Comets, Meteors & Asteroids

Field Guide to Meteors and Meteorites (Patrick Moore's Practical Astronomy Series)

It is said that astronomy is one of the few remaining fields in which amateurs can make a real contribution to science, and nowhere is this more true than in the field of meteors and meteorites.

Although meteors are isolated and unpredictable, it is possible to predict when meteor showers - usually associated with old comets - are due; they last a couple of days, during which many meteors can be observed in a single night. Equipment for watching, counting and even measuring meteors can range from the simplest (a chair) to sophisticated all-sky cameras.

What is unique about meteors in astronomical observation is that many survive entry into the Earth's atmosphere and impact the ground - the only easily-analysed extraterrestrial material available to science.

What is unique about Richard Norton's book is that it is both a field guide to observing meteors, and also a field guide to locating, preparing and analysing meteorites. In addition to giving the reader information about observing techniques for meteors, this book also provides a fully detailed account of the types of meteorites, how and where to find them, how to prepare and analyse them. It is thus the only complete book on the subject available at present.

Beyond UFOs: The Search for Extraterrestrial Life and Its Astonishing Implications for Our Future

The quest for extraterrestrial life doesn't happen only in science fiction. This book describes the startling discoveries being made in the very real science of astrobiology, an intriguing new field that blends astronomy, biology, and geology to explore the possibility of life on other planets. Jeffrey Bennett takes readers beyond UFOs to discuss some of the tantalizing questions astrobiologists grapple with every day: What is life and how does it begin? What makes a planet or moon habitable? Is there life on Mars or elsewhere in the solar system? How can life be recognized on distant worlds? Is it likely to be microbial, more biologically complex--or even intelligent? What would such a discovery mean for life here on Earth?

Come along on this scientific adventure and learn the astonishing implications of discoveries made in this field for the future of the human race. Bennett, who believes that "science is a way of helping people come to agreement," explains how the search for extraterrestrial life can help bridge the divide that sometimes exists between science and religion, defuse public rancor over the teaching of evolution, and quiet the debate over global warming. He likens humanity today to a troubled adolescent teetering on the edge between self-destruction and a future of virtually limitless possibilities. Beyond UFOs shows why the very quest to find alien life can help us to grow up as a species and chart a course for the stars.

Chiron: Rainbow Bridge Between the Inner & Outer Planets (Llewellyn's Modern Astrology Library)

Discover the inner secrets of Chiron, the most recently discovered planet, and see how it is interpreted in astrological charts with Chiron by Barbara Hand Clow.

Chiron is a peculiar planetoid that orbits the Sun from between Saturn and Uranus. Its discovery in 1977 was concurrent with the explosion of divination, alternative healing techniques, and a new hope for a spiritual regeneration. Chiron explores this planet's mythological background and history as well as its effect on astrology. This comprehensive book includes:

The meaning of Chiron when it appears in each house The meaning of Chiron in aspect to each planet The meaning of Chiron through each sign The mythological legacy of Chiron A Chiron ephemeris Chiron in transit Chiron as a bridge between the inner and outer planetsBased on over 700 charts from the author's personal files, Chiron is the first book to explore in depth the astrological meanings of this planet. Learn how you can incorporate Chironic wisdom in your astrological readings and your life with this groundbreaking work.

Ajax: The Complete Reference (Complete Reference Series)

The Definitive Guide to Ajax Web Application Development

Evolve from the click-and-wait programming pattern to the latest Web 2.0 paradigm using this comprehensive guide to Ajax. Written by Web development expert Thomas Powell, the book lays out every feature of Ajax alongside detailed explanations and real-world code examples.

Ajax: The Complete Reference explains how to create and test Ajax-enabled Web applications using the XMLHttpRequest object as well as alternative JavaScript-based communication mechanisms. You'll explore a variety of sample applications featuring emerging user-interface conventions and build applications that address real-world networking and security issues. A robust communication library is developed throughout the book that enables you to architect flexible Ajax applications. The latest technologies such as Web services, Flash-Ajax integration, client-side templates, Comet, and Offline Access are also covered. Discover the future of Web development today!

• Work with traditional JavaScript communication approaches like iframes
• Explore all the quirks and details in the XMLHttpRequest object
• Handle disparate data formats, including XML, JSON, CSV, YAML, and more
• Deal with networking issues, including timeouts, retries, response ordering, and a variety of server and content errors
• Simplify JavaScript programming using open-source Ajax libraries like YUI
• Secure Ajax applications using authentication, obfuscation, and encryption
• Implement common Ajax UI patterns such as auto suggest, click-to-edit, and drag-and-drop
• Solve troubling Ajax architecture problems, including back button, history, and bookmarking issues
• Learn Ajax's role in Web 2.0 and Web services
• Explore push style communication using Comet and Flash
• Discover the future of offline Web application access and operation

Catastrophes and Lesser Calamities: The Causes of Mass Extinctions

In Catastrophes and Lesser Calamities, renowned geologist Tony Hallam takes us on a tour of the Earth's history, and of the cataclysmic events, as well as the more gradual extinctions, that have punctuated life on Earth throughout the past 500 million years.

