Professional Documents
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SPACE
TE ED
DA IS
D
UP EV
D R
AN LLY
FU
SPACE
SPACE
Heather Couper and Nigel Henbest
1999 edition
PARKES RADIO TELESCOPE, NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA
Senior Editor Jackie Wilson
Senior Art Editor Miranda Kennedy
Editors Emma Johnson, Isabel Moore, Steve Setford, Giles Sparrow, Marek Walisiewicz
Designers Sarah Crouch, Kelly Flynn, Martyn Foote, Rebecca Johns, Jim Marks
Managing Editor Jayne Parsons
Managing Art Editor Gill Shaw
DTP designer Nomazwe Madonko
Picture research Liz Moore
Production Lisa Moss
Contributors
Helen Gavaghan BSc, David Hughes BSc DPhil FRAS FInstP CPhys,
Tony Jones BSc PhD CPhys MInstP, Ian Ridpath FRAS, Robin Scagell FRAS,
Giles Sparrow BSc MSc, Carole Stott BA FRAS
2009 edition
Project Editor Jenny Finch Project Art Editor Marilou Prokopiou
Managing Editor Linda Esposito Managing Art Editor Diane Thistlethwaite
Production Editor Andy Hilliard Production Controller Angela Graef
DK Picture Library Claire Bowers Picture Researcher Harriet Mills, Jo Walton
US Editor Margaret Parrish
Consultant Dr. Jacqueline Mitton
09 10 11 12 13 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
SD279 02/09
ISBN: 978-0-7566-5157-2
Discover more at
www.dk.com DUMBBELL NEBULA
STAR DEATH
180 Red giants VERY LARGE
ARRAY RADIO
182 Planetary nebulas TELESCOPE,
NEW MEXICO
PRACTICAL STARGAZING
GETTING STARTED
242 Spinning Earth
244 Earths orbit
246 Daytime astronomy
248 Preparing to stargaze
250 Mapping the night sky
252 Polar star maps
254 Northern hemisphere star maps
June to November
256 Northern hemisphere star maps
December to May
258 Southern hemisphere star maps
September to February
260 Southern hemisphere star maps
March to August
OBSERVING
262 Astronomy unaided
264 Auroras and haloes
266 Photographing the night sky
268 Binocular astronomy
270 Refracting telescopes
272 Reflecting telescopes
REFERENCE SECTION
294 Index
303 Acknowledgments
CENTRAL PART OF OUR GALAXY, THE MILKY WAY
THE STARS
PAGE LAYOUT
PLANETARY NEBULAS
The information on each page is
presented in a way that makes it Outer lobes of older gas Inner shell of Hydrogen makes up most of the
material in the nebula. In this Hubble
easy to understand what is going ike a flower bursting into bloom, a planetary nebula
recently ejected
on. Start reading the introduction, L unfolds into space. Another swollen red giant has died
and puffed off its outer layers in an expanding cloud that
gas Space Telescope photograph,
it is shown in red.
move on to the subentries, and will shine for tens of thousands of years. All stars
Heavier elem
oxygen and n
then read the annotations. with a mass up to eight times that of the Sun will up as green a
Each of the six sections of the low temperatures with liquid in astronomy and space
book has a different color helium, and after a period of exploration from the
border to help you locate the 300 days its supply of helium earliest times to the
Axis tilts from the Spins on its axis
section easily. This page on is exhausted. During this present day. vertical by 2.7. once every 243 days.
STAR DEATH
PLANETS AT A GLANCE STRUCTURE
Iron and
SCALE
Planetary
Supergiants
Red giants
EVOLUTION OF WHITE DWARFS
LANDMARK BOXES L ORD OF THE RINGS
nebula phase Temperature Many pages have a box (with a tinted
When a red giant puffs off its outer
In 1610 Galileo Galilei
Absolute magnitude
OBSERVING THE
UNIVERSE
OPTICAL ASTRONOMY 1219
INVISIBLE ASTRONOMIES 2033
Unlike chemistry, physics, or biology, astronomy is
not a hands-on scienceastronomers cannot
experiment on the objects they study. Space probes
sent to other worlds have changed this a little, but
stars and galaxies are so far away that, for the most
part, professional astronomers continue to observe
at a distance. Todays technology, however, has
improved the process of observing enormously.
Once restricted to logging the light coming from
celestial objects, astronomers can now tune into
everything from radio waves to gamma rayswhich
all reveal what is going on in the cosmos. Electronics
and computers have also revolutionized the
collection of data and its analysis, meaning that
astronomers have more information at their
fingertips about the universe than ever before.
SERVICING MISSIONS
Hubble was designed to be serviced by Space
In 2001, observations by
Hubble of supernovae in
Shuttle astronauts. There were visits in 1993, distant galaxies confirmed
1997, 1999, and 2002, during which astronauts that the expansion of the
replaced parts, such as the solar arrays and a universe is accelerating.
transmitter, and repaired or replaced several
instruments. After the Space Shuttle Columbia
was destroyed in an accident in 2003, NASA
FIND OUT MORE
canceled all future servicing but later decided
to send one of the last Shuttle missions to Hubble H OW TELESCOPES WORK 14
A NALYZING LIGHT 18
in October 2008. That mission was delayed R ADIATIONS FROM SPACE 20
until 2009 because of a computer failure on I NFRARED ASTRONOMY 22
the telescope. HUBBLES SECOND SERVICING MISSION IN 1997 S ATELLITES AND ORBITS 46
Main mirror is 26 ft (8 m) in
diameter, and captures light
REFLECTING TELESCOPES from objects 500 million times
Reflectors, such as the Gemini Telescope, fainter than can be seen by
the naked eye.
capture light with a huge curved mirror, after
which the image can be reflected toward any Data-recording equipment is
part of the telescope by secondary mirrors. placed behind the main mirror
or on the observing platform.
This means the data-recording equipment
does not have to be a part of the moving
telescope. Reflectors have two key advantages
over refractors. They collect light with a
mirror, so there is no color fringing. And, Mirror
because a mirror can be supported at the cell
back, there is no limit to the size of telescope. Axis for tilting
telescope up
and down
REFRACTING TELESCOPES
Refractors capture light with a lens, which focuses the
image onto a photographic plate or electronic light
detector. The image is upside down, but in astronomy
this does not matter. Refractors are robust and useful for Observing platform Whole telescope
viewing bright objects, but the thick glass of the lens mounting swings
absorbs precious light from fainter objects. The lens will around horizontally.
also focus different colors of light at different points, giving MIRRORS
rise to color fringing. Lenses are also heavy: a lens more Telescope mirrors are
than 3 ft (1 m) across will bend under its own weight. made of low-expansion
glass ceramic, polished
CORRECTING COLOR FRINGING
for over a year and
Incoming With an extra Incoming coated with a thin film
Convex lens focuses light concave lens, all the light of aluminum. They must
different colors at colors are focused
different points.
be absolutely smooth or
together.
the incoming light will be
distorted and the images
blurred. The mirror surface
on the Gemini Telescope is Mirror is so smooth that if the 26-ft (8-m)
Lens polished to an accuracy of mirror were the diameter of Earth, the
16 billionths of a meter. largest bump would be 12 in (30 cm) high.
Lens Concave lens
F IRST REFRACTOR
The telescope can be pointed to any Schmidt photo of the
part of the sky, and then locked on Orion region covers Galileo did not invent
to the chosen object as it moves across an area of the sky the telescope, but in 1609
the sky. Long exposures produce the 12 moonwidths he was the first to realize
best data for analysis. across.
that a combination of lenses
could be used to magnify
Secondary the heavens. His telescopes
mirror
were no more powerful than
toys, but with them
Conventional reflector
sees an area of sky
he discovered craters on the
1 moonwidth across. Moon, four
Two moonwidths is moons of
equivalent to 1 of sky, Main lens Jupiter, and
and from the horizon the stars of
to directly overhead
is 90. the Milky
Way.
Museum
Open frame display
lessens weight. SCHMIDT TELESCOPE stand
Schmidt telescopes are a combination of
reflector and refractor, designed to image a
large area of sky at a time. They are especially
useful for conducting surveys. They collect Eyepiece
light with a concave mirror, but also use a
LIGHT PATH IN REFLECTOR thin lens at the front of the tube to eliminate
Convex distortion. Though originally invented to
secondary take photographs, large Schmidt telescopes
mirror today use electronic detectors to collect data. F IRST REFLECTOR
Isaac Newton, who
Incoming light from objects in space
pioneered so many areas of
is collected by the main mirror. science, also made a study
Concave of how light was split up by
main
mirror
a lens. He concluded that
Light is reflected from the main lenses would always form
mirror towards secondary mirror. images with colored
fringes, and so set about
Telescope tilts up designing a telescope that
and down. collected light with mirrors
Light reflected from secondary
mirror passes through hole in the instead. His reflecting
main mirror. telescope, built in 1668, had
a solid metal mirror made
of copper, tin,
Light is focused onto a battery of
instruments waiting to record the data.
and arsenic.
Mirror
Telescope swings
around horizontally.
North-south position is fixed for
viewing a particular star.
Eyepiece
Altazimuth mounting allows big telescopes to be mounted
horizontally, able to tilt up or down (in altitude) and swing
around (in azimuth) to follow the stars.
Telescope
mounting
Telescope MOUNTINGS
swings A telescopes mounting is almost as important as its
around mirror. It has to support the weight of the telescope
polar Polar axis aligned and to swing it around as Earth spins on its axis,
axis at a with pole
steady rate.
otherwise the objects being observed would drift out of FIND OUT MORE
view. There are two main types of mounting: equatorial N EW DESIGNS 16
and altazimuth. The altazimuth is the mainstay of A NALYZING LIGHT 18
Equatorial mounting has axis of the mount pointing R ADIATIONS FROM SPACE 20
at the celestial pole (north or south, depending on the todays professional telescopes. Continuous computer
control allows giant telescopes such as Gemini to S PINNING EARTH 242
hemisphere). The telescope swivels around the axis to R EFRACTING TELESCOPES 270
follow the stars as they circle the pole. follow the paths of objects as they move across the sky. R EFLECTING TELESCOPES 272
NEW DESIGNS
he bigger the mirror in a telescope, the more
T light it can collect and the more detail that can
be seen. But mirrors more than 26 ft (8 m) in
diameter have limitations. One is the atmosphere:
even an enormous mirror will still have its
vision blurred by constantly moving pockets of
air in the atmosphere. The other is size: the
bigger the mirror, the more difficult it is to
transport and handle. The latest ground-
based telescopes use ingenious solutions
to get around these limitations.
