances, spectrophotometric properties) enlarges the ideas of galactic ideas. In examining other galactic types, Mihalas and Binney give a cautionary tale, one that is true in observational astronomy generally -- one thing may look like another, even with the most sophisticated of measuring tools. People may make assumptions about observational data trends that can skew large-scale ideas of the entire universe.
`Biases of the kind...may affect our understanding of the Universe in two important ways. (1) We may be unaware of the existence of numerous compact galaxies or diffuse, faint galaxies, which together might contribute significantly to the mass density and dynamics of the Universe, and which might feature prominently in the world views of observers whose skies are either darker or less hazy than our own. (2) We may seriously misjudge the nature and size of 'normal' galaxies.'
While our data today is yet again much better than that used when this text was compiled, these caveats are still of importance, as the hunt for dark matter, less luminous objects, and hidden material still continues.
In discussing the kinematics, the motion of galaxies, Mihalas and Binney begin with solar and stellar motions, and then proceed from there. Using relative parallax measurements and motion around the galactic centre, they proceed to describe the kinematics of stars both in the disk and the halo (the spheroidal-component), also observing the varying velocities. Estimation and application of general rotation laws from our own galaxy to other galaxies is a rather difficult one to observe, given the continuing difficulties of pinpointing individual constituents in vastly distant galaxies for measurement.
This is a book on how galaxies are, and some basic information about the motion of galaxies. A follow-up volume, published in 1987, dealt with galactic dynamics. Many questions remained unanswered at the time of publication, and still remain unanswered. However, for the serious astronomer (amateur or professional -- and astronomy is one of the few sciences in which to be an amateur is a respected status), this book gives insight and information on a fascinating branch of the study of the universe. Intended for late undergraduate and graduate-level study.
Average customer rating: |
Sky Vistas: Astronomy for Binoculars and Richest-Field Telescopes
Craig Crossen , and Gerald Rhemann Manufacturer: Springer ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: 3211008519 |
Book Description
This book is primarily a practical guide for observers with normal or giant binoculars, or "richest-field” telescopes, who wish to get the most out of their instruments. Apart from that, it is also a readable, well-illustrated book for "arm-chair observers”. The central point of interest is wide-field astronomy – areas of the night sky that are particularly rich in objects. The Milky Way itself is the ultimate "wide-field” object and therefore its general features and the regions rich in clusters and nebulae are described. A chapter on clusters emphasizes open clusters best viewed in binoculars followed by a chapter on large but faint nebulae invisible to standard telescopes but visible to binoculars. The last chapter deals with fields in which groups of bright galaxies can be seen. The full-page color and black-and-white photos are one of the best features of this book and make it appealing to the general reader. The practical observer is shown exactly where objects are with respect to one another.
Average customer rating: |
The Milky Way And Other Galaxies (Isaac Asimov's 21st Century Library of the Universe)
Isaac Asimov , and Richard Hantula Manufacturer: Gareth Stevens Publishing ProductGroup: Book Binding: Library Binding ASIN: 0836839684 |
Books:
Recommended Books