Pluto and Charon

Pluto and Charon

Author: Alan Stern

Publisher: Wiley-VCH

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Rave reviews for Pluto and Charon: Ice Worlds on the Ragged Edge of the Solar System The story of the quest to understand Pluto and the resulting transformation of our concept of the diminutive planet from that of solar-system misfit to king of the Kuiper Belt is told in this book by Alan Stern and Jacqueline Mitton. Stern, a Plutophile to the core, is one of the most energetic, talented, and savvy planetary astronomers in the business today. Mitton, trained as an astronomer, is an experienced writer and editor of scientific books for nonscientists. Together they have created an immensely informative book . . . Written in an engaging and informal style, Pluto and Charon takes the reader step by step from the discovery of the ninth planet in 1930 to the current understanding of Pluto and its moon, Charon.-Sky & Telescope More than a book summarizing what we know about [the] planet, [Pluto and Charon is] about how far and how fast astronomical technology has come since 1965 . . . Stern and Mitton use the narrative of Pluto research to explain in comfortable, everyday language how such work is done . . . One of the nice touches in the book is that Stern and Mitton tell us something about each astronomer.-Astronomy Pluto and Charon presents the exploration of the ninth planet-written as a vivid historical account-for anyone with an interest in science and astronomy . . . the authors describe in simple language the methods researchers use to explore the universe and the way ever-improving instrumentation helps their knowledge advance.-Physics Today


Pluto and Charon

Pluto and Charon

Author: S. Alan Stern

Publisher: University of Arizona Press

Published: 2017-01-15

Total Pages: 757

ISBN-13: 0816536139

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

For five decades after its discovery in 1930, the planet Pluto remained an enigma. However, several events during the last two decades have helped to lift the veil of mystery surrounding the ninth planet. The discovery of its satellite, Charon, in 1978 permitted occultation observations that allowed scientists to determine the size of both bodies. Astronomers also detected the presence of an atmosphere, and the Hubble Space Telescope provided views in unprecedented detail. In addition to these two fortuitous events, advances in telescopic instrumentation and computational methods led to exciting observational and theoretical discoveries. This new Space Sciences Series volume focuses on the scientific issues associated with Pluto and Charon. Fifty collaborating authors here review the latest research on the Pluto-Charon binary, from bulk properties, surfaces and interiors to atmospheric structure, composition, and dynamics. They also provide historical perspectives on Pluto-Charon research and discuss the population of the trans-Neptunian region and the origin of the Pluto-Charon binary. Also included are prefatory remarks by Pluto's and Charon's discoverers, Clyde Tombaugh and James Christy. This volume offers the most comprehensive available compendium of research work for understanding these far off members of our solar system, just at a time following dramatic developments in our knowledge but before that knowledge can be advanced by spacecraft missions.


Dwarf Planets

Dwarf Planets

Author: Nancy Loewen

Publisher: Capstone

Published: 2008-01-01

Total Pages: 14

ISBN-13: 140483950X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Describes the physical characteristics and movements of the smallest bodies of rock and ice that are in rotation around the Sun, and are known as dwarf planets.


The Pluto System After New Horizons

The Pluto System After New Horizons

Author: S. Alan Stern

Publisher: University of Arizona Press

Published: 2021-08-10

Total Pages: 684

ISBN-13: 0816540942

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

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.


Chasing New Horizons

Chasing New Horizons

Author: Alan Stern

Publisher: Macmillan + ORM

Published: 2018-05-01

Total Pages: 364

ISBN-13: 125009898X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Called "spellbinding" (Scientific American) and "thrilling...a future classic of popular science" (PW), the up close, inside story of the greatest space exploration project of our time, New Horizons’ mission to Pluto, as shared with David Grinspoon by mission leader Alan Stern and other key players. On July 14, 2015, something amazing happened. More than 3 billion miles from Earth, a small NASA spacecraft called New Horizons screamed past Pluto at more than 32,000 miles per hour, focusing its instruments on the long mysterious icy worlds of the Pluto system, and then, just as quickly, continued on its journey out into the beyond. Nothing like this has occurred in a generation—a raw exploration of new worlds unparalleled since NASA’s Voyager missions to Uranus and Neptune—and nothing quite like it is planned to happen ever again. The photos that New Horizons sent back to Earth graced the front pages of newspapers on all 7 continents, and NASA’s website for the mission received more than 2 billion hits in the days surrounding the flyby. At a time when so many think that our most historic achievements are in the past, the most distant planetary exploration ever attempted not only succeeded in 2015 but made history and captured the world’s imagination. How did this happen? Chasing New Horizons is the story of the men and women behind this amazing mission: of their decades-long commitment and persistence; of the political fights within and outside of NASA; of the sheer human ingenuity it took to design, build, and fly the mission; and of the plans for New Horizons’ next encounter, 1 billion miles past Pluto in 2019. Told from the insider’s perspective of mission leader Dr. Alan Stern and others on New Horizons, and including two stunning 16-page full-color inserts of images, Chasing New Horizons is a riveting account of scientific discovery, and of how much we humans can achieve when people focused on a dream work together toward their incredible goal.


