The Sun: A Very Short Introduction

Author: Philip Judge
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192569015
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 144

Book Description
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.

The Earth: A Very Short Introduction

Author: Martin Redfern
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 019157774X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 160

Book Description
For generations, the ground beneath the feet of our ancestors seemed solid and unchanging. Around 30 years ago, two things happened that were to revolutionize the understanding of our home planet. First, geologists realized that the continents themselves were drifting across the surface of the globe and that oceans were being created and destroyed. Secondly, pictures of the entire planet were returned from space. As the astronomer Fred Hoyle had predicted, this 'let loose an idea as powerful as any in history'. Suddenly, the Earth began to be viewed as a single entity; a dynamic, interacting whole, controlled by complex processes we scarcely understood. It began to seem less solid. As one astronaut put it, 'a blue jewel on black velvet; small, fragile and touchingly alone'. Geologists at last were able to see the whole as well as the detail; the wood as well as the trees. This book brings their account up to date with the latest understanding of the processes that govern our planet. 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.

Stars: A Very Short Introduction

Author: Andrew King
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0199602921
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 136

Book Description
Stars are a constant source of fascination. In this Very Short Introduction Andrew King introduces us to the science of stars; how they are born, how they live, and how they die. He shows how understanding the stars is the key to understanding the galaxies they inhabit, and how they provide us with clues to the existence of planets like our own.

The Sun

Author: Carol Ryback
Publisher: Gareth Stevens Publishing LLLP
ISBN: 9780836863468
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 28

Book Description
Presents information about the Sun, including its place in the solar system, its structure, its size, how it produces heat and light, and how its gravity affects the solar system.

The Sun

Author: Philip Gordon Judge
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780191871269
Category : Sun
Languages : en
Pages : 144

Book Description
Without the Sun, our planet - and life on it - would not exist. As our nearest star, the Sun is also important for astronomers and still presents many puzzles. Philip Judge explains what we know about the Sun's structure and evolution, solar phenomena, and the impact of solar activity on the Earth.

The Sun: a Very Short Introduction

Author: Philip Judge
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0198832699
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 185

The Sun

Author: Michael Stix
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 446

Book Description

The Sun

Author: Philip Gordon Judge
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Solar activity
Languages : en
Pages : 161

The Sun

Author: Margaret J. Goldstein
Publisher: Lerner Books [UK]
ISBN: 1580134645
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 36

Book Description
An introduction to the sun and the planets that make up the solar system.

Climate: A Very Short Introduction

Author: Mark Maslin
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191653926
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 177

Book Description
In this wide-ranging Very Short Introduction to climate, Mark Maslin considers all aspects of the global climate system, exploring and explaining the different components that control climate on Earth. He considers the processes that allow energy to reach the Earth and how it is redistributed around the planet by the ocean-atmosphere system; the relationship and differences between climate and the weather; how climate has affected life on Earth and human settlements; and the cyclic and quasi-cyclic features of climate such as the Milankovitch cycles and El Nino. He concludes by touching on the issue of climate change, and outlines some of the approaches that are now being taken to tackle it. 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.