Best of
Space

2006

In Fury Born


David Weber - 2006
    It seemed the planet-wrecking pirates were invincible. But they made a big mistake when they raided ex-commando leader Alicia DeVries' quiet home work, tortured and murdered her family, and then left her for dead. Alicia decided to turn "pirate" herself, and stole a cutting-edge AI ship from the Empire to start her vendetta. Her fellow veterans think she's gone crazy, the Imperial Fleet has shoot-on-sight orders. And of course the pirates want her dead, too. But Alicia DeVries has two allies nobody knows about, allies as implacable as she is: a self-aware computer, and a creature from the mists of Old Earth's most ancient legends. And this trio of furies won't rest until vengeance is served.In Fury Born is a greatly expanded new version of David Weber's popular novel Path of the Fury, which has gone through six large printings in its original mass market edition. David Weber has added considerable new material, revealing the earlier life of Alicia DeVries before she embarked on her mission of vengeance, and illuminating the universe of the original story. The result is a novel with almost twice the wordage of the original, and a must-buy for all David Weber fans.

Cosmos


Giles Sparrow - 2006
    "Cosmos" explores the celestial panorama one step at a time and by illustrating the planets, moons, stars, nebulae, white dwarfs, black holes and other exotica that populate the heavens with over 450 of the most spectacular and up-to-date photographs and illustrations.

Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut


Mike Mullane - 2006
    Among them would be history makers, including the first American woman and the first African American in space. This assembly of astronauts would carry NASA through the most tumultuous years of the space shuttle program. Four would die on Challenger. USAF Colonel Mike Mullane was a member of this astronaut class, and Riding Rockets is his story -- told with a candor never before seen in an astronaut's memoir. Mullane strips the heroic veneer from the astronaut corps and paints them as they are -- human. His tales of arrested development among military flyboys working with feminist pioneers and post-doc scientists are sometimes bawdy, often hilarious, and always entertaining. Mullane vividly portrays every aspect of the astronaut experience -- from telling a female technician which urine-collection condom size is a fit; to walking along a Florida beach in a last, tearful goodbye with a spouse; to a wild, intoxicating, terrifying ride into space; to hearing "Taps" played over a friend's grave. Mullane is brutally honest in his criticism of a NASA leadership whose bungling would precipitate the Challenger disaster. Riding Rockets is a story of life in all its fateful uncertainty, of the impact of a family tragedy on a nine-year-old boy, of the revelatory effect of a machine called Sputnik, and of the life-steering powers of lust, love, and marriage. It is a story of the human experience that will resonate long after the call of "Wheel stop."

The Crystal Variation


Sharon Lee - 2006
    Jela is a top-of-the-line of soldier who realizes the peril and persuades a talented space ship pilot named Cantra yos’Phelium to help what humans remain to escape to an alternate reality with unpopulated, but livable, star systems: the Liaden® universe!  Crystal DragonCantra is revealed to be no merely a great pilot, but a genetically engineered aelantaza, or assassin and spy whose specialty is taking on the entire personality of her “cover,” so much so that she believes it herself.  She remakes herself, as only a aelantaza can, and infiltrates the scholarly towers on the university world of Landomist where she narrowly avoids being killed in scholarly conflicts.  There she liberates the scholar Liad dea’Syl, along with the equations for escape stored inside his head.  Once in her new domain, Cantra creates a hereditary alliance to protect her child by Jela – to be known (and become legendary) as Clan Korval.Balance of TradeYoung Jethri Gobelyn is a young Terran, working on his family's trading spaceship.  Jethri has ambition, and he sets out to make a name for himself in the time-honored fashion of his family by investing in a trading scheme with what he takes to be a bona fide Liaden® master trader.  But when Jethri discovers he’s been had, Jethri must master the intricacies of Liaden society, which include many formal rules and regulations of behavior, to regain his place – and face – within the clan.   About the Liaden Universe® series:“Every now and then you come across an author, or in this case, a pair, who write exactly what you want to read, the characters and personalities that make you enjoy meeting them. . . . I rarely rave on and on about stories, but I am devoted to Lee and Miller novels and stories.” —Anne McCaffrey“These authors consistently deliver stories with a rich, textured setting, intricate plotting, and vivid, interesting characters from fully-realized cultures, both human and alien, and each book gets better.” –Elizabeth Moon“[T]he many fans of the Liad universe will welcome the latest…continuing young pilot Theo Waitley’s adventures.” – Booklist on Saltation“[A]ficionados of intelligent space opera will be thoroughly entertained. . .[T]he authors' craftsmanship is top-notch.” –Publishers Weekly on Lee and Miller’s popular Liaden® thriller, I Dare

A Confederation of Valor


Tanya Huff - 2006
    She more than proves her mettle when a diplomatic assignment and a scientific expedition both turn dangerous.

