Explores the relationship between the Sun and the three outer planets of the solar system from the point of view of a planetary scientist, examining the role of Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto as recorders of the formation of the solar system.
This book is for two groups of people: those who want to study the remote planets with amateur astronomical equipment, and those who are just interested in learning about our knowledge of the remote planets. The Remote Planets, and How to Observe them is unique in that it gives a completely up-to-date summary of our current knowledge of the remote planets, and also explains how amateur astronomers can contribute to our knowledge of the remote planets. Readers are given some inspiring examples of people who, with modest commercially-made equipment, have made important contributions to our scientific knowledge. The observational section goes into great detail, including optical and CCD photometry, occultation measurements, imaging (including stacking and enhancement techniques) and polarization measurements. There are finder charts (from 2010 to 2026), complete with two sets of star-magnitudes in an appendix (one set of magnitudes are for photoelectric photometry and the other set is for visual photometry)
Once perceived as distant, cold, dark, and seemingly unknowable, Pluto had long been marked as the farthest and most unreachable frontier for solar system exploration. The Pluto System After New Horizons is the benchmark research compendium for synthesizing our understanding of the Pluto system. This volume reviews the work of researchers who have spent the last five years assimilating the data returned from New Horizons and the first full scientific synthesis of this fascinating system.
Explores the outer solar system, what Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto would be like, why it would take a whole lifetime to travel to Pluto and whether humans could ever live there.
The solar system most of us grew up with included nine planets, with Mercury closest to the sun and Pluto at the outer edge. Then, in 2005, astronomer Mike Brown made the discovery of a lifetime: a tenth planet, Eris, slightly bigger than Pluto. But instead of adding one more planet to our solar system, Brown’s find ignited a firestorm of controversy that culminated in the demotion of Pluto from real planet to the newly coined category of “dwarf” planet. Suddenly Brown was receiving hate mail from schoolchildren and being bombarded by TV reporters—all because of the discovery he had spent years searching for and a lifetime dreaming about. A heartfelt and personal journey filled with both humor and drama, How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming is the book for anyone, young or old, who has ever imagined exploring the universe—and who among us hasn’t?
Presents information about the three outer planets of Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, including when and how they were discovered, what is currently known about them, and relevant spacecraft expeditions.
The original purpose of the "Longer View" books is to provide charts and descriptions of the planets' travels in the years ahead. But there is also the three-century human story (replete with controversies and ironies) of how the first "new" planets were discovered, each leading to the next. And there is much to point out about these bodies' characteristics and intricate motions. 80 illustrations, and 73 short chapters, such as "Herschel's oboe and telescope," "Not the predicted planet," "The apple of discord," "Pioneers and Voyagers to the outer giants," "Neptune's circular yet wavy orbit," "Clusters of Uranus events," "Uranus by Moonlight," "Pluto's much-more-than-sidewise rotation," "Grim ferryman," "The Neptune-Pluto standoff," "The Pluto-Charon embrace," "Pluto's painted deserts," "Oligarchs and Plutocrats..".