KECK TELESCOPES
The twin Keck Telescopes are situated on the
13,800 ft (4,200-m) summit of Mauna Kea in
Hawaii, high above the cloud and water vapor in
the lower atmosphere. The telescope mirrors
measure 33 ft (10 m) acrossgiving them a light-
collecting area half the size of a tennis court.
A single mirror this size would bend under its
own weight, so instead each mirror is made of 36
six-sided segments. Each segment weighs 880 lb
(400 kg), is 6 ft (1.8 m) wide and 3 in (8 cm) thick.
Domes, 100 ft (30 m) high, protect the Keck Keck mirror has a total light-
Telescopes. The telescopes themselves weigh collecting area 17 times greater than
300 tons (270 metric tons) and stand eight the Hubble Space Telescope. Hubble
stories tall. They are mounted on lightweight can see more clearly, but the Keck
frames that provide strength while minimizing Telescopes can see farther.
weight and cost.
Cluster of
The first 33-ft (10-m) Keck
Telescope was completed
seven secondary
reflectors in 1992. It was the first in
the 33-ft (10-m) class of
telescopes, and also the first
to have a mirror made of
segments, like tiles.
Front aperture shutter
The Very Large Telescopes
four units became operational
ADAPTIVE OPTICS between 1998 and 2001.
With the atmosphere constantly moving,
our view of the stars is blurred. In
adaptive optics, a powerful laser creates an
The Large Binocular
Telescope became the worlds
artificial star high in the atmosphere near most powerful telescope
the star under observation. A computer when it started operation
figures out how the light from the artificial in 2007.
star is distorted as it travels through the
atmosphere. It then shapes a constantly
moving flexible mirror to focus the light FIND OUT MORE
back into a point, thus sharpening all the
H UBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE 12
images that the telescope is seeing. H OW A TELESCOPE WORKS 14
A NALYZING LIGHT 18
LASERS SHOOT INTO THE NEW MEXICO SKY R ADIO ASTRONOMY 24
ANALYZING LIGHT
rofessional astronomers rarely look directly through
Ptelescopes. The human eye is simply not a good enough
light detector. Instead, telescopes capture light from objects,
such as stars, nebulas, or galaxies, with sensitive electronic
cameras that build up an exposure over minutes or even
hours if the object is very faint. Spectrographs split up
light by its wavelengths to reveal the strength of each;
computers analyze the results to show how hot the
object is and what it is made of. Together, these two
instruments can wring the last drop of information
out of the light from a planet, star, or galaxy.
LIGHTSENSITIVE CHIPS
Stunning pictures of galaxies look
like photos, but are built up from a
grid of squares, or pixels, like the
image on a TV screen. They are
taken with electronic cameras built
around a light-sensitive computer
chip called a charge-coupled device
(CCD). CCDs are more sensitive than
photographic plates: a 2-minute CCD
A magnified CCD image breaks up
exposure can show details as faint as a into colored squares, or pixels,
1-hour photographic exposure. showing that it is a digital image. CCD IMAGE OF SPIRAL
GALAXY NGC 5457
Spider mount
486 nm
434 nm
Sodium gas
Aluminum 394
Calcium 393 397
Helium 467 588
Hydrogen 434 486 656
Blue color Iron 373 375 382
USING COLOR assigned to the Magnesium 383 384 518
Astronomers use color not only to show how something would look shortest Nitrogen 655 658
wavelength Oxygen 501 630
to the human eye, but also to convey a variety of information in Silicon 390
infrared light
images. They take image through a great variety of filters that pick Sodium 589 590
out different wavelengths, not just red, green, and blue. CCDs are
sensitive to infrared radiation, so some images would not be visible FIND OUT MORE
to humans at all. False color images are used to visualize things that
H OW TELESCOPES WORK 14
would not normally be visible and colors are sometimes altered or R ADIATIONS FROM SPACE 20
exaggerated to bring out details that cannot be seen in normal color. M EASURE OF THE STARS 162 P ROPERTIES OF STARS 168
Suns corona
(ultraviolet) Supernova remnant
(radio waves)
Sea level
OPTICAL
ULTRAVIOLET INFRARED RADIO WAVES
10 nm 100 nm 1,000 nm 0.01 mm 0.1 mm 1 mm 1 cm 10 cm 1m 10 m 100 m 1 km
Optical radiation, or light rays, Infrared, or heat radiation, Radio waves are emitted by many
have wavelengths between comes from objects with objects, from supernova remnants and
390 and 700 nm. They reach temperatures up to around active galaxies to the Big Bang itself. A FIND OUT MORE
Earths surface through a 1,800 F (1,000 C). It is window in Earths atmosphere allows
window in the atmosphere. absorbed in the lower radio waves with wavelengths less than I NFRARED ASTRONOMY 22
Until recently, this narrow band atmosphere, but some about 330 feet (100 meters) to reach R ADIO ASTRONOMY 24
was astronomers only way of wavelengths can be the surface. Longer waves are reflected U LTRAVIOLET ASTRONOMY 26
studying the universe. observed from mountain back into space by the upper X RAY ASTRONOMY 28
tops or aircraft. atmosphere. G AMMARAY ASTRONOMY 30
INFRARED ASTRONOMY
f our eyes were sensitive to infrared, or heat
Iradiation, the night sky would appear very
different. It would be filled with glowing cosmic
HEAT DIFFERENCES
Detectors can pick up variations in heat from
an object: an infrared view of an elephant
shows temperature differences of around
clouds and scattered, distant galaxies ablaze with 2F (1C). Using infrared, astronomers can
observe a much wider temperature range,
newborn stars. We would be able to pick out young from stars at 5,400F (3,000C) to very cold
stars and the center of our galaxy, which are dust clouds at 420F (250C). In a
normally hidden by tiny grains of dust in space universe where gas clouds can be as hot as a
million degrees, these are the cool objects.
infrared can travel straight through interstellar
dust. Cooler objects emit the most
radiation. By using infrared telescopes,
astronomers can reveal information
invisible to the optical telescope. Young stars, often
emitting jets of hot gas,
are best observed at
short infrared
wavelengths. Distant starburst
galaxies emit much
more heat (infrared)
INFRARED WAVELENGTHS radiation than light.
EARTHBASED TELESCOPES
KEY INFRARED TELESCOPES Infrared telescopes resemble
Name Mirror Location Height Dates optical telescopes: in fact, the
diameter in miles latest big reflectors are designed
UK Infrared Telescope 12 ft Hawaii 2 1979
to observe both infrared and
NASA Infrared 10 ft Hawaii 2 1979 visible light. An infrared
Telescope Facility camera, however, must have a
Caltech Submillimeter 33 ft Hawaii 2 1987 cooling system so that any heat
James Clerk Maxwell 49 ft Hawaii 2 1987 it gives off does not overwhelm
Kuiper Airborne 3 ft Lockheed C141 7 197495 the faint infrared from space.
Observatory
SOFIA 8 ft Boeing 747SP 8 2009
IRAS 2 ft Polar orbit 560 1983
ISO 2 ft Elliptical orbit 600 199598
Spitzer 2 ft Solar orbit 31 million 200309 Liquid helium poured into an infrared
camera keeps it at 454F (270C).
Folded IN ORBIT The constellation of Orion is dominated Immense, cool dust clouds dominate the
solar panel at optical wavelengths by seven stars same region in this image captured by the
NASAs Spitzer infrared space
making the hunters outline. Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS).
observatory was launched in 2003.
3-ft (0.85-m)
It was placed in an orbit around the
reflecting Sun, trailing behind Earth, rather than
telescope Earth orbit. This helped minimize the
effects of heat from Earth so it could
carry less coolant. It could not observe
after the coolant ran out. It carried
three instruments, including a
camera and a spectrograph.
Electronic
detonators
Telescope located
IRAS, launched in 1983, discovered
in a section open
250,000 cosmic infrared sources. These
to the sky. included starburst galaxies, which emit far
more heat than light as they give birth to
many thousands of stars.
Science area with computer Mirror, 8 ft (2.5 m) across, is
consoles and equipment mounted on an air bearing
to keep it steady. Infrared telescopes revealed superheated
2,000-mile (3,000-km) plumes of gas when
Teaching area with Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 hit Jupiter in 1994.
projector and screen
for presentations
In 1998, the Infrared Space Observatory
discovered that water is widespread in
space, from moons to interstellar clouds.
Camera uses electronic
SOFIA AIRBORNE OBSERVATORY detectors sensitive to
The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy infrared, producing an FIND OUT MORE
(SOFIA) is a Boeing 747SP that carries an infrared telescope image made up of pixels. H OW TELESCOPES WORK 14 A NALYZING LIGHT 18
above most of Earths absorbing atmosphere. It can operate R ADIATIONS FROM SPACE 20
for many more years than a satellite and carry a bigger L IFECYCLE OF STARS 170
telescope. Its mirror is 8 ft (2.5 m) in diameter. I NTERSTELLAR MEDIUM 196
RADIO ASTRONOMY
Radio waves
from space
Antenna
Single dish
Arecibo 1,000 ft (fixed) Puerto Rico
MILLIMETER WAVELENGTHS CENTIMETER WAVELENGTHS
Greenbank 360 x 330 ft US
Effelsberg 330 ft Germany 1 mm 3 mm 1 cm 3 cm 10 cm
Lovell 250 ft UK
Parkes 210 ft Australia Visible light Radio waves
Large Millimeter 164 ft Mexico ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM LOCATER
Nobeyama 148 ft Japan
IRAM 100 ft Spain Infrared wavelengths
James Clerk Maxwell 49 ft Hawaii
Kitt Peak Millimeter 39 ft US RADIO DISH
Wave Telescope The large radio telescope at the Nobeyama
Arrays
Radio Observatory in Japan has a curved
Very Long 5,000 miles/10 dishes Across US dish 147 ft (45 m) in diameter, more than
Baseline Array 10 times the area of a tennis court. Yet its
Australia Telescope 200 miles/8 dishes Australia surface is smooth and accurately shaped to
MERLIN 143 miles/7 dishes UK less than the width of a blade of grass. This
Very Large Array 22 miles/27 dishes US precision surface allows the dish to focus
Giant Meterwave 15 miles/30 dishes India
CARMA 1 miles/23 dishes US
radiation of millimeter wavelengths from
Allen Telescope Array 1 ft/30 dishes US molecules of gas in the space between stars.