The Trans-Neptunian Solar System

The Trans-Neptunian Solar System

Author: Dina Prialnik

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2019-11-28

Total Pages: 480

ISBN-13: 0128175257

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The Trans-Neptunian Solar System is a timely reference highlighting the state-of-the-art in current knowledge on the outer solar system. It not only explores the individual objects being discovered there, but also their relationships with other Solar System objects and their roles in the formation and evolution of the Solar System and other planets. Integrating important findings from recent missions, such as New Horizons and Rosetta, the book covers the physical properties of the bodies in the Trans-Neptunian Region, including Pluto and other large members of the Kuiper Belt, as well as dynamical indicators for Planet 9 and related objects and future prospects. Offering a complete look at exploration and findings in the Kuiper Belt and the rest of the outer solar system beyond Neptune, this book is an important resource to bring planetary scientists, space scientists and astrophysicists up-to-date on the latest research and current understandings. - Provides the most up-to-date information on the exploration of the Trans-Neptunian Solar System and what it means for the future of outer solar system research - Contains clear sections that provide comprehensive coverage on the most important facets of the outer Solar System - Includes four-color images and data from important missions, including New Horizons and Rosetta - Concludes with suggestions and insights on the future of research on Trans-Neptunian objects


Pluto and Charon

Pluto and Charon

Author: Codex Regius

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Published: 2016-06-27

Total Pages: 148

ISBN-13: 9781534960749

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

On 14 July 2015, the New Horizons spacecraft passed through the system of the former ninth planet, Pluto. This book gives a preliminary overview of the results that had been obtained from data sent by New Horizons to Earth till spring 2016. Dr Rainer Riemann, astrophycisist of the University of Heidelberg, Germany, has added a preface to this volume.


Pluto's Secret

Pluto's Secret

Author: Margaret Weitekamp

Publisher: Abrams

Published: 2013-03-12

Total Pages: 44

ISBN-13: 1613124961

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

People, children especially, have been baffled, bewildered, and even outraged by the fact that Pluto is no longer called a planet. Through whimsical artwork and an entertaining dialogue format, Pluto’s Secret explains the true story of this distant world. Providing a history of the small, icy world from its discovery and naming to its recent reclassification, this book presents a fascinating look at how scientists organize and classify our solar system as they gain new insights into how it works and what types of things exist within it. The book includes a glossary and bibliography. Praise for Pluto's Secret "Pairing a lighthearted narrative in a hand-lettered†“style typeface with informally drawn cartoon illustrations, this lively tale of astronomical revelations begins with the search for Planet X.†? —Kirkus Reviews "This picture book offers a fresh, positive perspective on Pluto, showing that its change of status is not a demotion but a correction." —Booklist "Light-hearted imagining of a gregarious Pluto.†? —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books "Fun reading... The book provides a factual history of our faraway 'dwarf,' and on its companion icy worlds, and on the discovery of Kuiper-like bands around other stars." —School Library Journal Award New York Public Library’s annual Children’s Books list: 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing 2013


How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming

How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming

Author: Mike Brown

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2012-01-24

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 0385531109

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

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?


Pluto and Charon

Pluto and Charon

Author: Alan Stern

Publisher: University of Arizona Press

Published: 1997-12

Total Pages: 764

ISBN-13: 9780816518401

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

For five decades after its discovery in 1930, the planet Pluto remained an enigma. However, several events during the last two decades have helped to lift the veil of mystery surrounding the ninth planet. The discovery of its satellite, Charon, in 1978 permitted occultation observations that allowed scientists to determine the size of both bodies. Astronomers also detected the presence of an atmosphere, and the Hubble Space Telescope provided views in unprecedented detail. In addition to these two fortuitous events, advances in telescopic instrumentation and computational methods led to exciting observational and theoretical discoveries. This new Space Sciences Series volume focuses on the scientific issues associated with Pluto and Charon. Fifty collaborating authors here review the latest research on the Pluto-Charon binary, from bulk properties, surfaces and interiors to atmospheric structure, composition, and dynamics. They also provide historical perspectives on Pluto-Charon research and discuss the population of the trans-Neptunian region and the origin of the Pluto-Charon binary. Also included are prefatory remarks by Pluto's and Charon's discoverers, Clyde Tombaugh and James Christy. This volume offers the most comprehensive available compendium of research work for understanding these far off members of our solar system, just at a time following dramatic developments in our knowledge but before that knowledge can be advanced by spacecraft missions.