This book serves as a fascinating progress report on the outer solar system, offering a way to better appreciate the newest findings. It unlocks some of the mysteries surrounding Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto — from the drama of their discoveries to the startling results of Voyager 2’s historic 1989 encounter with Neptune.
Not so long ago, about 30 years ago, not only the world community of mathematicians, but other scientific communities and even non-scientific communities with close attention — some with partiality, some without partiality — but followed with interest, and even delved into scientific details of the proof of the Russian mathematician Grigory Perelman of the hypothesis that was formulated in 1904 by the outstanding French mathematician Henri Poincaré. I was also interested in the same evidence. True, the reason for my interest was not so much Perelman’s proofs in their mathematical details, but rather the formulation of the hypothesis itself, which seemed to me an extremely interesting formulation of the problem of such manifolds, the topological and metric properties of which, in their unity with each other, are the cause of the geometric shape of the space of the universe. If someone asks, why start the same scientific business if there is already a mathematical proof of the same hypothesis. Firstly, if anything determines the geometric shape of any space, including the space of the universe, then perhaps its physical content. If so, then from the standpoint of the spatial unity of the geometric form of the space of the universe and the physical content of the same geometric form, Poincaré’s mathematical hypothesis is certainly a theoretically incomplete hypothesis. All the same justifies the need for the science of physical and geometric science in their unity with themselves and among themselves to prove those manifolds, physical and geometric manifolds, the natural properties of which in their unity with each other are responsible for the spatial unity of the universe with itself. Secondly, since truth is not an absolute truth, it reveals itself each time as a relative truth, which does not prohibit, but permits another proof of the same mathematical hypothesis, which in a given place is no longer mathematical, but geometrically physical and physically geometric.
Orbiting at the edge of the outer Solar System, Pluto is an intriguing object in astronomy. Since the fascinating events surrounding its discovery, it has helped increase our understanding of the origin and evolution of the Solar System, and raised questions about the nature and benefits of scientific classification. This is a timely and exciting account of Pluto and its satellites. The author uses Pluto as a case study to discuss discovery in astronomy, how remote astronomical bodies are investigated, and the role of classification in science by discussing Pluto's recent classification as a dwarf planet. Besides Pluto, the book also explores the rich assortment of bodies that constitute the Edgeworth–Kuiper Belt, of which Pluto is the largest innermost member. Richly illustrated, this text is written for general readers, amateur astronomers and students alike. Boxed text provides more advanced information especially for readers who wish to delve deeper into the subject.
For the first time in human history, we know for certain the existence of planets around other stars. Now the fastest-growing field in space science, the time is right for this fundamental source book on the topic which will lay the foundation for its continued growth. Exoplanets serves as both an introduction for the non-specialist and a foundation for the techniques and equations used in exoplanet observation by those dedicated to the field.