An introduction to the two planets farthest from the Sun, Uranus and Neptune, including what they are made of, their features such as rings and moons, how scientists find out about these planets, and a description of Pluto and other dwarf planets.
Beyond Earths small, red neighbor Mars lie the gaseous, giant planets of the Outer Solar System. This book investigates these behemoths and dwarf planet Pluto, as well as other curiosities within the solar systems farthest reaches, such as asteroid fields and the Kuiper belt.
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)
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.
What are the Outer Planets? Why might a planet be called a Gas Giant? How were the seventh, eighth, and ninth planets discovered? Turn the pages of this book to look at these three planets far away from the Sun. See how different Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are from one another. Find out about the weather, landforms, moons, and more about each planet.
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.