In August 2006, the International Astronomical Union voted Pluto out of planethood. Far from the sun, wonder Pluto has any fans. Yet during the mounting debate over rallied behind the extraterrestrial underdog. Disney created an irresistible pup by the same name, and, as one NASA scientist put it, Pluto was "discovered by an American for America." Pluto is entrenched in our cultural, patriotic view of the cosmos, and Neil deGrasse Tyson is on a quest to discover why.
<p />Only Tyson can tell this story: he was involved in the first exhibits to demote Pluto, and, consequently, Pluto lovers have freely shared their opinions with him, including endless hate mail from third graders. In his typically witty way, Tyson explores the history of planet recently been judged a dwarf.
35 color, 10 black-and-white.]]>Merlin fields a wide range of questions from many curious mortals, and in so doing draws on his own vast knowledge as well as the expertise of many close friends, including Archimedes, Galileo, Einstein, and Santa.
So far, Merlin has not been stumped, responding to questions on mysteries such as:
<LI> If aliens exploded our moon, what effect would it have on us?
<LI> What are your thoughts on the theory that a star named Nemesis is circling our solar system and was responsible for killing off the dinosaurs?
<LI> Is it true that if I leave a container on my roof for a period of time, I can actually collect space particles from outer space?
Delightfully illustrated throughout, Just Visiting This Planet is a skywatcher's book for lovers of the universe by one of its brightest lights.
]]>In straightforward language and everyday analogies, the authors take us on a journey through the universe, from the infinitesimal to the infinite, stopping along the way to explain these grand and simple connections. We come to see that the force of gravity that finally lands a home-run ball in the bleachers keeps the moon in orbit. Or that the crystal in the window that breaks light into sparkling colors is just another version of the crystal scientists use to understand light from galaxies billions of miles from Earth.
Three basic concepts--motion, matter, and energy--lie at the heart of our understanding of the universe. With these three principles in mind, we can expand our knowledge of the universe because we can see how the physics of our world mirror the same physics of our universe. No wall separates the Earth from the rest of the universe. To illustrate the elegance of this concept, ONE UNIVERSE draws on a glorious album of space photographs, some seen here for the first time, and diagrams and illustrations drawn especially for the book. The book is being published in conjunction with the opening of the new $200 million Rose Center for Earth and Space at the American Museum of Natural History. The centerpiece of the Rose Center is the new Hayden Planetarium, the first 21st-century planetarium.
This 224-page book includes an illustrated timeline of the major advances in astronomy and astrophysics, a glossary, 400 illustrations, full color throughout, and an index.
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