Finding Our Place in the Solar System

Finding Our Place in the Solar System

Author: Todd Timberlake

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2019-03-28

Total Pages: 397

ISBN-13: 1107182298

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Details the science behind the Copernican Revolution, the transition from the Earth-centered cosmos to a modern understanding of planetary orbits.


Finding Our Place in the Universe

Finding Our Place in the Universe

Author: Helene Courtois

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2019-05-28

Total Pages: 181

ISBN-13: 0262353393

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How a team of researchers, led by the author, discovered our home galaxy's location in the universe. You are here: on Earth, which is part of the solar system, which is in the Milky Way galaxy, which itself is within the extragalactic supercluster Laniakea. And how can we pinpoint our location so precisely? For twenty years, astrophysicist Hélène Courtois surfed the cosmos with international teams of researchers, working to map our local universe. In this book, Courtois describes this quest and the discovery of our home supercluster. Courtois explains that Laniakea (which means “immense heaven” in Hawaiian) is the largest galaxy structure known to which we belong; it is huge, almost too large to comprehend—about five hundred million light-years in diameter. It contains about 100,000 large galaxies like our own, and a million smaller ones. Writing accessibly for nonspecialists, Courtois describes the visualization and analysis that allowed her team to map such large structures of the universe. She highlights the work of individual researchers, including portraits of several exceptional women astrophysicists—presenting another side of astronomy. Key ideas are highlighted in text insets; illustrations accompany the main text. The French edition of this book was named the Best Astronomy Book of 2017 by the astronomy magazine Ciel et espace. For this MIT Press English-language edition, Courtois has added descriptions of discoveries made after Laniakea: the cosmic velocity web and the Dipole and Cold Spot repellers. An engaging account of one of the most important discoveries in astrophysics in recent years, her story is a tribute to teamwork and international collaboration.


Finding our Place in the Solar System

Finding our Place in the Solar System

Author: Todd Timberlake

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2019-03-28

Total Pages: 397

ISBN-13: 1316863638

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Finding our Place in the Solar System gives a detailed account of how the Earth was displaced from its traditional position at the center of the universe to be recognized as one of several planets orbiting the Sun under the influence of a universal gravitational force. The transition from the ancient geocentric worldview to a modern understanding of planetary motion, often called the Copernican Revolution, is one of the great intellectual achievements of humankind. This book provides a deep yet accessible explanation of the scientific disputes over our place in the solar system and the work of the great scientists who helped settle them. Readers will come away knowing not just that the Earth orbits the Sun, but why we believe that it does so. The Copernican Revolution also provides an excellent case study of what science is and how it works.


Strange New Worlds

Strange New Worlds

Author: Ray Jayawardhana

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2013-04-21

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 1400846544

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An insider's look at the cutting-edge science of today's planet hunters In Strange New Worlds, renowned astronomer Ray Jayawardhana brings news from the front lines of the epic quest to find planets—and alien life—beyond our solar system. Only in the past two decades, after millennia of speculation, have astronomers begun to discover planets around other stars—thousands in fact. Now they are closer than ever to unraveling distant twins of the Earth. In this book, Jayawardhana vividly recounts the stories of the scientists and the remarkable breakthroughs that have ushered in this extraordinary age of exploration. He describes the latest findings--including his own—that are challenging our view of the cosmos and casting new light on the origins and evolution of planets and planetary systems. He reveals how technology is rapidly advancing to support direct observations of Jupiter-like gas giants and super-Earths—rocky planets with several times the mass of our own planet—and how astronomers use biomarkers to seek possible life on other worlds. Strange New Worlds provides an insider's look at the cutting-edge science of today's planet hunters, our prospects for discovering alien life, and the debates and controversies at the forefront of extrasolar-planet research. In a new afterword, Jayawardhana explains some of the most recent developments as we search for the first clues of life on other planets.


Where Is Our Solar System?

Where Is Our Solar System?