Sky & Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas


Roger W. Sinnott - 2006
    Included are extra close-up charts of the Orion Nebula, Pleiades, Virgo Galaxy Cluster, and Large Magellanic Cloud.

Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries


Neil deGrasse Tyson - 2006
    "One of today's best popularizers of science." —Kirkus Reviews.Loyal readers of the monthly "Universe" essays in Natural History magazine have long recognized Neil deGrasse Tyson's talent for guiding them through the mysteries of the cosmos with stunning clarity and almost childlike enthusiasm. Here, Tyson compiles his favorite essays across a myriad of cosmic topics. The title essay introduces readers to the physics of black holes by explaining the gory details of what would happen to your body if you fell into one. "Holy Wars" examines the needless friction between science and religion in the context of historical conflicts. "The Search for Life in the Universe" explores astral life from the frontiers of astrobiology. And "Hollywood Nights" assails the movie industry's feeble efforts to get its night skies right. Known for his ability to blend content, accessibility, and humor, Tyson is a natural teacher who simplifies some of the most complex concepts in astrophysics while simultaneously sharing his infectious excitement about our universe.

The Two Moons


James P. Hogan - 2006
    . . ARTHUR CLARKE, MOVE OVER.''-Isaac AsimovInherit the Stars:When they found the corpse in a grave on the Moon, wearing a spacesuit of unfamiliar design, his identity was a complete mystery. Analysis showed that the deceased was 50,000 years old-meaning that he had somehow died on the Moon before the human race even existed.The Gentle Giants of Ganymede:On another moon, Jupiter's Ganymede, still another mystery: a wrecked spaceship, which had been there for millennia, and was obviously designed for beings larger than the humans of Earth. The mystery seemed insoluble until another ship, manned by the same humanoid giants arrived, and were very surprised to find humans inhabiting their Solar System. . . .BEGIN THE CELEBRATED ''GIANTS'' SERIES WITH TWO COMPLETE NOVELS BY A MASTER OF SCIENCE FICTION WITH REAL SCIENCE!At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (DRM Rights Management).

Universe: A Journey from Earth to the Edge of the Cosmos


Nicolas Cheetham - 2006
    He leads us into a celestial panorama that extends for 130 billion trillion kilometres in every direction and allows us to explore nearly 200 of the astronomical views.

The Illustrated Atlas Of The Universe


Mark A. Garlick - 2006
    Used Book in good condition. No missing/ torn pages. No stains. Note: The above used product classification has been solely undertaken by the seller. Amazon shall neither be liable nor responsible for any used product classification undertaken by the seller. A-to-Z Guarantee not applicable on used products.

Bang!: The Complete History of the Universe


Brian May - 2006
    He's certainly been thinking about it lately. May, a freshly minted astrophysics Ph.D., joins forces with legendary astronomer Patrick Moore and astrophysicist Chris Lintott in Bang! to consider the history of the universe from the Big Bang to Heat Death.Space, time, and matter were birthed 13.7 billion years ago and will continue on longer than we are able to comprehend. Infinitesimally small at first, the Universe is immense and ever expanding. Bang! explains how it all started, takes you on a tour of what is known about the evolution of the Universe, and posits how the end of time will come about.This fascinating book includes photographs, short biographies of key figures, an at-a-glance timeline, a glossary of terms, and suggested resources for further exploration.Based on the work of history’s most brilliant scientific minds, this amazing story features clear, straightforward discussions of the most perplexing and compelling aspects of existence—from the formation of stars, planets, and other galactic bodies to black holes, quasars, anti-matter, and dark matter to the emergence of life and the possibility that it could exist elsewhere.Pick up a copy of Bang! It will, it will rock you.

