Author: Dominic Ford Publisher: Springer ISBN: 1493906291 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 246
Book Description
To the naked eye, the most evident defining feature of the planets is their motion across the night sky. It was this motion that allowed ancient civilizations to single them out as different from fixed stars. “The Observer’s Guide to Planetary Motion” takes each planet and its moons (if it has them) in turn and describes how the geometry of the Solar System gives rise to its observed motions. Although the motions of the planets may be described as simple elliptical orbits around the Sun, we have to observe them from a particular vantage point: the Earth, which spins daily on its axis and circles around the Sun each year. The motions of the planets as observed relative to this spinning observatory take on more complicated patterns. Periodically, objects become prominent in the night sky for a few weeks or months, while at other times they pass too close to the Sun to be observed. “The Observer’s Guide to Planetary Motion” provides accurate tables of the best time for observing each planet, together with other notable events in their orbits, helping amateur astronomers plan when and what to observe. Uniquely each of the chapters includes extensive explanatory text, relating the events listed to the physical geometry of the Solar System. Along the way, many questions are answered: Why does Mars take over two years between apparitions (the times when it is visible from Earth) in the night sky, while Uranus and Neptune take almost exactly a year? Why do planets appear higher in the night sky when they’re visible in the winter months? Why do Saturn’s rings appear to open and close every 15 years? This book places seemingly disparate astronomical events into an understandable three-dimensional structure, enabling an appreciation that, for example, very good apparitions of Mars come around roughly every 15 years and that those in 2018 and 2035 will be nearly as good as that seen in 2003. Events are listed for the time period 2010-2030 and in the case of rarer events (such as eclipses and apparitions of Mars) even longer time periods are covered. A short closing chapter describes the seasonal appearance of deep sky objects, which follow an annual cycle as a result of Earth’s orbital motion around the Sun.
Author: P. Andrew Karam Publisher: Infobase Publishing ISBN: 1438120125 Category : Juvenile Nonfiction Languages : en Pages : 118
Book Description
Thousands of years ago, people looked at the sky in wonder, fascinated by the motions of a few wandering stars. Nobody understood where these wandering objects--now named Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn--came from, why they moved, or what drove their motions through the sky. Today, people know these objects are planets, but the quest to reach this understanding took thousands of years, and the consequences were profound. Famous scientists Johannes Kepler, Edmund Halley, Isaac Newton, and others discovered the laws of gravity and planetary motion, using these laws to explain the workings of the solar system. Their findings allowed the human race to find its way from planet to planet with unmanned probes and eventually allowed people to reach the moon. In "Planetary Motion," learn how scientists have found new planets outside the solar system, and continue their search for planets like Earth.
Author: Daniel J. Scheeres Publisher: Springer ISBN: 3642032567 Category : Technology & Engineering Languages : en Pages : 390
Book Description
The investigation of minor solar system bodies, such as comets and asteroids, using spacecraft requires an understanding of orbital motion in strongly perturbed environments. The solutions to a wide range of complex and challenging problems in this field are reviewed in this comprehensive and authoritative work.
Author: Donald Benson Publisher: Oxford University Press ISBN: 0199939292 Category : Mathematics Languages : en Pages : 193
Book Description
The Ballet of the Planets unravels the beautiful mystery of planetary motion, revealing how our understanding of astronomy evolved from Archimedes and Ptolemy to Copernicus, Kepler, and Newton. Mathematician Donald Benson shows that ancient theories of planetary motion were based on the assumptions that the Earth was the center of the universe and the planets moved in a uniform circular motion. Since ancient astronomers noted that occasionally a planet would exhibit retrograde motion--would seem to reverse its direction and move briefly westward--they concluded that the planets moved in epicyclic curves, circles with smaller interior loops, similar to the patterns of a child's Spirograph. With the coming of the Copernican revolution, the retrograde motion was seen to be apparent rather than real, leading to the idea that the planets moved in ellipses. This laid the ground for Newton's great achievement--integrating the concepts of astronomy and mechanics--which revealed not only how the planets moved, but also why. Throughout, Benson focuses on naked-eye astronomy, which makes it easy for the novice to grasp the work of these pioneers of astronomy.
Author: Heather Hasan Publisher: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc ISBN: 9781404203082 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 70
Book Description
Presents the life and accomplishments of one of the pioneers of modern astronomy, who proved that the Sun is the center of the solar system.
Author: Fred Bortz Publisher: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc ISBN: 1477718133 Category : Juvenile Nonfiction Languages : en Pages : 82
Book Description
Examines how the discoveries of Johannes Kepler changed the way scientists viewed the field of astronomy and how the planets moved about the solar system.
Author: Dan Fullerton Publisher: Silly Beagle Productions ISBN: 0983563306 Category : Education Languages : en Pages : 300
Book Description
APlusPhysics: Your Guide to Regents Physics Essentials is a clear and concise roadmap to the entire New York State Regents Physics curriculum, preparing students for success in their high school physics class as well as review for high marks on the Regents Physics Exam. Topics covered include pre-requisite math and trigonometry; kinematics; forces; Newton's Laws of Motion, circular motion and gravity; impulse and momentum; work, energy, and power; electrostatics; electric circuits; magnetism; waves; optics; and modern physics. Featuring more than five hundred questions from past Regents exams with worked out solutions and detailed illustrations, this book is integrated with the APlusPhysics.com website, which includes online question and answer forums, videos, animations, and supplemental problems to help you master Regents Physics essentials. "The best physics books are the ones kids will actually read." Advance Praise for APlusPhysics Regents Physics Essentials: "Very well written... simple, clear engaging and accessible. You hit a grand slam with this review book." -- Anthony, NY Regents Physics Teacher. "Does a great job giving students what they need to know. The value provided is amazing." -- Tom, NY Regents Physics Teacher. "This was tremendous preparation for my physics test. I love the detailed problem solutions." -- Jenny, NY Regents Physics Student. "Regents Physics Essentials has all the information you could ever need and is much easier to understand than many other textbooks... it is an excellent review tool and is truly written for students." -- Cat, NY Regents Physics Student
Author: William J. Boerst Publisher: Morgan Reynolds Publishing ISBN: 9781883846985 Category : Astronomers Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
As a student in Germany in the sixteenth century, Johannes Kepler became convinced the Sun was at the center of the planets and the universe operated on the same mathematical principles that govern musical harmony. He devoted his life to understanding this system of celestial harmony. In the process, he discovered the first three laws of planetary motion and founded the science of physical astronomy. Book jacket.
Author: Lisa Hiton Publisher: Cavendish Square Publishing, LLC ISBN: 1502622882 Category : Juvenile Nonfiction Languages : en Pages : 114
Book Description
Our modern understanding of the heliocentric universe developed five hundred years ago. Since the time of Copernicus and Galileo, scientists have made major strides in understanding how gravity, stars, and planets interact. Gravity, Orbiting Objects, and Planetary Motion explains how early ideas have given way to sophisticated, proven theories about the universe. The book aligns with Next Generation Science Standards and also presents a look at what is next in the cutting-edge field of astronomy.
Author: Mary Gow
Author: Dominic Ford
Author: P. Andrew Karam
Author: Daniel J. Scheeres
Author: Donald Benson
Author: Heather Hasan
Author: Fred Bortz
Author: Dan Fullerton
Author: William J. Boerst
Author: Lisa Hiton