Author: Stephanie Sabol

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2018-01-02

Total Pages: 114

ISBN-13: 0515158186

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Readers will want to grab a telescope and explore the night skies after finishing this overview of our solar system. Our solar system consists of eight planets, as well as numerous moons, comets, asteroids, and meteoroids. For thousands of years, humans believed that Earth was at the center of the Universe, but all of that changed in the 17th century. Astronomers like Nicolaus Copernicus, Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, and Isaac Newton proposed the unthinkable theory that Earth and the other planets actually revolved around the Sun. This engaging book chronicles the beginning of the modern age of astronomy, then follows later discoveries, including NASA's current missions in space.


Just Right: Searching for the Goldilocks Planet

Just Right: Searching for the Goldilocks Planet

Author: Curtis Manley

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

Published: 2019-01-29

Total Pages: 56

ISBN-13: 1250155339

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Do you wonder if humans are the only beings who wonder if they are alone in the universe? Our sun is a star. In the night sky are all kinds of stars, and orbiting those stars are planets like the ones in our own solar system. Could those planets have life like we do on Earth? Planet Earth is not too big, not too small, not too hot, and not too cold. It’s just right. Our very own Goldilocks planet . . . . Follow a young girl as she explores these questions in this gorgeous book about the wondrous search for another Goldilocks planet.


My First Book of Planets

My First Book of Planets

Author: Dr. Bruce Betts

Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.

Published: 2020-06-16

Total Pages: 69

ISBN-13: 1646118375

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Blast off on an exploration of outer space with this colorful solar system book for kids 3-5 Get little astronomers excited about the cosmos—from the bright and burning sun, to our own blue Earth, stormy Neptune, and every planet in between. With this incredible exploration of planets for preschool and kindergarten kids, curious learners will discover the ultimate solar system book, featuring amazing pictures and fascinating facts about what makes each planet so special, including its size, distance from the sun, what the surface is like, how many moons it has, and more! Go beyond other planet books for kids with: BIG, BEAUTIFUL IMAGES: Vibrant photos and illustrations will take kids deep into space—no telescope required. ASTRONOMY FOR KIDS: Learn all about the eight planets in our solar system, plus dwarf planets Ceres, Pluto, Eris, Haumea, and Makemake. FUN SPACE FACTS: Did you know the bubbles in soda are the same gas that's on Venus? Out of this world facts will make this toddler space book a hit! Show kids the amazing universe that surrounds them with My First Book of Planets.


The Planets in Our Solar System

The Planets in Our Solar System

Author: Franklyn M. Branley

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 1998-04-18

Total Pages: 36

ISBN-13: 006445178X

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Where is it partly cloudy and 860°F? Venus. Read about the eight planets in our solar system and Earth's special place in it. This book also includes instructions for making your own solar system mobile, and on the new "Find Out More" page learn how to track the moon and visit the best plant web sites.


Our Solar System (revised edition)

Our Solar System (revised edition)

Author: Seymour Simon

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2007-05-08

Total Pages: 76

ISBN-13: 0061140082

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Born almost 5 billion years ago at the edge of the Milky Way galaxy, our Solar System is a place filled with mystery and wonder. In the last fifty years, we have learned more than ever about the farthest reaches of our world. With dramatic full-color photographs and spacecraft images, Our Solar System takes young readers on a fascinating tour of the sun, the eight planets, and their moons, plus asteroids, comets, and meteoroids. Award-winning science writer Seymour Simon has teamed up with the Smithsonian Institution on this new, updated edition of his much admired book about the vast and mystifying part of the universe that we live in.


Me and My Place in Space

Me and My Place in Space

Author: Joan Sweeney

Publisher: Dragonfly Books

Published: 2018-09-18

Total Pages: 34

ISBN-13: 1524773662

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Where am I in the solar system? A beloved bestseller, now refreshed with new art from Christine Gore, that will help children discover their place in the Milky Way. Where is the earth? Where is the sun? Where are the stars? Now with new art by Christine Gore, here is an out-of-this world introduction to the universe for children. With Earth as a starting point, a young astronaut leads readers on a tour past each planet and on to the stars, answering simple questions about our solar system. In clear language, drawings, and diagrams, space unfolds before a child's eyes. Colorful illustrations, filled with fun detail, give children a lot to look for on every page, and a glossary helps reinforce new words and concepts. A terrific teaching tool, Me and My Place in Space is an easy and enjoyable way to introduce the concept of space to budding astronomers.