While comparable books in this field of study tend to promote only one likely cause of mass extinctions, such as extraterrestrial impact, volcanism, and or climatic cooling, Catastrophes and Lesser Calamities breaks new ground, as the first book to attempt an objective coverage of all likely causes, including sea-level and climatic changes, oxygen deficiency in the oceans, volcanic activity, and extraterrestrial impact.

Hallam focuses on the so-called 'big five' mass extinctions, at the end of the Ordovician, Permian, Triassic, and Cretaceous periods, and the later Devonian, and he also includes less well-known examples where relevant. He devotes attention especially to the attempts by geologists to distinguish true catastrophes from more gradual extinction events, and he concludes with a discussion of the evolutionary significance of mass extinctions, and on the influence of Homo sapiens in causing extinctions within the last few thousand years, both on land and in the seas.

If the Universe Is Teeming with Aliens... Where Is Everybody? Fifty Solutions to Fermi's Paradox and the Problem of Extraterrestrial Life

FROM THE REVIEWS: coherent, understandable, and sometimes humorous coverage of a diverse range of topics. He provides readers with non-trivial insights into research fields they may not have encountered previously . . . I think everyone who has ever considered the possibility that other intelligent civilizations exist elsewhere within our galaxy will enjoy Where Is Everybody? They will find much to agree with, and much to argue about, in this very accessible volume.¿ ¿SCIENCE During a Los Alamos lunchtime conversation that took place more than 50 years ago, four world-class scientists agreed, given the size and age of the Universe, that advanced extraterrestrial civilizations simply had to exist. The sheer numbers demanded it. But one of the four, the renowned physicist and back-of-the-envelope calculator Enrico Fermi, asked the telling question: If the extraterrestrial life proposition is true, he wondered, "Where IS everybody?" In this lively and thought-provoking book, Stephen Webb presents a detailed discussion of the 50 most cogent and intriguing answers to Fermi's famous question, divided into three distinct groups: - Aliens are already here among us. Here are answers ranging from Leo Szilard's suggestion that they are already here, and we know them as Hungarians, to the theorists who claim that aliens built Stonehenge and the Easter Island statues. - Aliens exist, but have not yet communicated. The theories in this camp range widely, from those who believe we simply don't have the technologies to receive their signals, to those who believe the enormities of space and time work against communication, to those who believe they're hiding from us. - Aliens do not exist. Here are the doubters' arguments, from the Rare Earth theory to the author's own closely argued and cogently stated skepticism. The proposed solutions run the gamut from the crackpot to the highly serious, but all deserve our consideration. The varieties of arguments -- from first-rate scientists, philosophers and historians, and science fiction authors -- turn out to be astonishing, entertaining, and vigorous intellectual exercises for any reader interested in science and the sheer pleasure of speculative thinking. Stephen Webb is a physicist working at the Open University in England and the author of Measuring the Universe.

Cassini at Saturn: Huygens Results (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration)

Cassini At Saturn – Huygens Results brings the story of the Cassini-Huygens mission and their joint exploration of the Saturnian system right up to date. Cassini entered orbit around Saturn June 2004 so this update includes 8 months of scientific data available for review, including the most spectacular images of Saturn, its rings and satellites ever obtained by a space mission. As the Cassini spacecraft approached its destination in spring 2004, the quality of the images already being returned by the spacecraft clearly demonstrated the spectacular nature of the close-range views that will be obtained. The book contains a 16-page colour section, comprising a carefully chosen selection of the most stunning images to be released during the spacecraft’s initial period of operation.

The Huygens craft, released by Cassini, parachuted through the clouds of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, in January 2005. David Harland tells the exciting story of the this craft’s journey to the surface of one of the most enigmatic bodies on the Solar System, the only moon to have a dense atmosphere and possibly lakes of liquid gas at -190ºC on its surface. Titan is considered to be an early Earth in deep freeze, possibly with the building blocks of life in its atmosphere. There will undoubtedly be enormous interest in the first results and images of Titan’s surface, and this book is the first incisive summary of this groundbreaking material.

Exploring the Geology of the Carolinas: A Field Guide to Favorite Places from Chimney Rock to Charleston

How were the Appalachian Mountains formed? Are the barrier islands moving? Where is there gold in the Carolinas? Find answers to these questions and many more in this reader-friendly guide to the geology of North Carolina and South Carolina.

Asteroid Goddesses: The Mythology, Psychology, and Astrology of the Re-Emerging Feminine

The Cydonia Codex: Reflections from Mars

In what can only be described as one of the most important archaeological and sociological discoveries in human history, The Cydonia Codex offers overwhelming evidence of aesthetic and symbolic design on the surface of the planet Mars. The authors' research encompasses over ten years of study and analysis of NASA photographs of the "Face on Mars" and its surrounding complex. Beginning with the famous 1976 photograph of a mile-long formation found on the surface of Mars that strongly resembles a human face, Haas and Saunders offer side-by-side comparisons of the art and sculpture of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica with a set of corresponding geoglyphic structures found in the Cydonia region of Mars. The implication is staggering--Earth's history and humankind's origins could be very different than commonly believed. Includes black and white photos throughout, as well as illustrations.