The Electric Sky


Donald E. Scott - 2006
    The time to search for some realistic, intelligent, scientific answers has arrived. And those sensible answers are out there for those who are ready to listen - explanations of those answers are in this book. Astronomers have been ignoring electrical activity in space for years. Their inability to generate sensible explanations for many observations made by state-of-the-art astronomical instruments demonstrates they need to study the properties of electrical plasma in the cosmos. If, as we will claim, the causes of most of the observed phenomena of modern astronomy are electrical in nature, do you need a degree in electrical engineering before you can understand them? Indeed not. The average informed person can understand and make rational judgments about these ideas. All it requires is the time and patience to read and to think logically and critically about the issues. Some basic facts and a few new concepts will suffice. The main goal of this book is to convince you, the reader, that you really do have both the capability and responsibility to make informed, critical judgments about the pronouncements of establishment science. A careful reading of these pages will enable you to make an informed assessment of this new, simpler, plasma-based alternative cosmology.

The Planets: A Journey Through the Solar System


Giles Sparrow - 2006
    But only in the last 40 years have those wandering points of light in the night sky been revealed in all their glory, unmasked by a fleet of satellites and interplanetary probes. And the closer we look, the more wonderful they are. "The Planets" follows the tracks of robotic rovers over Mars, plunges through Titan's atmosphere on the back of the Hugyens probe, smashes into a comet with Deep Impact, and discovers the frozen planets that lurk at the edge of our solar system, beyond the orbit of Neptune

Saturn: A New View


Laura Lovett - 2006
    Two decades ago, a team led by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, started planning the mission that changed that. 7 years and 2.2 billion miles in transit to Saturn, the spacecraft Cassini arrived in July 2004 for a four-year tour to observe the planet in depth. On board was a probe developed by the European Space Agency, which descended through the thick atmosphere on Saturn's largest moon, Titan, sending back the first photographs of a distant world. Images of astounding beauty and enough data to keep hundreds of scientists engrossed for decades have since come streaming back to Earth. Cassini has recorded supercharged storm systems, hurricane-force jet streams and more than forty battered and frozen moons.

Kennedy Space Center: Gateway to Space


David West-Reynolds - 2006
    Kennedy Space Center set the stage for the American adventure in space. Sprawled across 140,000 acres on Florida's Atlantic coast, the center has hosted the succession of rocket launches that have rewritten our knowledge of aeronautics and our very understanding of the nature of the universe.Chosen because of its perfect location, with the wide Atlantic providing a buffer, Kennedy Space Center is now a major tourist attraction appealing to visitors of all ages.This spaceport has served as the departure gate for every American space flight mission and the launching point of hundreds of other advanced scientific spacecraft. Kennedy Space Center will continue to make history as NASA embarks on new adventures in space exploration.The book includes detailed information on:The earliest development of rockets in the United States and Germany The development of rockets and their launch facilities The missile race and U.S.-Soviet rivalry to be first in space The great Apollo program and the race to the moon The shuttle program, the Space Station and the Hubble Telescope The future of space exploration. Clearly written, meticulously researched and packed with more than 150 spectacular images, Kennedy Space Center is the only complete history of this important site.

Can You Feel the Force?


Richard Hammond - 2006
    Inside the pages are age appropriate text and experiments that will determine what's the best seat on a roller coaster, why does bubble gum stretch, why do fighter pilots have to wear specially tightened underwear, and why the world looks weird when you drive a car at the speed of light. Discover the recipe for slime, the secret of piercing a balloon without bursting it, and find out how to stick objects together with nothing but the magical force of friction; plus learn the ideas and discoveries of Galileo, Newton, Franklin and other key players in the defining principles and laws of physics.Clear, exciting images and engaging text will make physics understandable and make kids curious to learn more in Can you Feel the Force?

The Universe


Leo Marriott - 2006
    The awe inspiring images from the Hubble Telescope turn this into a "must have" for even those with the most casual interest in astronomy.

Postcards from Mars: The First Photographer on the Red Planet


Jim Bell - 2006
    These photographs take readers from the launch of the robots to the alien landscape they discovered and the mysteries of the Red Planet they have helped to solve.

Galaxy Formation and Evolution


Houjun Mo - 2006
    Covering diverse topics from these disciplines, all of which are needed to understand how galaxies form and evolve, this book is ideal for researchers entering the field. Individual chapters explore the evolution of the Universe as a whole and its particle and radiation content; linear and nonlinear growth of cosmic structure; processes affecting the gaseous and dark matter components of galaxies and their stellar populations; the formation of spiral and elliptical galaxies; central supermassive black holes and the activity associated with them; galaxy interactions; and the intergalactic medium. Emphasizing both observational and theoretical aspects, this book provides a coherent introduction for astronomers, cosmologists, and astroparticle physicists to the broad range of science underlying the formation and evolution of galaxies.

