Moons A Very Short Introduction

Author : David A. Rothery
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 : 0198735278
Total Pages : 177 pages
Book Rating : 4.74/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Moons written by David A. Rothery and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2015 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Our solar system contains more moons than planets. They show astonishing variety, and some look more likely than Mars to host microbial life. David Rothery describes these fascinating small worlds, their discovery, names, and what they can tell us about our solar system.

Author : David A. Rothery
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0191054216
Total Pages : 144 pages
Book Rating : 4.11/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Moons: A Very Short Introduction written by David A. Rothery and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2015-11-26 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Proving to be both varied and fascinating, moons are far more common than planets in our Solar System. Our own Moon has had a profound influence on Earth, not only through tidal effects, but even on the behaviour of some marine animals. Many remarkable things have been discovered about the moons of the giant outer planets from Voyager, Galileo, Cassini, and other spacecraft. Scientists have glimpsed volcanic activity on Io, found oceans of water on Titan, and captured photos of icy geysers bursting from Enceladus. It looks likely that microbial life beyond the Earth may be discovered on a moon rather than a planet. In this Very Short Introduction David Rothery introduces the reader to the moons of our Solar System, beginning with the early discoveries of Galileo and others, describing their variety of mostly mythological names, and the early use of Jupiter's moons to establish position at sea and to estimate the speed of light. Rothery discusses the structure, formation, and influence of our Moon, and those of the other planets, and ends with the recent discovery of moons orbiting asteroids, whilst looking forward to the possibility of finding moons of exoplanets in planetary systems far beyond our own. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Author : Andrew King
Publisher : OUP Oxford
ISBN 13 : 0191633844
Total Pages : 137 pages
Book Rating : 4.43/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Stars: A Very Short Introduction written by Andrew King and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2012-07-26 with total page 137 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Every atom of our bodies has been part of a star. Our very own star, the Sun, is crucial to the development and sustainability of life on Earth. This Very Short Introduction presents a modern, authoritative examination of how stars live, producing all the chemical elements beyond helium, and how they die, sometimes spectacularly, to end as remnants such as black holes. Andrew King shows how understanding the stars is key to understanding the galaxies they inhabit, and thus the history of our entire Universe, as well as the existence of planets like our own. King presents a fascinating exploration of the science of stars, from the mechanisms that allow stars to form and the processes that allow them to shine, as well as the results of their inevitable death. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Author : David A. Rothery
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199573506
Total Pages : 158 pages
Book Rating : 4.09/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Planets: A Very Short Introduction written by David A. Rothery and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2010-11-25 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Very Short Introduction discusses the nature of planets and gas giants, and their rings and moons. It also looks beyond Pluto, in the Kuiper Belt, at the knowledge we have about planets around other stars. With many striking photos to illustrate the details, it demonstrates the unique world of every planet.

Author : Bernd Brunner
Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 0300168705
Total Pages : 289 pages
Book Rating : 4.09/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Moon written by Bernd Brunner and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2010-11-18 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Using werewolves and Wernher von Braun, Stonehenge and the sex lives of sea corals, aboriginal myths, and an Anglican bishop in this new book, the author weaves variegated information into a glimpse of Earth's closest celestial neighbor, whose mere presence inspires us to wonder what might be out there. Going beyond the discoveries of contemporary science, he presents a cultural assessment of our complex relationship with Earth's lifeless, rocky satellite. As well as offering an engaging perspective on such age old questions as "What would Earth be like without the moon?" he surveys the moon's mythical and religious significance and provokes existential soul searching through a lunar lens, inquiring, "Forty years ago, the first man put his footprint on the moon. Will we continue to use it as the screen onto which we cast our hopes and fears?" Drawing on materials from different cultures and epochs, he walks readers down a moonlit path illuminated by more than seventy-five vintage photographs and illustrations. From scientific discussions of the moon's origins and its chronobiological effects on the mating and feeding habits of animals to an illuminating interpretation of Bishop Francis Godwin's 1638 novel The Man in the Moone, his interdisciplinary explorations recast a familiar object in an original light.

Author : David C. Catling
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199586454
Total Pages : 161 pages
Book Rating : 4.55/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Astrobiology: A Very Short Introduction written by David C. Catling and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2013-10-24 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines the origins of life on Earth and the search for extraterrestrial life, through an understanding of the factors that have allowed life to exist on this planet and the commonalities on others that may enable life elsewhere.

Author : Kimberley Reynolds
Publisher : OUP Oxford
ISBN 13 : 0191620122
Total Pages : 160 pages
Book Rating : 4.26/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Children's Literature: A Very Short Introduction written by Kimberley Reynolds and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2011-10-06 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Children's literature takes many forms - works adapted for children in antiquity, picture books and pop-ups - and now includes the latest online games and eBooks. This vast and amorphous subject is both intimately related to other areas of literary and cultural investigation but also has its own set of concerns, issues and challenges. From familiar authors including Beatrix Potter and Roald Dahl, classic books such as Pooh, Alice in Wonderland, and The Secret Garden, to modern works including Harry Potter and the Twilight series, thisVery Short Introduction provides an overview of the history of children's literature as it has developed in English, whilst at the same time introducing key debates, developments, and figures in the field. Raising questions about what shape the future of literature for children should take, and exploring the crossover with adult fiction, Reynolds shows that writing for children - whether on page or screen - has participated in shaping and directing ideas about culture, society and childhood. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Author : David A. Rothery
Publisher : OUP Oxford
ISBN 13 : 0191614432
Total Pages : 152 pages
Book Rating : 4.39/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Planets: A Very Short Introduction written by David A. Rothery and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2010-11-25 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Very Short Introduction looks deep into space and describes the worlds that make up our Solar System: terrestrial planets, giant planets, dwarf planets and various other objects such as satellites (moons), asteroids and Trans-Neptunian objects. It considers how our knowledge has advanced over the centuries, and how it has expanded at a growing rate in recent years. David A. Rothery gives an overview of the origin, nature, and evolution of our Solar System, including the controversial issues of what qualifies as a planet, and what conditions are required for a planetary body to be habitable by life. He looks at rocky planets and the Moon, giant planets and their satellites, and how the surfaces have been sculpted by geology, weather, and impacts. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Author : Philip Judge
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0192569007
Total Pages : 144 pages
Book Rating : 4.04/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Sun: A Very Short Introduction written by Philip Judge and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-04-23 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Sun, as our nearest star, is of enormous importance for life on Earth - providing the warm radiation and light which allowed complex life to evolve. The Sun plays a key role in influencing our climate, whilst solar storms and high-energy events can threaten our communication infrastructure and satellites. This Very Short Introduction explores what we know about the Sun, its physics, its structure, origins, and future evolution. Philip Judge explains some of the remaining puzzles about the Sun that still confound us, using elementary physics, and mathematical concepts. Why does the Sun form spots? Why does it flare? As he shows, these and other nagging difficulties relate to the Sun's continually variable magnetism, which converts an otherwise dull star into a machine for flooding interplanetary space with variable radiation, high-energy particles and magnetic ejections. Throughout, Judge highlights the many reasons that the Sun is important, and why scientists engage in solar research. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Author : John Parker
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0192802488
Total Pages : 185 pages
Book Rating : 4.84/5 ( download)

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Download or read book African History: A Very Short Introduction written by John Parker and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2007-03-22 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Intended for those interested in the African continent and the diversity of human history, this work looks at Africa's past and reflects on the changing ways it has been imagined and represented. It illustrates key themes in modern thinking about Africa's history with a range of historical examples.