TELESCOPE ARRAYS
Radio telescopes have a fuzzier view R ADIO MILESTONES
than optical telescopes, because radio
waves are much longer than light waves.
To reveal more detail, astronomers mimic,
or synthesize, a bigger telescope by
connecting several small telescopes. The
27 dishes of the Very Large Array can be
moved along three railroad tracks to a
distance of 22 miles (36 km) apart. The JANSKYS RADIO TELESCOPE ANTENNA
Very Long Baseline Array stretches across
the US, and provides a sharper view than
Radio astronomy began
VERY LARGE ARRAY IN NEW MEXICO
in 1932, when Karl Jansky
the Hubble Space Telescope. discovered radio static
coming from the Milky
Way.
EARTHROTATION SYNTHESIS
In 1942, British scientist
The two lobes of a distant
Stanley Hey (19092000 )
A single line of telescopesor even the Y-shape found strong radio outbursts
radio galaxy are visible
only to a radio telescope.
of the Very Large Arrayleaves gaps in the from the Sun.
synthesized large mirror which can distort the
final radio picture. In the 1950s, Martin Ryle
suggested a solution. Instead of taking a
In 1949, Australian radio
astronomers identified the
snapshot view full of holes, the telescopes first radio sources outside
Hydrogen in the Milky Way observe the same radio source for 12 hours. As the solar system.
and other galaxies emits the Earth rotates, it carries each telescope
radio waves at a wavelength
of 9 in (21 cm). around the others in a slow half-circle,
synthesizing parts of a much larger telescope.
In 1951, scientists at
Harvard picked out the
HOW SYNTHESIS WORKS 8 in (21-cm) signal emitted
Radio waves by hydrogen in the Milky Way.
from source
METER WAVELENGTHS
View from space: the green telescope appears to
make a half-circle around the red telescope over In 1967, Tony Hewish
12 hours. Without moving the telescopes, this and Jocelyn Bell Burnell
m 30 cm 1m
method has filled in part of a much larger dish. found the first pulsar,
Center of galaxy
PSR 1919+21.
SYNCHROTRON RADIATION
In 1992, the Cosmic
Background Explorer
In many radio sources, from satellite measured ripples in
supernova remnants to galaxies, the the cosmic background
radio waves are created by high- radiationthe first signs of
speed electrons trapped in magnetic galaxy formation.
fields. They produce radio waves of
a type called synchrotron radiation, FIND OUT MORE
which is strongest at the longer A NALYZING LIGHT 18
wavelengths. In this image of galaxy R ADIATIONS FROM SPACE 20
Fornax A, the radio-emitting lobes Radio lobes I NTERSTELLAR MEDIUM 196
show where electrons are whizzing A CTIVE GALAXIES 216
through tangled magnetic fields. GALAXY FORNAX A E CHOES OF THE BIG BANG 226
COMBINED OPTICAL AND RADIO IMAGES
ULTRAVIOLET ASTRONOMY
o track down the hottest stars50 times hotter than
T the Sunastronomers must use ultraviolet radiation. A
star that is hotter than 18,000F (10,000C) shines
HYDROGEN FOG
Many atoms in space are very efficient at
absorbing ultraviolet radiation. Hydrogen,
the most common element in space, absorbs
most brightly at ultraviolet wavelengths. Ultraviolet can the extreme ultraviolet wavelengths so
strongly that it acts as a fog that hides
also reveal what is in the hot, invisible gas clouds between most of the distant universe.
the stars. Ozone in Earths atmosphere,
however, makes observing difficult. In
everyday life, the ozone layer protects us from
the Suns ultraviolet radiation, and we worry
about the ozone hole, but the ozone layer Hot gas streams
swirling around
blocks astronomers view of sources of supermassive black Suns chromosphere is
ultraviolet radiation in the universe. holes produce extreme
ultraviolet radiation.
hotter than the surface
and shines at
ultraviolet wavelengths.
ORBITING TELESCOPES
Ultraviolet telescopes, Ozone layer
such as the Galaxy
Evolution Explorer
(GALEX), have to be
above Earths atmosphere. EXTREME ULTRAVIOLET ULTRAVIOLET
10 nm 50 nanometers (nm) 100 nm 150 nm 200 nm
GALEX was launched
into Earth orbit in 2003. Ultraviolet wavelengths
One of its goals was to ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM
survey the whole sky for LOCATER
galaxies shining in the X-rays Visible light
ultraviolet, to investigate
the formation of stars and
the evolution of galaxies KEY ULTRAVIOLET TELESCOPES
over the history of
Name Mirror size Orbit Dates
the universe.
Copernicus 2 ft Low Earth 197281
IUE 1 ft Geostationary 197896
Astro 1 ft Low Earth 1990, 1995
Rosat 2 ft Low Earth 199099
EUVE 1 ft Low Earth 19922001
SOHO ft 900,000 miles 1995
FUSE 4 x 1 ft Low Earth 19992007
GALAXY EVOLUTION EXPLORER GALEX 1 ft Low Earth 20032010
100 km Individual
In 1987,the International
Ultraviolet Explorer
massive stars
monitored the radiation
outburst from Supernova
HOT STARS IN GALAXIES 1987A, providing a precise
Sea level Spiral galaxies appear at their most spectacular in the distance to the supernova,
ultraviolet, which reveals only the hottest stars. Here, and so to its host galaxy, the
ULTRAVIOLET the Astro telescope has viewed the galaxy M81, which Large Magellanic Cloud.
250 nm 300 nm lies 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa
Major. The bright spots are clusters of massive stars, 10
times hotter than the Sun, that will quickly burn away.
The Rosat survey in 1990
discovered over 1,000 very
hot stars, emitting extreme
ultraviolet.
STARBURST GALAXY
M94 is a galaxy where a large number
of stars have recently burst into life. By 2008, the Galaxy
Evolution Explorer had
Viewed through an optical telescope, imaged hundreds of millions
however, only a bright central bulge of galaxies in ultraviolet for
composed mainly of old, cool stars, is the first time.
visible. An ultraviolet image, taken by
the Astro ultraviolet observatory, FIND OUT MORE
shows a completely different Hot Old A NALYZING LIGHT 18
structure. Instead of the central young stars cool stars R ADIATIONS FROM SPACE 20
bulge; there is a giant ring of hot S PACE SHUTTLE 62
young stars formed within the past S UNS ATMOSPHERE 158
ULTRAVIOLET IMAGE OF M94 OPTICAL IMAGE OF M94 GALAXIES 210
10 million years.
X-RAY ASTRONOMY
t x-ray wavelengths, the sky looks
A totally alien, filled with large glowing
pools of gas and strange fluctuating
Clusters of galaxies are
embedded in a thin pool
of gas at temperatures of
Distant quasar emits
X-rays from its tiny
energetic core.
up to 180 million F
X-ray stars. X-rays are a very short- (100 million C).
Electrons in quasar jet
wavelength, high-energy type of emit weaker X-rays.
radiation, only given out by objects hotter
than a million degreesthey show up the
universes hot spots. The atmospheres of
the Sun and similar stars shine only Supernova
remnant
faintly in X-rays. Supernova remnants
X-rays are emitted
and the gas around pulsars and black Gas in the Suns corona by hot gas pulled
is just hot enough to
holes, where temperatures may reach emit X-rays.
into a black hole
from a nearby star.
180 million F (100 million C), are much
more powerful X-ray sources.
Chandra
light. The shortest X-rays carry the Even the most 100 km
most energy. X-rays may be extremely energetic X-rays are
absorbed 60 miles
penetrating on Earthdoctors use (100 km) above
Earths surface.
them to show the bodys interiorbut Sea level
the upper atmosphere absorbs all the
X-rays from space. So X-ray detectors
must be carried beyond the 0.01 nanometers (nm) 0.1 nm 1 nm 10 nm
In 2007, Chandra
Puppis A is 6,000 light-years discovered the most massive
ROSAT IMAGE OF VELA
SUPERNOVA REMNANTS SUPERNOVA REMNANT
from the Sun. At 4,000 years stellar black hole known.
About 11,000 years ago a old, its gas is a searing
supernova exploded in the
18 million F (10 million C).
In 2008, XMM-Newton
constellation Vela, 1,500 light- discovered the most
years away from Earth. At its massive cluster of galaxies
brightest, it must have outshone in the far universe.
the full Moon, but all that is left
now is a huge bubble of hot gas,
Brighter areas show
140 light-years across. Optical successively hotter
telescopes can barely detect it, regions.
but Rosats sensitive X-ray
ROSAT
telescope revealed the gas which, X-RAY TELESCOPE
in places, is still 14 million F
(8 million C). Rosat also detected
a much smaller and more distant FIND OUT MORE
supernova remnant, Puppis A. H OW TELESCOPES WORK 14
The Vela pulsar is the R ADIATIONS FROM SPACE 20
Faint areas show cooler remains of the star left S UPERNOVAS 184
gas temperaturesabout after the explosion. N EUTRON STARS 186
1.8 million F (1 million C). B LACK HOLES 188
GAMMA-RAY ASTRONOMY
amma rays expose the most violent corners
G of the universe, including pulsars, quasars,
and black holes. They are radiation with the
CERENKOV DETECTOR
Gamma rays from space never
reach Earth, but ground-based
instruments can still detect
shortest wavelengths, and highest energies, them. A Cerenkov detector
of all. No star or gas cloud is hot enough to shine collects light like an ordinary
telescope, but is on the lookout
at these wavelengths. Instead, gamma rays are for flashes of light in Earths
generated by radioactive atoms in space, by atmosphere. Each flash lasts only
a few billionths of a second and
particles colliding at almost the speed of light, and is caused by a gamma ray
by matter and antimatter annihilating each other. smashing into atoms of gas.
