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Mars 3-D: A Rover's-Eye View of the Red Planet
What would it be like to visit Mars—to explore the distinctive, untouched terrain that inspired astronomers and stirred so many sci-fi writers’ imaginations? Two highly capable robotic geologists—Spirit and Opportunity—made that amazing voyage, and spent the last four years roaming the Red Planet’s unique landscape. Thanks to 120 stunning 3-D and color images shot by these rovers, we can come along—and right now, it’s the closest we can get to actually setting foot on Mars. These super-realistic pictures pop off the page, allowing us to see for ourselves the rocks, craters, valleys, and other geologic configurations that define the Martian terrain. Compelling and accessible text guides us on this exhilarating tour, revealing the thrill of each discovery, along with the perils and near misses. Featuring a fold-out flap with embedded 3-D viewer (which actually allows customers to view the three-dimensional images right in the store), it’s the perfect gift for any armchair astronomer. "Jim Bell takes us on an extraordinary journey across often mysterious, sometimes perilous, and always fascinating Martian terrain. A must-read for anyone who's ever dreamed of exploring the Red Planet." --Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 astronaut "See this other world like no one before you could. . . make discoveries that fiction writers only dream about!" --Bill Nye, "The Science Guy," and member of the Mars team "Bell has accomplished the impossible—he has brought the surface of Mars down to Earth." --Neil deGrasse Tyson, Astrophysicist, American Museum of Natural history Author of The Pluto Files "Experience Mars as never before . . . the next best thing to going there." --Ann Druyan, co-writer COSMOS, co-creator, Contact “These images transport us Earthlings to new depths of Martian discoveries.” --Dava Sobel, author, Longitude and Galileo's Daughter.
Price: $11.97
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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. .
Price: $25.05
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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 planets Based 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. .
Price: $6.89
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Rocks from Space: Meteorites and Meteorite Hunters (Astronomy)
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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: "Webb offers 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 "WHERE IS EVERYBODY? is a delightful mental romp. With a light-hearted, enthusiastic tone, Webb offers lively coverage of UFOs, crop circles, and the books of Erich von Däniken, the infamous proponent of the idea that aliens visited the Earth in the distant past. Science-fiction fans will enjoy the frequent references to Star Trek, and science buffs will appreciate mention of the ideas of Carl Sagan, Fred Hoyle, Frank Drake, and Freeman Dyson. This book is a must-read for anyone who has ever pondered the question, "Are we alone?" -ASTRONOMY "[Webb] is a polymath, able to write informatively - even authoritatively - on an exceedingly wide range of subjects, including physics, astronomy, biology, and neurobiology. His writing is encyclopedic in scope, lucid, often poetic - and in the end it is both enormously inspiring and a little sad if he's right, as I'm afraid he might be, in concluding that we are the only advanced civilization in the Galaxy. Readers are free to differ with Webb's conclusion, but they will be surprised to learn how convincing it is. I have read a good number of astronomy books this past year; but this is the one I regard as indispensable. If I were Robinson Crusoe - shipwrecked and lonely on an island in space - I would want this book with me." -MERCURY 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..
Price: $18.05
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Exploring the Moon: The Apollo Expeditions (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration)
David Harland opens with a review of the robotic probes, namely the Rangers which returned television before crashing into the Moon, the Surveyors which 'soft landed' in order to investigate the nature of the surface, and the Lunar Orbiters which mapped prospective Apollo landing sites. He then outlines the historic landing by Apollo 11 in terms of what was discovered, and how over the next several missions the program was progressively geared up to enable the final three missions each to spend three days on comprehensive geological investigations. He concludes with a review of the robotic spacecraft that made remote-sensing observations of the Moon. Although aimed at the enthusiast, and can be read as an adventure in exploration, the book develops the scientific theme of lunar geology, and therefore will be of use as background reading for undergraduate students of planetary sciences. In addition, with the prospect of a resumption of human missions, it will help journalists understand what Apollo achieved after the 'flags and footprints' of the Apollo 11 landing in July1969 and will commemorate the fortieth anniversary of that momentous event. Highlighted as a "Commemorative Edition" on the cover, this second edition will have a new Foreword by one of the original astronauts and a short extra section at the end previewing the prospect of a renewal of human exploration of the Moon. It will include new extra high quality graphics which are only now available and 32 pages of colour illustrations. .
Price: $25.86
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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. .
Price: $15.00
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The Aftermath: Book Four of The Asteroid Wars (Asteroid)
In the wake of the Asteroid Wars that tore across the solar system, Victor Zacharius makes his living running the ore-carrier Syracuse. With his wife and two children he plies the Asteroid Belt, hauling whatever cargo can be found. When the Syracuse stumbles into the middle of a military attack on the habitat Chrysalis, Victor flees in a control pod to draw the attacker’s attention away from his family. Now, as his wife and children plunge into the far deeps of space, Victor has been rescued by the seductive Cheena Madagascar. He must do her bidding if he’s to have a prayer of ever seeing his family again. Elverda Apacheta is the solar system’s greatest sculptor. The cyborg Dorn was formerly Dorik Harbin, the ruthless military commander responsible for the attack on Chrysalis. Their lives and destinies have been linked by their joint discovery of the alien artifact that had, earlier, profoundly affected industrialist Martin Humphries. Similarly transformed by the artifact’s mysterious powers, Apacheta and Dorn now prowl the Belt, determined to find the bodies of the many victims of Harbin’s atrocities so that they can be given proper burials. Kao Yuan is the captain of Viking, owned by Martin Humphries, who’s determined to kill Dorn and Elverda because they know too much about the artifact and its power over him. But Viking's second-in-command, Tamara Vishinsky, appears to have the real power on board ship. When Viking catches up to Apacheta and Dorn, their confrontation begins a series of events involving them, the Zacharius family, and Martin Humphries and his son in the transformation of the human solar system… .
Price: $3.25
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Mining The Sky: Untold Riches From The Asteroids, Comets, And Planets (Helix Book)
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Rare Earth: Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe
What is the possibility of complex life existing beyond our planet? What determines whether complex life will arise on a planet? How frequent is life in the Universe? In this exciting new book, distinguished paleontologist Peter D. Ward and noted astronomer Donald Brownlee team up to give us a fascinating synthesis of what's now known about the rise of life on Earth and how it sheds light on possibilities for organic life forms elsewhere in the Universe. Life, Ward and Brownlee assert, is paradoxically both very common and almost nowhere. The conditions that foster the beginnings of life in our galaxy are plentiful. But contrary to the usual assumption that if alien life exists, it's bound to be intelligent, the authors contend that the kind of complex life we find on Earth is unlikely to exist anywhere else; indeed it is probably unique to our planet. With broad expertise and wonderful descriptive imagery, the authors give us a compelling argument, a splendid introduction to the emerging field of astrobiology, and a lively discussion of the remarkable findings that are being generated by new research. We learn not only about the extraordinary creatures living in conditions once though inimical to life and the latest evidence of early life on Earth, but also about the discoveries of extrasolar planets, the parts Jupiter and the Moon have played in our survival, and even the crucial role of continental drift in our existence. Insightful, well-written, and at the cutting edge of modern scientific investigation, Rare Earth should interest anyone who wants to know about life elsewhere and gain a fresh perspective on life at home which, if the authors are right, is even more precious than we may ever have imagined..
Price: $7.00
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