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Weird Worlds

Bizarre Bodies of the Solar System and Beyond

David A. J. Seargent (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

309 Seiten

2013
Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
978-1-4614-7063-2 (ISBN)

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“Weird Worlds” is the third book in David Seargent’s “Weird” series. This book assumes a basic level of astronomical understanding and concentrates on the “odd and interesting” aspects of planetary bodies, including asteroids and moons. From our viewpoint here on Earth, this work features the most unusual features of these worlds and the ways in which they appear “weird” to us. Within our own Solar System, odd facts such as the apparent reversal of the Sun in the skies of Mercury, CO2-driven fountains of dust on Mars, possible liquid water (and perhaps primitive life!) deep within the dwarf planet Ceres, and a variety of odd facts about the planetary moons are all discussed. A special chapter is devoted to Saturn’s giant moon Titan, and its methane-based weather system and “hydrological” cycle. This chapter also includes recent speculation on the possibility of methane-based organisms and the form that these might take, if they really do exist. Beyond our Solar System, the book looks at the range of worlds discovered and hypothesized.

In “Weird Worlds,” the author discusses planets where temperatures are so high that it rains molten iron, and others so cold that liquid methane floods across plains of ice! Worlds are described where the lightest element acts like a metal and where winds blow at thousands of miles per hour – as well as possible planets whose orbits are essentially parabolic.

In keeping with previous titles in David Seargent’s “Weird” series, “Weird Worlds” contains several projects that astronomers of all levels can undertake.

David A. J. Seargent holds an MA and Ph.D., both in Philosophy from the University of Newcastle NSW, where he formerly worked as a tutor in Philosophy for the Department of Community of Programs/Worker’s Educational Association external education program. As an amateur astronomer, he is known for his observations of comets, one of which he discovered in 1978. He is the author of four astronomy books: “Comets – Vagabonds in Space” (Doubleday, 1982), “The Greatest Comets in History” (Springer, 2008), “Weird Astronomy” (Springer, 2010), and most recently “Weird Weather” (Springer, 2012). He is the author of a regular column in “Australian Sky and Telescope” magazine.

Oddities of the Inner Worlds.- Strange Little Worlds – Asteroids and Their Kin.- The Many Moons of the Solar System.- Titan – Weirdest World of Them All?.- Oddities of the Outer Worlds.- Strange Worlds Afar.- Observational Projects.

Reihe/Serie	Astronomers' Universe
Zusatzinfo	23 Illustrations, color; 28 Illustrations, black and white; XIII, 309 p. 51 illus., 23 illus. in color.
Verlagsort	New York, NY
Sprache	englisch
Maße	155 x 235 mm
Themenwelt	Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Natur / Technik ► Weltraum / Astronomie
	Naturwissenschaften ► Physik / Astronomie ► Angewandte Physik
	Naturwissenschaften ► Physik / Astronomie ► Astronomie / Astrophysik
	Technik ► Luft- / Raumfahrttechnik
Schlagworte	Bizarre Planets and Moons • Odd Solar System Bodies • Planetary Landscapes • Planeten • Sonnensystem • Unusual Planetary Features • Weird Moons Asteroids • Weird Worlds
ISBN-10	1-4614-7063-3 / 1461470633
ISBN-13	978-1-4614-7063-2 / 9781461470632
Zustand	Neuware