CERENKOV DETECTOR SITED IN ARIZONA
Gamma-ray telescopes placed in Earth orbit have
helped astronomers to discover and identify
cosmic sources of this high-energy radiation.
Interstellar gas clouds glow at
gamma-ray wavelengths, as their
GAMMARAY SPECTRUM atoms are hit by high-speed
particles called cosmic rays.
Even the longest gamma rays, bordering on
X-rays, have wavelengths that are smaller than
an atom. There is no lower limit to gamma-ray
wavelengths: the shortest ever detected is a million
billion times shorter than ordinary light. Such
short-wavelength gamma rays are uncommon,
because objects with the energy to create them INTEGRAL
SWIFT
SKY IN GAMMA RAYS Clouds of gas in the Milky Way, Quasar 3C 279: a distant galaxy with a
The sky looks very different when bombarded by high-speed massive central black hole
electrons
viewed at gamma-ray wavelengths.
We see none of the usual stars and Center of the Milky
constellations. Instead, huge glowing Way Galaxy
clouds of gas stretch across the view. Unidentified source
Among them are bright points,
flashing on and off. Some are Cygnus X-1: gas
pulsars, with a regular period to their swirling around a Crab Pulsar flashes
flashing. Others, called gamma-ray black hole 30 times a second.
bursters, flare brilliantly for just a
few seconds, outshining everything Vela Pulsar flashes 13
else in the gamma-ray sky. times a second.
Beams of high-speed
electrons from a spinning
A gamma-ray burster may be
a neutron star collision or a
G AMMA RAY MILESTONES
neutron star generate
pulses of gamma rays as
hypernovaa spinning black
hole within an exploding star.
The first gamma-ray astronomy experiments were
the star rotates. carried on board rockets and NASAs Orbiting Solar
Observatory satellites in the 1960s.
UNUSUAL TELESCOPES
lmost all our knowledge of the distant universe has come
Afrom studying radiationlight, radio waves, infrared,
ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma raysfrom space. But more
exotic messengers are also crisscrossing the cosmos, carrying
information about the most violent events of all.
Astronomers have studied cosmic rays (actually high-energy
particles) for many decades, and more recently have
detected elusive neutrinos. Other messengers are
predicted by theory, but have yet to be detected. They
include particles of dark matter, which may make up
most of the mass of the universe, and gravitational
waves, shudders in the fabric of space itself.
VIOLENT BEGINNINGS
Way out in space, a mighty explosion erupts. It may be a star
dying as a supernova, two neutron stars crashing together, or
superhot gas making the one-way trip into a black hole.
Such explosions generate all kinds of radiation, including
light, radio waves, and gamma rays. But they also spew into
space a range of more exotic particles and waves that carry Incoming
cosmic ray
unique information about this astrophysical chaos.
Collision with
atom in air
COSMIC RAYS Airborne detectors
Despite their name, cosmic rays are not a kind of
radiation: they are fragments of atoms smashed
up in high-energy explosions and whizzing
through space at almost the speed of light.
Most are nuclei of hydrogen (protons), with a
sprinkling of nuclei of heavier elements and
electrons. The most energetic cosmic rays
come from the centers of quasars. Others
are sent speeding through space by
supernova explosions.
Lower-energy
particles include
electrons and neutrinos.
GRAVITATIONAL WAVES
According to Einsteins general theory of E XOTIC DETECTORS
relativity, the gravity of stars and other
massive objects bends space, like a heavy ball
In 1912, Austrian
physicist Victor Hess
deforming a rubber sheet. Cosmic acts of (18831964) launched
violence, from supernovas to black hole balloons that discovered
collisions, involve sudden changes in local cosmic rays from space.
Gravitational waves gravitythe equivalent of bouncing the ball
spreading out from
a large explosion
and sending ripples out across the sheet. The
ripples in space caused by a cosmic cataclysm
Albert Einstein predicted
gravitational waves in 1916.
are known as gravitational waves.
Laser beams for measuring
French scientist Pierre
Waves arrive in solar system: LISA LISA spacecraft Auger (18991993)
the distance between orbit the Sun 20
can measure minute variations in its discovered air showers in
spacecraft behind Earth.
3-million-mile (5-million-km) arms 1938, revealing the existence
as the waves pass.
of high-energy cosmic rays.
Gravity
Thrust
SATELLITE PAYLOAD
Nose cone, or fairing, reduces air
The cargo a launcher carries is resistance as rocket takes off ORBITAL PHYSICS
known as the payload. All the through the atmosphere. It also Imagine a bullet fired
fierce combustion and powerful protects the payload. horizontally from a gun. Gravity
forces are harnessed to lift a pulls it vertically toward Earth. If
few tons of payload from the a bullet could be fired with
Earths surface. Some sufficient horizontal force, it
High-performance
launchers carry a heavier small engine releases would never reach the ground:
payload to space satellite at exactly the the bullet would be in orbit. In
than others. right angle and speed the same way, launch vehicles
to put it into its orbit. Upper
payload carry satellites above the
atmosphere and release them
Liquid
with enough horizontal force
Liquid
hydrogen oxygen tank to remain in orbit.
tank
Lower payload If a bullet could be fired with
enough horizontal force, it
would orbit the Earth.
Increasing firepower
lengthens the bullets path
of flight.
ESCAPING GRAVITY
At an altitude of 120 miles (200 km), a launch
vehicle must give a satellite enough horizontal
force to reach 4.8 miles/s (7.8 km/s), if it is to enter
orbit. If it reached over 7 miles/s (11 km/s), the satellite
would escape Earths gravity, and head off into space.
This speed is called the escape velocity.
N EWTONS LAWS
Vehicle equipment bay
contains all the OF MOTION
electrical equipment, a
computer, and the An object remains at rest
altitude control system. or traveling in a straight
line unless a force acts upon
Igniter starts the it. For a satellite, the main
solid fuel burn. forces are gravity and the
horizontal force of the
launch vehicle.
STAGES TO ORBIT
Maximum thrust is needed in the
lower atmosphere. Rockets achieve The acceleration of an
object is equal to the overall
this in different ways. Ariane 5 has
force acting upon it divided
a main stage boosted by two solid
by its mass. For a rocket, the
fuel rockets. After two minutes,
two main forces are thrust
these fall away and the main engine
upward and gravity
Solid fuel propellant completes the journey to space
in three segments downward.
with a lighter load. But in the giant
inside the casing
Saturn V launcher, when the fuel
was spent the first stage fell away, For every action, there is
an equal and opposite
leaving the second stage to fire and Saturn V was built to send reaction. The action of
Solid fuel boosters
take over, followed by a third. astronauts to the Moon. releasing high pressure gas
have a burn time of from combustion has a
130 seconds.
ARIANE 5 LIFTOFF DATA reaction that gives liftoff.
Fact Rocket boosters Main engine
FIND OUT MORE
Before liftoff, the main engine Length 98 ft (30 m) each 100 ft (30.5 m)
Propellant 260 tons each Liquid oxygen 145 tons, R OCKET PROPULSION 38
ignites. If it operates correctly, S PACE LAUNCHERS 40
the solid fuel boosters are liquid hydrogen 250 tons
Mass 300 tons each 185 tons C OUNTDOWN 44
ignited. S ATELLITES AND ORBITS 46
Maximum thrust 700 tons each Thrust in vacuum 130 tons
F LYING TO SPACE 60
ROCKET PROPULSION
t the start of the space age, rockets were more
A likely to end up as a ball of fire or to veer off
course than to reach the correct orbit. Now, they
SPACE SHUTTLE
SPACE LAUNCHES
The Shuttle provides a gentler ride to orbit Shuttles main engine Booster engine
for astronauts than earlier launchers. The exhaust expels an produces the
maximum acceleration is three times that of almost invisible plume cloud of chemicals
gravity (3 g). It occurs briefly before the of water vapor. seen on takeoff.
boosters fall away and for 5 minutes before
the external tank separates from the orbiter.
Nozzle
SPACE LAUNCHERS
o one would buy a rolls royce just for
N running errands, nor would anyone build a
mighty Saturn V to launch a satellite the size of a
DELTA II
Proton launches large satellites, L1011 AIRCRAFT WITH PEGASUS ROCKET UNDERNEATH
such as the Asiasat HSG-1, to
low-Earth orbit. Asiasat beams
television and telephone
signals to Asia and the Pacific.
ROCKET CAPABILITIES
Name Destination of payloads Length
Low-Earth Geostationary Planets in feet
SATURN V
LAUNCH CENTERS
aunch centers are the gateways to space. They can
Lbe small sites, or vast, expensive complexes sprawling
over many acres. The worlds largest spaceports have
many launchpads. In the weeks before launch, engineers
assemble the launch vehicle in multistory buildings.
Then giant platforms lumber to the pad carrying the
assembled launcher. Scattered around the site are the
control room from which mission specialists oversee
the final countdown, huge tanks for the propellant,
weather stations that check conditions at the site on
the day of launch, and tracking stations to
monitor the early part of the KENNEDY SPACE CENTER
ascent to space. The 140,000 acre (56,600 hectares) of the
Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral
is NASAs launch site for the Space
Shuttle. There is a 2.8-mile
(4.5-km) runway, which the
WORLD LAUNCH SITES staff checks for stray
alligators and bobcats
Launch site Location Owner
prior to a landing.
Alcantara Brazil Brazil
Baikonur Kazakhstan Russia
Jiuquan Ganzu China
Kagoshima Japan Japan
Kapustin Yar Russia Russia
Kennedy Florida US
Kourou French Guiana France
Plesetsk Russia Russia
San Marco Kenya Italy
Sriharikota Andhra Pradesh India
Tanegashima Japan Japan
Vandenberg California US
Xichang Sichuan China
KOUROU SPACE CENTER
Zenit At sea Business
consortium Kourou is where Arianespace
(responsible for more than half
the worlds large commercial
satellites) and the European
Space Agency launch satellites.
It is close to the equator and
therefore favorable for
placing satellites into the Vandenberg
geostationary orbit directly
Kennedy
above the equator.