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED (Novel) Volume 3 (Gundam (Tokyopop) (Graphic Novels))


Hajime Yatate - 2006
    Tragedy after tragedy rapidly unfolds, as the confrontation between Kira and Athrun intensifies. Finally, their friendship cracks in half, as the war between Coordinators and Naturals escalates in this third novel, based on the sophisticated television series: GUNDAM SEED.

Space Physiology


Jay C. Buckey Jr. - 2006
    This book, written by an astronaut physician, is the first practical guide to maintaining crew members health in space. It combines research results with practical advice on such problems as bone loss, kidney stones, muscle wasting, motion sickness, loss of balance, orthostatic intolerance, weight loss, and excessive radiation exposure. Additional topics include pre-flight preparation, relevant gender differences, long-duration medical planning, post-flight rehabilitation, and the physiology of extra-vehicular activity. Designed as a handbook for space crews, this text is also an invaluable tool for all the engineers, medical personnel, and scientists who plan and execute space missions.

Galileo's Journal, 1609 - 1610


Jeanne Pettenati - 2006
    Turning his new "spyglass" to the night sky, he sees things that no one has ever seen before. He discovers that the Milky Way is made of stars, and that the moon has mountains. He also notices a strange formation of "stars" that will eventually turn people's understanding of the world upside down. Fictional journal accounts capture the famous Italian scientist's curiosity and wonder as he makes some of the most amazing discoveries in history.

Satellites: Photographs from the Fringes of the Former Soviet Union


Jonas Bendiksen - 2006
    Now each region is on its own in a chaotic political environment, sometimes without diplomatic recognition from neighbors, much less the international community. Abkhazia, an unrecognized country on the Black Sea, was once the natural pearl of the empire, where bellicose generals and productive factory managers came to relax. The spacecraft crash zones between Russia and Kazakhstan reveal a Soviet-inflected version of the entrepreneurial spirit. In Transdniester, a breakaway region of Moldova that survives by functioning as a giant black market for illicit traffic in all manner of goods, from leftover Soviet munitions to bootlegged booze, Bendiksen was expelled on the grounds that he was a "protagonist in an international spy ring." These 62 hauntingly beautiful and often arresting color photographs unsentimentally reveal the often grim circumstances in these half-forgotten regions, uniformly poor and polluted, and often politically unstable. We may not hear much about them today, but we will certainly hear more as the fall of the Iron Curtain continues to reverberate throughout the region.

The First Men on the Moon: The Story of Apollo 11


David M. Harland - 2006
    The introductory chapters review the motivation to land on the Moon by the end of the 1960s, the development of the Saturn V rocket and the Apollo spacecraft as the means of doing so, the selection of potential landing sites, the precursor missions, and the backgrounds of the three men who were to fly Apollo 11. The final chapters will discuss what was learned of the moonrocks, and review the follow-on missions. In addition to having many 'small' in-line black-and-white illustrations with the text running around them, the book features the high-resolution scans recently produced by NASA from the original Hasselblad film, reproduced in a substantial color section. David Harland's impressive expertise in, and considerable experience wriring about, the Moon landings shines through and seemlessly unites the myriad detailsFrom the reviews of Harland's Exploring the Moon:"A detailed guide to what the astronauts did during their stays on the lunar surface. Walk(s) the reader through the prospecting excursions and then incorporate(s) decades of subsequent analysis to put the explorations of dust, rocks, craters, and rilles into geologic context." SKY & TELESCOPE"Very well illustrated... All aficionados of the Apollo program will find much to appreciate in [this book].""...this is an interesting account of one of the most extraordinary decades in history...a very different book. David Harland probably knows more about the nuts and bolts of the Russian and American space programs than any other author and it shows."LUNAR & PLANETARY INFORMATION BULLETIN

Elements of Propulsion: Gas Turbines and Rockets


Jack D. Mattingly - 2006
    Building on the very successful Elements of Gas Turbine Propulsion, textbook coverage has been expanded to include rocket propulsion and the material on gas dynamics has been dramatically improved. The text is divided into four parts: basic concepts and gas dynamics; analysis of rocket propulsion systems; parametric (design point) and performance (off-design) analysis of air breathing propulsion systems; and analysis and design of major gas turbine engine components (fans, compressors, turbines, inlets, nozzles, main burners, and afterburners). Design concepts are introduced early (aircraft and rocket performance in an introductory chapter) and integrated throughout. Written with extensive student input on the design of the book, the book builds upon definitions and gradually develops the thermodynamics, gas dynamics, rocket engine analysis, and gas turbine engine principles. The book contains over 100 worked examples and numerous homework problems so concepts are applied after they are introduced. examples. Eight computer programs accompany the text, which allow for rapid calculation of trends, what if questions, conceptual design, homework problems, and homework verification. The software runs in the Windows operating system on PC-compatible systems.

