This major revision of an astronomy classic features 50 new photographs and illustrations, including the latest images from the Hubble space telescope, the Galileo spacecraft and other NASA missions. Additional imagery of the universe is from recently completed giant telescopes situated at remote mountaintops in Hawaii and Chile. This edition also includes extensively updated information on Mars and Jupiter; a completely new section on comets; full coverage of the latest evidence for the existence of black holes; an expanded section on galaxies and the mysterious "dark matter"; a fully updated section on the size, age and destiny of the universe; and expanded data tables using information released in 1998 from the Hipparchos satellite, which achieved a tenfold increase in the accuracy of celestial distance determination.

    This pedagogical introduction to the physics of black holes emphasizes the “membrane paradigm”, which translates the mathematics and physics of black holes into a form accessible to readers with little knowledge of general relativity but a solid grounding in nonrelativistic physics.  This is accomplished without resort to approximations or loss of content.  Instead of treating a black hole’s “event horizon” as a globally defined null surface in four-dimensional space time, the paradigm views it as a two-dimensional membrane in three-dimensional space.  Made of viscous fluid, electrically charged and conducting, with finite entropy and temperature but no power to conduct heat, this membrane is seen as having familiar properties that enable the reader to understand intuitively and compute quantitatively the behavior of black holes in complex astrophysical environments.

    The book intends to give kids in the 6-8 year age group an idea of one of the most thrilling sciences, astronomy. Accompanied with wonderful drawings, the book follows brother & sister Alex and Sveta who are in a quest to understand the fundamentals of astronomy.

    It begins with an overview of the basic principles of radio astronomy, a short history of the development of radio interferometry, and an elementary discussion of the operation of an interferometer. From this foundation, it delves into the underlying relationships of interferometry, sets forth the coordinate systems and parameters to describe synthesis imaging, and examines configurations of antennas for multielement synthesis arrays. Various aspects of the design and response of receiving systems are discussed, as well as the special requirements of very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI), image reconstruction, and recent developments in image enhancement techniques and astrometric observations. Also discussed are propagation effects in the media between the source and the observer, and radio interference, factors that limit performance. Related techniques are introduced, including intensity interferometry, optical interferometry, lunar occultations, tracking of satellites in Earth orbit, interferometry for remote Earth sensing, and holographic measurements of antenna surfaces.  This book will benefit anyone who is interested in radio interferometry techniques for astronomy, astrometry, geodesy, or electrical engineering.

    

    Drawing on both scriptural evidence and scientific investigation, Van Till constructs a theologically sound and scientifically coherent perspective on the nature of the cosmos. Since evolution and creation deal with distinctly different questions, he argues, both concepts can be taught with integrity — as complementary views of the universe and its history.

    He explains basic astronomy and the selection of binoculars, then goes on to discuss the stars, clusters, nebulae and galaxies that await the observer. He charts the sky seen from the northern and southern hemispheres season by season, providing detailed maps of all the constellations. In addition, the reader can also observe the Sun, Moon, planets, comets and meteors. New to this Fourth Edition are: An improved presentation of all star maps, rendering a clear impression of what the night sky really looks like; planetary data through 2010; and advice on eclipse watching, including total eclipses of the sun. With many beautiful illustrations, this handbook will be helpful and encouraging to casual observers and those cultivating a more serious interest. The enjoyment of amateur astronomy is now available to everybody!