Kagoshima and
Tanegashima launch
only at limited times
to protect Japans
fishing industry.
COUNTDOWN
he final part of every launch campaign begins
Twhen all the separate components arrive at the
launch center to be assembled into the launch vehicle.
The launch campaign for Ariane 5, for example,
begins 21 days before the scheduled liftoff, and the
countdown itself begins six hours before. During this
final countdown, engineers make the site ready for
launch, and personnel are evacuated from the area.
About an hour before liftoff, preparations begin for
the synchronized sequence of events that leads to
those famous words: Ten, nine, eight... ROCKET TRANSPORTATION
The ship carrying the parts of the Ariane 5 rocket to
French Guiana begins its journey in Bremen, Germany,
where the upper stage is loaded. Other components
MISSION CONTROL are shipped along Europes rivers to Rotterdam
The Jupiter control room in Kourou, in Holland or to Le Havre in France,
where they join the ship for Kourou.
French Guiana, directs the Ariane 5 The crossing from Le Havre to
liftoff. Three teams monitor the status of Kourou takes 11 days.
the launcher, payload, and the tracking
stations that will follow its ascent, while
PAYLOAD INTEGRATION
weather and safety teams work elsewhere. For a launch on Ariane 5,
When all report status green, the director satellites and their protective
of operations authorizes the final stage nose cone are mounted on
of countdown. Observation lounge of the launcher in the final
Jupiter control room assembly building about
eight days before liftoff.
JUPITER CONTROL ROOM
DURING AN ARIANE
The satellite is linked via
LAUNCH Ariane 5 to the Jupiter
control room so that the
payload can be monitored Communications
during the final countdown. satellite being
prepared for Ariane 5.
Leader of tracking
team monitors Screen displays
launchers path trajectory of Telecoms link with
with radar. launch. stations that track the
launchers ascent.
Mission controllers
monitor launch
support equipment
Payload team
at and near the
monitors satellites
launchpad.
status and ensures
owners tracking
stations are ready to
receive signals once
satellite is in orbit.
Four computers in
the foreground are
reserved for senior Director of operations (DDO) authorizes Launch team leader Deputy launch team
personnel from the French and European final countdown: To everyone from DDO, filters information leader acts as backup
Space Agencies, the satellite owner, and attention ... start of synchronized sequence. about launcher status to DDO.
Arianespace. to DDO.
TO THE LAUNCHPAD
A 960-ton (870-metric-ton) launch table
supports the launcher during assembly. The
day before liftoff, a truck tows the launcher
and table along rail tracks to the launchpad.
Together, the truck and table weigh
1,650 tons (1,500 metric tons)the
equivalent of 1,500 cars. Propellant (fuel and
oxidant) is piped into the launcher at the pad.
ON THE LAUNCHPAD
There are three trenches at the
launch area through which
flames from the boosters and main
engine escape during liftoff. A tower
supplies water at the rate of 1,000
cubic feet (30 cubic meters)
per second during launch
to reduce noise and to
cool the trenches and
launch table. Without
the water, vibrations
from the noise could
damage the launcher
and its payload.
COUNTDOWN TO LIFTOFF
360 seconds Synchronized sequence leading to main ignition begins
30 seconds Valves open to flood flame trenches with water
13 seconds Onboard computers authorized to take over
Main ignition Main engine ignition sequence begins and its operation
is checked. Finally, both of the solid rocket boosters
are ignited.
Main ignition We have liftoff!
+ 7 seconds
LIFTOFF
Six hours before liftoff, the launch area is readied.
The flight program is loaded into the two
onboard computers and the program initiated
to check radio links between the launcher
and the ground. Five hours before launch, FIND OUT MORE
the main stage tanks are filled with H OW ROCKETS WORK 36
propellant. Six minutes before liftoff, R OCKET PROPULSION 38
the synchronized sequence leading S PACE LAUNCHERS 40
to liftoff begins. L AUNCH CENTERS 42
The US Transit 1B
(launched April 13, 1960) was
the worlds first navigation
WESTAR SATELLITE satellite.
RESCUE
COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITES
elephone calls, television broadcasts,
Tand the internet can all be relayed by
communications satellites. These satellites
TRANSPONDERS
Devices called transponders are at the
heart of communications satellites.
They contain a chain of electronic
connect distant places and make communication components. These components
possible with remote areas. Many are in clean up radio signals, which can be
geostationary orbit (GEO), but so great is the distorted after traveling through the
atmosphere, and convert them to the
demand for communications that this orbit has frequency necessary for transmission back
become crowded. Since the 1990s, fleets of to Earth. They also amplify the signals COMMUNICATIONS
SATELLITE TRANSPONDER
before retransmitting them.
satellites have been launched into low-Earth orbit
(below GEO) to carry signals for the growing GEOSTATIONARY SATELLITES
COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE
number of cell phones. Satellites in GEO above the equator always
seem to stay over the same spot on Earth.
They appear stationary because a satellite
Three satellites, spaced evenly 22,000 miles (36,000 km) above Earth
apart in GEO, can view the entire takes the same time to complete one
planet, except the polar regions.
orbit as Earth takes to spin on its axis.
They remain in sight of the same
Science fiction author Arthur C.
Clarke first suggested GEO for Earth station.
communications satellites in 1945.
Thanks to communications
satellites, telephone calls are
COMMUNICATIONS LINK possible between plane
Antennas on the ground and on satellites send and and ground.
SATELLITE CONSTELLATIONS
Satellites have
provided international From the late 1990s, constellations or fleets of
communications systems satellites, such as Globalstar and Iridium, have
for more than four decades. been launched into low-Earth orbits (LEO).
These satellites are much closer to Earth than GEO
satellites, and so need smaller, cheaper equipment
Antenna can focus
signals to a specific for relaying messages. Communications satellites in
region on Earth. LEO can be cheaper for applications, such as cell ECHO
phones, than a system based on GEO satellites. In 1960, NASA and Bell
Telephone launched an
GLOBALSTAR
aluminized balloon called
CONSTELLATION Echo that reflected signals
across North America.
Antenna dish
sends and Red lines are the
receives signals. satellites orbits.
Transponder
Half-circuit
is located Communications Green dots show where each satellite
is a two-way
inside the downlink is on its orbit at a particular moment.
Uplink and communications
satellite.
downlink use link between one
different frequencies. Earth station and White circles are satellite
a satellite. footprintsthey overlap
to give global coverage.
Communications
uplink
Full circuit is a two-way
FREQUENCY communications link by Iridium satellites
Radio waves are part of the satellite between two can pass signals
electromagnetic spectrum. Earth stations. between one another,
which gives them
Communications satellites great flexibility as a
Channel is a one-
transmit radio waves at way communications mobile communications
frequencies that pass through link between an Earth system.
the atmosphere without being station and satellite. CELL PHONE
absorbed by water vapor.
Communications
uplink
NAVIGATION SATELLITES
o steer an accurate course between two
T places, a navigator needs to know his or her
exact position. For thousands of years, sailors
HOW GPS WORKS
GPS consists of 31 satellites as well as equipment on
the ground. The satellites broadcast their positions
calculated their positions using the Moon, stars, and the time. They are spaced in orbits so that a
and Sun. When clouds obscure the sky, however, receiver anywhere on Earth can always receive signals
it is easy to go far off course. Satellite navigation from at least four satellites. The GPS receiver knows
systems have solved this problem. Satellites precisely when the signal was sent and when it
transmit radio waves that can be detected on arrived, and so can calculate the distance
Earth even when it is cloudy. As a result, between itself and each of the
navigation is now possible in any weather. By satellites. With this information,
it works out its own position,
the late 1990s, the Global Positioning System including altitude.
(GPS) developed in the US had become the most
reliable and accurate navigation system ever. ARTISTS IMPRESSION
OF GPS ORBITS
GLONASS
GPS receivers can Antennas
Antenna be as small as
The Global Orbiting Navigation Satellite
cell phones. System (Glonass) was developed by Russia,
and since 2004 has been run with India.
Display Glonass allows users to work out their
screen
GPS RECEIVERS positions to within 230 ft (70 m). The system
Early receivers displayed the users position consists of 18 satellites but will eventually
as latitude and longitude, which had to be have 30 and offer worldwide coverage. The
plotted on a map. Modern ones display a map European Space Agency is developing an
marking the users position to within a few independent system for Europe. Known as
yards. In addition to position, the receivers Galileo, it should be operational by 2013.
calculate speed and direction of travel.
CAR NAVIGATION
Transit was the first satellite
navigation system. The US
Car manufacturers and owners install launched it in January 1964 to
GPS receivers to aid route planning improve position location of
15 percent of all cars in Europe use Polaris nuclear submarines.
GPS and in 2008 more than 10
million GPS devices were produced
for worldwide use. GPS signals are
The US Navy made Transit
available to civilian users in
also used by firms tracking the July 1967.
progress of their vehicles and by the
emergency services. Paramedics,
police, and firefighters can quickly
In October 1978, the US Air
Force launched the first
see the fastest route to the scene satellite that it acknowledged
of an emergency. to be a GPS satellite.
METEOROLOGY SATELLITES
he way weather systems develop and move
T around the globe can be seen by meteorology
satellites. They record the images that appear nightly
on our television screens, show cloud cover, and
monitor hurricanes growing and moving across the
oceans. Meteorology satellites also carry instruments
that take readings, which are converted to the
temperatures, pressures, and humidities needed for
HURRICANE CENTER
weather forecasting. These, together with information During the tropical storm season between May and
from sources such as weather buoys, balloons, and November, the US National Hurricane Center in
ships, help forecasters to improve their predictions. Miami keeps a 24-hour watch of all satellite data.
As storms develop, satellites track their paths across
the oceans. The center distributes storm and
hurricane warnings for the Caribbean, all the coasts
HURRICANE FORECASTING of the US, and the Gulf of Mexico.
Before weather satellites existed, hurricanes would
develop unseen over oceans and strike land with SCANNING THE GLOBE
very little warning. One notorious hurricane killed Geostationary satellites scan
6,000 people in Texas in 1906. Hurricanes are the region beneath them every
extreme tropical storms with wind speeds 30 minutes. If a tropical storm
develops, they scan that region
persistently in excess of 75 mph (120 km/h). In in more detail every 15 minutes.
tropical storms, winds circle a calm eye of low air The satellites also measure
pressure. Now weather satellites constantly view temperature, which helps
the oceans where such storms gather forecasters predict
hurricane strength.
strength. People need no longer die HURRICANE FRAN IN 1996
for lack of warning.
