The Moon, Come to Earth

Author: Philip Graham
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226305163
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 172

Book Description
A dispatch from a foreign land, when crafted by an attentive and skilled writer, can be magical, transmitting pleasure, drama, and seductive strangeness. In The Moon, Come to Earth, Philip Graham offers an expanded edition of a popular series of dispatches originally published on McSweeney’s, an exuberant yet introspective account of a year’s sojourn in Lisbon with his wife and daughter. Casting his attentive gaze on scenes as broad as a citywide arts festival and as small as a single paving stone in a cobbled walk, Graham renders Lisbon from a perspective that varies between wide-eyed and knowing; though he’s unquestionably not a tourist, at the same time he knows he will never be a local. So his lyrical accounts reveal his struggles with (and love of) the Portuguese language, an awkward meeting with Nobel laureate José Saramago, being trapped in a budding soccer riot, and his daughter’s challenging transition to adolescence while attending a Portuguese school—but he also waxes loving about Portugal’s saudade-drenched music, its inventive cuisine, and its vibrant literary culture. And through his humorous, self-deprecating, and wistful explorations, we come to know Graham himself, and his wife and daughter, so that when an unexpected crisis hits his family, we can’t help but ache alongside them. A thoughtful, finely wrought celebration of the moment-to-moment excitement of diving deep into another culture and confronting one’s secret selves, The Moon, Come to Earth is literary travel writing of a rare intimacy and immediacy.

What If the Earth Had Two Moons?

Author: Neil F. Comins
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 142995793X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 506

Book Description
"What if?" questions stimulate people to think in new ways, to refresh old ideas, and to make new discoveries. In What If the Earth Had Two Moons, Neil Comins leads us on a fascinating ten-world journey as we explore what our planet would be like under alternative astronomical conditions. In each case, the Earth would be different, often in surprising ways. The title chapter, for example, gives us a second moon orbiting closer to Earth than the one we have now. The night sky is a lot brighter, but that won't last forever. Eventually the moons collide, with one extra-massive moon emerging after a period during which Earth sports a Saturn-like ring. This and nine and other speculative essays provide us with insights into the Earth as it exists today, while shedding new light on the burgeoning search for life on planets orbiting other stars. Appealing to adult and young adult alike, this book is a fascinating journey through physics and astronomy, and follows on the author's previous bestseller, What if the Moon Didn't Exist?, with completely new scenarios backed by the latest astronomical research.

Origin of the Earth and Moon

Author: Alfred E. Ringwood
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461261678
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 302

Book Description
Since the beginning of civilization, the origins of the Earth and Moon have been the subjects of continuing interest, speculation, and enquiry. These are also among the most challenging of all scientific problems. They are, perhaps to a unique degree, interdisciplinary, having attracted the attention of philosophers, astronomers, mathematicians, geologists, chemists, and physicists. A large and diverse literature has developed, far beyond the capacity of individuals to assimilate adequately. Consequently, most of those who attempt to present review-syntheses in the area tend to reflect the perspectives of their own particular disciplines. The present author's approach is that of a geochemist, strongly influenced by the basic phil osophy of Harold Urey. Whereas most astronomical phenomena are controlled by gravitational and magnetic fields, and by nuclear interactions, Urey (1952) emphasized that the formation of the solar system occurred in a pressure-temperature regime wherein the chemical properties of matter were at least as important as those of gravitational and magnetic fields. This was the principal theme of his 1952 book, "The Planets," which revolutionized our approach to this subject. In many subsequent papers, Urey strongly emphasized the importance of meteorites in providing critical evidence of chemical conditions in the primordial solar nebula, and of the chemical fractionation processes which occurred during formation of the terrestrial planets. This approach has been followed by most subsequent geochemists and cosmochemists.

Forging the Future of Space Science

Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309215897
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 166

Book Description
From September 2007 to June 2008 the Space Studies Board conducted an international public seminar series, with each monthly talk highlighting a different topic in space and Earth science. The principal lectures from the series are compiled in Forging the Future of Space Science. The topics of these events covered the full spectrum of space and Earth science research, from global climate change, to the cosmic origins of life, to the exploration of the Moon and Mars, to the scientific research required to support human spaceflight. The prevailing messages throughout the seminar series as demonstrated by the lectures in this book are how much we have accomplished over the past 50 years, how profound are our discoveries, how much contributions from the space program affect our daily lives, and yet how much remains to be done. The age of discovery in space and Earth science is just beginning. Opportunities abound that will forever alter our destiny.