How the Moon Regained Her Shape


Janet Ruth Heller - 2006
    After the sun insults her, the moon gets very upset and disappears. With the help of her friends, the moon gains more self-confidence each day until she is back to her full size. The Creative Minds section explains the phases of the moon and also includes moon crafts and games.

The Challenger Explosion


Heather Adamson - 2006
    Written in graphic-novel format.

The Future Was F.A.B.: The Art of Mike Trim


Anthony Taylor - 2006
    In addition to highly detailed paintings and concepts, Trim is an accomplished artist and this new book showcases Trim's concept drawings and paintings together with his famous record album artwork. The Future Was F.A.B. The Art of Mike Trim contains over 275 color and black and white illustrations, drawings, paintings, model concepts, blue print drawings, and artwork.

The Urban Astronomer's Guide: A Walking Tour of the Cosmos for City Sky Watchers


Rod Mollise - 2006
    Many of them, however, live in urban and highly developed suburban areas that are heavily light polluted. Due to this light pollution, they are under the impression that deep sky objects nebulae, galaxies, star clusters are either invisible or not worth viewing from home. This book describes the many objects that can be seen in a bright urban sky, and shows the city or suburban astronomer how to observe object after object, season after season.This book covers the "why," "how," and "what" of astronomy under light-polluted skies. The prospective city-based observer is told why to observe from home (there are hundreds of spectacular objects to be seen from the average urban site), how to observe the city sky (telescopes, accessories, and moderns techniques), and what to observe. About 50% of the book is devoted to describing "tours" of the sky, with physical and observational descriptions, at-the-eyepiece drawings, and photographs."

Heidegger's Topology: Being, Place, World


Jeff E. Malpas - 2006
    In Heidegger's Topology, Jeff Malpas argues that an engagement with place, explicit in Heidegger's later work, informs Heidegger's thought as a whole. What guides Heidegger's thinking, Malpas writes, is a conception of philosophy's starting point: our finding ourselves already "there," situated in the world, in "place." Heidegger's concepts of being and place, he argues, are inextricably bound together.Malpas follows the development of Heidegger's topology through three stages: the early period of the 1910s and 1920s, through Being and Time, centered on the "meaning of being"; the middle period of the 1930s into the 1940s, centered on the "truth of being"; and the late period from the mid-1940s on, when the "place of being" comes to the fore. (Malpas also challenges the widely repeated arguments that link Heidegger's notions of place and belonging to his entanglement with Nazism.) The significance of Heidegger as a thinker of place, Malpas claims, lies not only in Heidegger's own investigations but also in the way that spatial and topographic thinking has flowed from Heidegger's work into that of other key thinkers of the past 60 years.

Space: The Ultimate Frontier


Mike Sharpe - 2006
    

Encyclopedia of the Solar System


Lucy-Ann McFadden - 2006
    That interest continues today, and scientists are making new discoveries at an astounding rate. Ancient lake beds on Mars, robotic spacecraft missions, and new definitions of planets now dominate the news. How can you take it all in? Start with the new Encyclopedia of the Solar System, Second Edition.This self-contained reference follows the trail blazed by the bestselling first edition. It provides a framework for understanding the origin and evolution of the solar system, historical discoveries, and details about planetary bodies and how they interact—and has jumped light years ahead in terms of new information and visual impact. Offering more than 50% new material, the Encyclopedia includes the latest explorations and observations, hundreds of new color digital images and illustrations, and more than 1,000 pages. It stands alone as the definitive work in this field, and will serve as a modern messenger of scientific discovery and provide a look into the future of our solar system.· Forty-seven chapters from 75+ eminent authors review fundamental topics as well as new models, theories, and discussions· Each entry is detailed and scientifically rigorous, yet accessible to undergraduate students and amateur astronomers· More than 700 full-color digital images and diagrams from current space missions and observatories amplify the chapters· Thematic chapters provide up-to-date coverage, including a discussion on the new International Astronomical Union (IAU) vote on the definition of a planet· Information is easily accessible with numerous cross-references and a full glossary and index