HOMING IN
As the tropical storm becomes
a hurricane and nears land, the
US Air Force scrambles its Weather
Squadronthe Hurricane Hunters
which flies into the storm and adds
its measurements to those of
coastal radar and satellites.
Hurricane
eye
EYE OF HURRICANE ALLEN
The DORIS
instrument provides
Thematic mapper location and orbit
information.
Poseidon-3 dual frequency
altimeter is Jason 2s main
instrument. It measures sea level,
wave heights, and wind speed.
LANDSAT 4 SATELLITE
TOPEX-POSEIDON OCEANOGRAPHIC
RESEARCH SATELLITE
THEMATIC MAPPER DATA
Band Wavelengths Applications
in nanometers
Topex-Poseidon
helped scientists
study in detail how 1 450520 (blue/green) Maps coastal water;
currents and tides differentiates between soil and
change. vegetation
2 520600 (green/yellow) Reflects healthy vegetation
3 630690 (red) Helps identify plants
OCEAN RESEARCH 4 760900 (infrared) Outlines bodies of water
A basic measurement for ocean 5 1,5501,750 (infrared) Measures moisture of plants
6 10,40012,500 (infrared) Measures heat stress of plants
and climate research is ocean 7 2,0802,350 (infrared) Maps sources of hot water
height, which gives scientists
information about currents and
tides. From its 825-mile (1,330-km)
high orbit, Topex-Poseidon made measurements to within an R ESOURCES
accuracy of 1 in (4.3 cm). It collected more data in a month
than all research ships had in the previous hundred years. MILESTONES
Antenna for
beaming data to
SPECTRAL RESOLUTION Earth, and the
Jason 2 provides sea antenna mast
surface heights for The multispectral scanner (MSS)
determining ocean on Landsat 1 was the first satellite
circulation, climate instrument to record radiation
change, and sea-level intensity in different wavelength
rise. It monitors 95 percent
of the ice-free oceans bands (red, green, and two
every 10 days from an infrared ranges). Like the thematic
LANDSAT 1
altitude of 830 miles mapper, the MSS uses a range of
(1,336 km). wavelengths to gather information
about different aspects of the
Earths surface.
In 1972, Landsat 1 was
launched by the US. It
took the first combined
visible and infrared image
of Earths surface.
MULTISPECTRAL SCANNER
In 1978, the US Seasat
DEFORESTATION satellite made the first
A Landsat image shows valuable measurements of
JASON 2 forests in the Ivory Coast in oceans with radar.
Africa. The colors identify
different types of surface: In 1986, France launched
red is forest and pale blue is SPOT 1. This was the first
soil, while brown indicates Earth resources satellite to
crops. Successive images detect radiation using small
taken over months or years silicon chips.
showed that the red area is
decreasing because trees In September 1992, the
are being cut down. Topex-Poseidon mission
SATELLITE VIEW OF IVORY COAST began collecting ocean data
in unprecedented detail.
MILITARY SATELLITES
any of the earliest satellitesdeveloped by
M the US or the Soviet Unionwere made for
the armed services. Military satellites are widely
MILITARY NAVIGATION
The Global Positioning System (GPS), now so
popular with commercial users, was originally Solar panels
developed for the US military. Using a supply power
used today. From the safety of orbit, satellites can handheld device that receives signals from four to transmit
gather information about battlefields, take pictures GPS satellites, people can find their positions navigation
signals.
latitude, longitude, and altitudeto within a
so detailed they can show where a person is few yards. It has been used to guide American
standing, locate missing troops, and provide secure troops in the desert terrain of Iraq, and to
communications. Some satellites monitor the direct missiles to their targets.
globe, watching for signs of the launch of a GPS SATELLITE
nuclear missile or a nuclear explosion. High-resolution
telescope
SPACE DEBRIS
nything in orbit that has no use is called space debris.
A
ARTISTS IMPRESSION
OF SPACE DEBRIS IN
This includes discarded rockets and obsolete satellites ORBIT AROUND
EARTH
that could stay in orbit for millions of years, as well as
fragments from satellites that exploded or were destroyed.
Half a century after the first satellite, more than
90 percent of the objects orbiting Earth are space junk.
Each breakup adds to the garbage and increases
the risk of an orbiting spacecraft being hit by a
piece of debris. Even a collision with a fleck of
paint could put a spacecraft out of action.
Space nations have begun to examine how
they can reduce the junk left in space.
HAZARDS IN SPACE
There are an estimated 17,000 items of space
debris bigger than 4 in (10 cm) in orbit around
Earth. The garbage is created at many stages of a
space operation, such as during separation when
the nose cone is discarded once a satellite is released
to orbit. Space junk accumulates most quickly in Each
yellow dot is
orbits that are used most often. Satellites and debris a piece of space
could collide at speeds of up to 25,000 mph junk orbiting Earth.
Debris in geostationary Most space debris is in
(40,000 km/h), causing serious damage. orbit is marked as a loop low-Earth orbit.
around Earth.
Screens at NORAD
TRACKING DEBRIS headquarters CLEANING UP SPACE
The worldwide radar network of the North American display Scientists have some novel ideas for removing debris
Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) monitors objects information about from space. One suggestion is that a robot could loiter
in orbit. Items as small as a tennis ball are routinely detected the location of in orbit and capture old spacecraft as they drifted by.
space debris.
in low-Earth orbit, while 3-ft (1-m) objects can be observed A solar-powered laser would slice the satellites into
in geostationary orbit. Computers use this information to smaller pieces, which could be taken to the
predict the likelihood of a collision with spacecraft. International Space Station for recycling.
DEBRIS IN ORBIT
Of the 17,000 observable Object size Number % of total
space objects larger than 4 in
(10 cm), only about 700 are Over 4 in (10 cm) 17,000 0.02
operational spacecraft. 4 in (110 cm) More than 200,000 0.31
0.04 in (0.11 cm) Tens of millions 99.67
DEBRIS IMPACT
Debris can hit a spacecraft at high
speeds, known as hypervelocities.
The force of impact depends on whether
the collision is head-on, from the side, or
from behind. Space agencies use special
test chambers to examine what damage
hypervelocity impacts cause to different
materials. Ultra-highspeed cameras
record the damage when guns fire bullets
at 15,000 mph (25,000 km/h). In space,
NORAD objects could hit at even higher speeds.
tracks the
larger debris
pieces; smaller
ones are detected by The effect of a pea-sized steel ball hitting a
ground-based radar. steel plate at 9,000 mph (15,000 km/h).
FLYING TO SPACE
t is hard to imagine a time without spaceflight. Yet in
Iborn,
1956, when Tom Hanks, star of the film Apollo 13, was
most people considered satellites and spaceflight to
US CREWED SPACE PROGRAM
The US crewed space program got under
way less than a month after Gagarins
historic flight, when Alan Shepard
be science fictionan impossible dream. Not everyone reached an altitude of 108 miles
(180 km) and returned to Earth.
agreed. A few scientists and engineers around the world His suborbital flight was part of the
believed that the technology would soon exist to launch Mercury program (195863). The goal
satellites and people into space. Military authorities in of Mercury was to put an astronaut in
space, observe his reaction, and return
the US and the Soviet Union had a strong interest in him safely to Earth.
rocket development because rockets could launch
both missiles and satellites. In the fall of 1957,
those believing in space exploration were
proved right.
RECOVERY
SPACE AGE DAWNS
Two dogsBelka and
Fascination, excitement,
Strelkawere carried
and fear dominated peoples
into space by Sputnik 5.
emotions when they learned
Ground controllers
that the Soviet Union had
signaled the satellite
launched the first-ever artificial
back to Earth after a MAY 5, 1961
satellite. Named Sputnik, the
day in orbit. The dogs
satellite was the brainchild of
became the first
Sergei Korolev, architect of the MAY 25, 1961
creatures to survive
Soviet space program. Sputnik
the weightlessness of
transmitted a tracking
space and the forces
signal for 21 days.
of reentry.
OCTOBER 4, 1957
NOVEMBER 3, 1957
GEMINI 7
Gemini 7 logged
14 days in space
the first spaceflight
to last more than a
few days. The US
Gemini program was APOLLOSOYUZ LINK
the stepping stone from In the midst of the Cold War, the
Mercury to Apollo. The US and Soviet Union achieved
spacecraft included a cockpit for two one cooperative space mission
astronauts and a resource module containing the Apollo-Soyuz rendezvous.
fuel, oxygen, and food. Geminis goal was to The two crews maneuvered their
demonstrate the feasibility of long-duration craft together and docked. For a
spaceflight and of rendezvous and docking. few days they worked on science
All were necessary for lunar exploration. experiments in each others
spacecraft, and then completed
their missions independently.
SPACE SHUTTLE
he first test flight of the Space Transportation
TSystem (STS) was in 1981. STS, usually referred
to as the Space Shuttle, is made up of an orbiter with
THERMAL PROTECTION
When an orbiter reenters Earths
atmosphere, friction heats the outside
of it to between 570F (300C) and
Felt protects the top
of the orbiter, where
heat does not exceed
700F (370C).
three main engines, an external tank, and two solid 2,700F (1,500C). A protective coating
is needed to prevent the orbiter from
rocket boosters. Cargo is carried to space in the melting. Different types of protection
orbiters payload bay. Propellant for the main engines shield the different parts. The edge of
is supplied from the external tank. After each mission the wings and nose tip are the hottest.
About 70 percent of the surface
the orbiter returns to Earth, gliding to a landing on a is covered with tiles that absorb
very long runway. The STS has launched satellites and heat between 700F (370C) and Reinforced carbon-
2,300F (1,260C). These tiles
spacecraft, and currently ferries cargo and crew to transfer heat so slowly it does not
carbon insulation
protects the hottest
and from the International Space Station (ISS) and reach the orbiter. (above 2,300F/1,260C)
parts of the orbiter.
provides a platform for ISS construction.