When the Earth Had Two Moons

Author: Erik Asphaug
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062657941
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 424

Book Description
An astonishing exploration of planet formation and the origins of life by one of the world’s most innovative planetary geologists. In 1959, the Soviet probe Luna 3 took the first photos of the far side of the moon. Even in their poor resolution, the images stunned scientists: the far side is an enormous mountainous expanse, not the vast lava-plains seen from Earth. Subsequent missions have confirmed this in much greater detail. How could this be, and what might it tell us about our own place in the universe? As it turns out, quite a lot. Fourteen billion years ago, the universe exploded into being, creating galaxies and stars. Planets formed out of the leftover dust and gas that coalesced into larger and larger bodies orbiting around each star. In a sort of heavenly survival of the fittest, planetary bodies smashed into each other until solar systems emerged. Curiously, instead of being relatively similar in terms of composition, the planets in our solar system, and the comets, asteroids, satellites and rings, are bewitchingly distinct. So, too, the halves of our moon. In When the Earth Had Two Moons, esteemed planetary geologist Erik Asphaug takes us on an exhilarating tour through the farthest reaches of time and our galaxy to find out why. Beautifully written and provocatively argued, When the Earth Had Two Moons is not only a mind-blowing astronomical tour but a profound inquiry into the nature of life here—and billions of miles from home.

Moon

Author: Bernd Brunner
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300168705
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 288

Book Description
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.

Moon! Earth's Best Friend

Author: Stacy McAnulty
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company (BYR)
ISBN: 1250267501
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 21

Book Description
From writer Stacy McAnulty and illustrator Stevie Lewis, Moon! Earth's Best Friend is a light-hearted nonfiction picture book about the formation and history of the moon—told from the perspective of the moon itself. Meet Moon! She's more than just a rock—she’s Earth’s rock, her best friend she can always count on. Moon never turns her back on her friend (literally: she's always facing Earth with the same side!). These two will stick together forever. With characteristic humor and charm, Stacy McAnulty channels the voice of Moon in this next celestial "autobiography" in the Our Universe series. Rich with kid-friendly facts and beautifully brought to life by Stevie Lewis, this is an equally charming and irresistible companion to Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years and Sun! One in a Billion.

Next Time You See the Moon

Author: Emily Morgan
Publisher: NSTA Press
ISBN: 1938946553
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 36

Book Description
This fascinating book will stay with children every time they gaze up at the night sky. Through vivid pictures and engaging explanations, children will learn about many of the Moon’s mysteries: what makes it look like a silvery crescent one time and a chalk-white ball a few nights later, why it sometimes appears in the daytime, where it gets its light, and how scientists can predict its shape on your birthday a thousand years from now. Next Time You See the Moon is an ideal way to explain the science behind the shape of the Moon and bring about an evening outing no child—or grown-up—will soon forget. Awaken a sense of wonder in a child with the Next Time You See series from NSTA Kids. The books will inspire elementary-age children to experience the enchantment of everyday phenomena such as sunsets, seashells, fireflies, pill bugs, and more. Free supplementary activities are available on the NSTA website. Especially designed to be experienced with an adult—be it a parent, teacher, or friend—Next Time You See books serve as a reminder that you don’t have to look far to find something remarkable in nature.

A Question and Answer Guide to Astronomy

Author: Pierre-Yves Bely
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 131661526X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 361

Book Description
Contains 250 questions and answers about astronomy, particular for the amateur astronomer.

The Value of the Moon

Author: Paul D. Spudis
Publisher: Smithsonian Institution
ISBN: 1588345033
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 254

Book Description
While the Moon was once thought to hold the key to space exploration, in recent decades, the U.S. has largely turned its sights toward Mars and other celestial bodies instead. In The Value of the Moon, lunar scientist Paul Spudis argues that the U.S. can and should return to the moon in order to remain a world leader in space utilization and development and a participant in and beneficiary of a new lunar economy. Spudis explores three reasons for returning to the Moon: it is close, it is interesting, and it is useful. The proximity of the Moon not only allows for frequent launches, but also control of any machinery we place there. It is interesting because recorded deep on its surface and in its craters is the preserved history of the moon, the sun, and indeed the entire galaxy. And finally, the moon is useful because it is rich with materials and energy. The moon, Spudis argues, is a logical base for further space exploration and even a possible future home for us all. Throughout his work, Spudis incorporates details about man's fascination with the moon and its place in our shared history. He also explores its religious, cultural, and scientific resonance and assesses its role in the future of spaceflight and our national security and prosperity.