Ladder to mid-deck, which Payload bay
has sleeping bunks,
SHUTTLE ORBITER SHUTTLE ORBITER washroom, galley, and airlock
An orbiter is a space plane. The STS carries one allowing access to space.
orbiter, but has a choice of three: Discovery,
Flight deck
Atlantis, and Endeavour. Each orbiter can carry where pilot and
seven crew members and stay in orbit for at least commander sit.
10 days. The orbiters cabins have three decks
flight deck, mid-deck, and a lower deck that
houses life-support equipment.
External
tank
Solid
SOLID EXTERNAL rocket
ROCKET TANK
booster
BOOSTER
Liquid
oxygen
Lower deck houses equipment
Rocket Liquid to maintain a habitable
ignites oxygen environment for the flight
here fuel pipe 4. Orbiter reaches crew in the orbiter.
leading to EXTERNAL TANK low-Earth orbit.
orbiter The external tank 3. External tank 5. Orbiter stays
Four released. in space for
central connects the orbiter and 1016 days.
segments Liquid boosters during the ascent
contain hydrogen to orbit, and it carries
the solid the liquid hydrogen fuel
fuel. Fuel tank falls
and liquid oxygen. The back to Earth.
2. Boosters 6. Orbiter positions
tank is discarded after discarded.
Exhaust itself ready to
each flight. return to Earth.
nozzle
Liquid hydrogen fuel
pipe leading to orbiter Parachutes open as boosters
fall back to Earth. 7. Orbiter reenters
FLIGHT PROFILE Earths atmosphere.
SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS
The solid rocket boosters propel the orbiter to Ships recover
an altitude of 28 miles (45 km) and are designed 1. Space the rockets.
to last for 20 flights. After each flight, they are Shuttle
recovered from the ocean and prepared for the blasts off. 9. Orbiter glides in to land.
next one. The boosters support the weight of on 3 mile (4.5 km) runway.
the entire STS on the ground. Space Shuttle
assembly building
Orbital
maneuvering
engines
Altitude in Mission
orbit between duration between
115 and 600 miles 10 and 16 days
SHUTTLE EXPLOSION
Two orbiters have exploded
killing everyone on board.
Challenger blew up soon after
takeoff on January 28, 1986,
when a joint in one of the
boosters failed. Columbia
disintegrated on reentry to Earths
atmosphere on February 1, 2003.
Damage had been caused to its
wing by a piece of foam broken
Remote manipulator
Payload bay doors are
arm helps to move off the tank at launch.
opened when orbiter
satellites in and out of
reaches low-Earth orbit,
the payload bay.
to prevent it from
overheating. Delta-shaped wing has no
function in space but helps
orbiter glide to a landing.
LAUNCH TO LANDING
The three main engines start at
0.12-second intervals, followed K EY SHUTTLE MISSIONS
by the solid rocket boosters.
Bolts holding down the STS are
released for liftoff. The orbital
The first Shuttle flight, with The orbiter Discovery
the orbiter Columbia, was on carried the Hubble Space
maneuvering system (OMS) April 1214, 1981. Telescope to orbit on its
places the orbiter into the April 2429, 1990, mission .
correct orbit once the boosters The next three flights, all
and tank are discarded. One with Columbia, were between The first flight to the
hour before landing, the OMS November 1981 and July International Space Station was CHALLENGER EXPLODES
and thrusters position the 1982, and tested the Shuttles made by Endeavour in 1998.
orbiter for reentry. remote manipulator arm. FIND OUT MORE
The fifth and last serving H OW ROCKETS WORK 36
8. Orbiter gets ready
for high-speed glide
Crew of the orbiter Atlantis mission to the Hubble Space R OCKET PROPULSION 38
I NTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION 64
deployed the Galileo Telescope is scheduled
onto runway. LIVING IN SPACE 66
spacecraft in October 1989. for 2009. S CIENCE IN SPACE 68
Truss acts as
framework for
the ISS.
Japanese external
experiment platform
US general exposed to space.
research laboratory
European
laboratory SPACESUIT
The US has modified its existing
spacesuits for use on the ISS. Suits
used by Space Shuttle crews are
normally refurbished between flights
and altered to fit the next astronaut.
The ISS suit, however, is adjusted for
size on the station. It is used for
25 space walks before it has to be
Resupply ship docks
with the ISS. sent back to Earth for refurbishment.
LIVING IN SPACE
ngineers design space stations so that astronauts can live
E for long periods in the hostile environment of space, where
there is no oxygen, no soil in which to grow food, no water,
and no air pressure. Life-support systems on board must
provide oxygen and filter the carbon dioxide that people
breathe out. The air also has to be pressurized to levels close
to those on Earth and temperature maintained at comfortable
levels. In future, food may be grown in space, but to date ISS ABOVE EARTH
DAILY ROUTINE
Crews on the ISS are kept on an artificial
24-hour day despite the fact that the orbiting
station sees 15 sunrises and sunsets each day.
Mission control sets what times the crew gets up
and goes to bed. Mealtimes are fixed through
the day to keep energy levels up. The waking
day is split into work, exercise, and leisure
time. Crew members often relax with a
DVD or just gaze out of the window at the
world below.
ISS crew member
washing his hair
with dry shampoo PERSONAL HYGIENE
There are no showers on the
International Space Station.
SPACEWALKING ASTRONAUT USES ROBOTIC ARM AS STABLE PLATFORM However, astronauts can take a
sponge bath, and wash their hair
with special dry shampoono water
required. For male astronauts,
shaving with an electric razor is
only possible next to a suction fan
so whiskers dont escape and get
Astronauts use
into eyes and equipment. special wipes to
clean cutlery.
SPACE FOOD
All food is ferried from Earth, SPACE MENU
so it must be lightweight. Much is
dehydrated (dried) and water added BREAKFAST Fruit or cereal, beef pattie or
to it when needed. Soups and scrambled eggs, cocoa, fruit drink
beverages are packed in bags and
consumed using straws to prevent LUNCH Turkey pasta or hot dogs, bread,
stray liquid from floating away. In bananas or almond crunch bar,
weightless conditions body fluids fruit drink
collect in the head, dulling the
tastebuds, so spicy food and sauces DINNER Soup or fruit cocktail, rice pilaff or
are among astronauts favorites. steak, broccoli au gratin, pudding,
A SELECTION OF ISS FOOD fruit drink
A COSMONAUT WORKS
IN AN ISS KITCHEN
Seat
There is no up in
weightless conditions, so Operating
using a desk that appears to handle
Handhold
be on a wall seems normal.
Control
panel
Foot
restraint
SPACE TOILET
Restraints hold an astronaut in place while
Magnets are used he or she uses the bathroom. A vacuum is
to stop metal switched on to ensure a good seal between
containers and body and the seat. Solid waste is dried and
utensils from treated to prevent bacterial growth, then
floating away.
stored. Any moisture is recycled.
KEEPING FIT
In space the body does not
have to work as hard as it
does on Earth because there
is so little gravity acting on it.
This means that skeleton and
There are handles muscles deteriorate. All crews
everywhere to help
floating astronauts in space must follow a
move around rigorous exercise plan to
the station. keep their muscles strong.
SAFE SLEEP
If astronauts just went to sleep
anywhere, they would float around
the cabin and get in everybodys
way. To prevent this, sleeping areas
are designed with a waist strap that
holds the sleeper in place. FIND OUT MORE
Astronauts also use eyeshades to F LYING TO SPACE 60
help them sleep because the Sun S PACE SHUTTLE 62
rises and sets every hour and a half INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION 64
S CIENCE IN SPACE 68
on a spacecraft in low-Earth orbit.
COMBUSTION IN MICROGRAVITY
Flames on Earth (left) get their
SKYLAB characteristic shape because warm gases
Skylab, the first US space station, was launched in 1973 within the flame rise. However, this
(the first space station was the Russian Salyut 1 launched convection only happens if theres
in 1971). It studied how people behave if they live in space gravity. In microgravity flames burn
for extended periods of time. Skylab scientists also learned very differently. There is no up, so the
a great deal about solar flares, huge eruptions of matter flame forms a sphere (right). These
and energy on the Sun that affect space around the Earth. much simpler flames give scientists a
better understanding of combustion.
PRESSURIZED MODULE
Conditions are very civilized inside M ICROGRAVITY EXPERIMENTS
the pressurized sections of the
International Space Stations Medical scientists In microgravity, fluids
laboratories. Crew and visiting study how the bodys dont flow in the same way
specialists can work comfortably in systems and structures as they do on Earth.
normal clothes. Experiments have to are affects by long stays Experiments have led to
be designed so that nonspecialists can in space, even looking new alloys with improved
operate the equipment and collect in to whether the rate physical properties.
data, as it is not normally possible for of digestion varies.
experts to fly to the ISS for just one Crystal growth
experiment. Some scientists have Crews on many space experiments in orbit
criticized experimentation on the ISS stations have grown enable researchers to learn
as poor value for money compared plants and monitored about protein properties
with robotic space experiments of animal development to and test ways of producing
ground-based work. look for differences better semiconductors
under microgravity. for computers.
PHANTOM TORSO
In space, astronauts are exposed to many types of
radiation from which Earth dwellers are naturally
shielded. The torso experiment measures the radiation
exposure astronauts bodies experience. This will help
scientists to predict how long its safe to stay in space.
REUSABLE ROCKETS
etting into space is expensive. It typically PROJECT CONSTELLATION
G costs more than $10,000 for each pound of
payload carried. Huge amounts of money are
The proposed Constellation system has
to replace the highly versatile Space Shuttle
wasted when using a multistage rocket to reach yet be flexible enough to launch satellites
orbit, because much of the spacecraft is simply and take people to the Moon and maybe
beyond. NASA has decided to design
lost. One way to reduce costs is to reuse some or
spacecraft components that can be used in
all of the spacecraft. The Space Shuttle reuses its various combinations. Two Ares rockets will
two solid rocket boosters (SRBs) and the orbiter, be used as launch vehicles to carry various
but it is scheduled to retire by 2015 at the latest, payloads, including the Orion spacecraft,
so there is a need for a new way to get into orbit into orbit.
and maybe even to the Moon and Mars. Many
possible replacements have been proposed but
NASAs Project Constellation is expected to
become the Shuttles successor. ARTISTS IMPRESSION OF ORION
SPACECRAFT IN EARTH ORBIT
CLIPPER GRAHAM
Vehicles that reach orbit in just one stage, or
D EVELOPING SPACEPLANES
single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) spacecraft, are an
The spacecraft was
designed both to take
efficient way of getting into space. Clipper Graham In 1944, Eugen Snger (190564) put
off and land in a was a test vehicle for future SSTO spaceplane forward ideas for an aircraft that would be
vertical position. technologies. It was made from advanced, lightweight boosted to orbit by rockets and glide back to
composite materials and operated at the same Earth.
temperatures and pressures an SSTO spaceplane
would have to endure. In 1996, after four The USAs first test vehicle for spaceplanes
successful flights, the vehicle crashed. was X-15. It flew 199 times from 1959 to 1968,
reaching Mach 6.7.
SpaceShipOnes
wings in feathered
position for stable SPACESHIPONE
atmospheric reentry. The first private spaceplane ever to reach space,
SpaceShipOne (SSO) is carried high into the
atmosphere by carrier aircraft White Knight. A
rocket motor then pushes it into space for a few
SPACE TOURISM minutes, before its wings move into a feathered
When access to space becomes cheap position for reentry to Earths atmosphere. Getting
and easy enough, many peoples dreams into orbit requires 50 times the energy used for the
of traveling to space might be realized. suborbital part of the trip.
One idea is an inflatable hotel in orbit.
People would travel to the hotel in
reusable, suborbital spaceplanes. Hotel FIND OUT MORE
magnate Robert Bigelow is testing the S PACE LAUNCHERS 40
feasibility of inflatable orbital habitats A small inflatable S PACE SHUTTLE 62
two small-scale unmanned test stations test station in I NTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION 64
Earth orbit I NTERPLANETARY TRAVEL 72
have already been launched.
LEAVING EARTH
An interplanetary spacecraft is initially Jupiter
put into orbit around Earth. Mission SOLAR SYSTEM
controllers fire rockets that cause the
craft to leave Earth orbit and go into Saturn
orbit around the Sun. The crafts
solar orbit is carefully calculated so
that it crosses the orbit of its target
planet. Mission controllers time
the crafts injection into solar orbit
so that the craft and planet will
Uranus
arrive at the same place at the
same time.
Sun
To reach Mercury and Venus, a craft Mariner 10 used the gravity of Venus to Once a spacecraft reaches a planet, the
accelerates away from Earth in the swing it into orbit around the Sun, taking planets gravity captures it, or boosters
opposite direction from Earths motion. it close to Mercury every 176 days. fire to maneuver the craft into orbit.
FUTURISTIC STARSHIPS
eyond the solar system, the Earths nearest
Bneighbor, the Alpha Centauri star system, is about
25 trillion miles (40 trillion km) away. Using the fastest
PROPELLANT LIMITATIONS
Rockets have to carry all their fuel and oxidant with
them. No matter how efficient the rocket is, it is
impossible to carry enough propellant for interstellar
current technology, it would take spacecraft about travel. NASA estimates that even an ion engine, which
10,000 years to get there, even if it were possible to carry can reach speeds of 10 times that of Voyager 2, would
enough propellant to complete the journey. Light, the need 500 supertankers of propellant
to reach Alpha Centauri
fastest thing known in the universe, could reach Alpha within a century.
Centauri in a little over four years. For routine
SUPERTANKER
interstellar exploration such as that aboard Star Treks
USS Enterprise, the spaceship would need to travel VOYAGER 2
faster than light. No one yet knows
whether this would be possible. LASER DRIVES
Lasers could eliminate the need for
propellant. American scientist
SPEED LIMITATIONS Robert Forward (19322002) was
In 1905, Albert Einstein published the first of the first to come up with ideas for
his two great theoriesthat of special laser-driven spacecraft. One
concept is to launch a spacecraft
relativity. The theory shows that travel at the carrying a laser into Earth orbit.
speed of light is impossible. For example, the The laser light would beam at sails
faster an object moves, the heavier it becomes. attached to a stellar probe. Pressure
from the laser light would drive
So spacecraft traveling at the speed of light the probe to 20 percent of
would have infinite mass. In Einsteins theory, the speed of light.
only electromagnetic radiationwhich has
no masscan travel at the speed of light
186,000 miles/s (300,000 km/s).
MILKY WAY
COMING HOME
Reaching a star is
only part of the story.
The crew needs to
slow the probe to explore.
Solar system Forwards probe would use
and Alpha three nested sails. The outer
Centauri are separates on approach and laser light
4.4 light-years apart Forwards
in the Orion Arm, from Earth reflects off it back onto the two arrangement
25,000 light-years from inner sails, stopping the probe. After, another burst of light of solar sails
the center of the Milky Way. pressure would accelerate the innermost sail back to Earth.
WARP DRIVE
In 1915, Einstein published his general theory of relativity,
which deals with how space and time are distorted or
warped near massive objects. Star Treks USS Enterprise
traveled faster than light, inspiring Mexican physicist
Miguel Alcubierre (1964 ) to investigate whether it might
be possible to build a warp drive.
Andromeda is
the nearest
spiral galaxy to
ARTISTS IMPRESSION OF ANTIMATTER SPACECRAFT the Milky Way.
ANTIMATTER ENGINES
The TV series Star Trek made antimatter engines Andromeda is
famous. They power the warp drive that propels the 2.5 million light-years
away from Earth.
Enterprise at speeds faster than light. Antimatter
exists and releases huge amounts of energy ARTISTS IMPRESSION
when it collides with matter. Indeed, OF WARP TRAVEL
WORMHOLES
American physicist Kip Thorne (1940 ) put
forward the idea of wormholes. These might provide
a shortcut through space and time. A wormhole is a
bit like a tunnel drilled through a mountain: the
problem is that wormholes would be chance events
and short-lived, likely to close and crush anyone
passing through. Physicists suggest that negative
energy, which is associated with negative mass,
could keep wormholes open. Then all an FIND OUT MORE
interstellar, or even intergalactic, traveler would R EUSABLE ROCKETS 70
ARTISTS need to worry about is that the wormhole ends in I NTERPLANETARY TRAVEL 72
IMPRESSION OF the right part of spaceand time! I NSIDE A BLACK HOLE 190
A WORMHOLE
PLANETARY ORBITS
The planets do not move around INNER PLANETS
the Sun in circular paths but in The closest planets
ellipses. One complete circuit of to the SunMercury,
the Sun is an orbit. The length of Venus, Earth, and Mars
are known as the inner
the orbit and the time to planets. They are made
complete one orbit (a planets of rock and are smaller
orbital period, or year) increases than the outer planets.
Only Earth and Mars
with successively distant planets. have moons.
The planets form two distinct
groupsthe inner and the outer
planetsseparated by the
Asteroid Belt, which contains
billions of smaller space rocks.
Mercury
0.39 AU
Jupiter
Venus Earth 5.20 AU Saturn Uranus
0.72 AU 1 AU 9.54 AU 19.19 AU
Mars One astronomical unit (AU) equals
1.52 AU 93 million miles (149.6 million km)the
average distance between the Earth and Sun.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
Neptune is the
smallest of the
four gas giants.
Jupiter is the largest
and most massive
planet, and the
fastest spinner.
Mercury 3,032 58.65 d 87.97 d 28.6 million 43.4 million In the 16th century, Nicolaus Copernicus
Venus 7,521 243 d 224.70 d 66.8 million 67.7 million proposed that the planets revolve around
Earth 7,926 23.93 h 365.26 d 91.4 million 94.5 million the Sun.
Mars 4,221 24.62 h 686.98 d 128.4 million 154.8 million
Jupiter
Saturn
88,846
74,897
9.93 h
10.66 h
11.86 y
29.46 y
460-2 million
840 million
507 million
940 million
Uranus was discovered in 1781, Neptune EARTH-CENTEERED
SOLAR SYSTEM MAP
in 1846, and Pluto in 1930.
Uranus 31,763 17.24 h 84.01 y 1.7 billion 1.8 billion
Neptune 30,778 16.11 h 164.79 y 2.8 billion 2.8 billion
The first Kuiper Belt objects (other than Pluto) were
discovered in 1992.
20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
orbit around
were sent on missions to explore the planets and moons from close Mercury in 2011.
quarters. Robotic planetary space missions have now given us
close-up views of the Moon, all the major planets and many GRAVITY ASSIST
of their moons, as well as several comets and asteroids. A rocket-powered launch vehicle
starts a space mission on its path
toward its target. If a spacecraft
Camera platform needs extra help to reach its goal,
with wide-angle Gravity assist
it can use a technique called
lens for close-up Earth gravity assist. This involves
pictures and
narrow-angle lens following a flight path that takes
for far-away views. it close to another planet. The
spacecraft makes use of the
planets gravity to speed up
Jupiter
Saturn and change direction.
Scientific Uranus
instruments
VOYAGERS 1 AND 2
FLIGHT PATHS
ORBITERS MAGELLAN
Two long antennas Nuclear generator An orbiter travels to a planet or moon and then
detected radio provided power for moves into orbit around it. Once in position, its
waves from planets. the crafts equipment. sensitive instruments are turned on and start
investigating their target.
Vikings 1 and 2 landed
LANDERS AND PROBES on Mars in July and Orbit of Mars
Spacecraft designed to land gently September 1976.
on the surface of a planet or moon and Magellan orbited
conduct experiments there are called Venus in August
landers. Instrument packages released from 1990.
Sun
a parent spacecraft that descend through an
atmosphere taking measurements or crash
into a surface to test its properties are called
probes. The two Viking missions to Mars in Orbit
1976 combined an orbiter and a lander. of Venus Orbit Vikings
Magellan of Earth 1 and 2
They traveled to Mars joined together and VIKING launched in launched in August
separated after reaching Mars orbit. May 1989. VIKING AND MAGELLAN FLIGHT PATHS and September 1975.
Cassini reached
Saturn in 2004.
Its 4-year Huygens, carried
mission was here, was released
extended until by Cassini to
at least 2010. investigate Titan.
By sending beeping
sounds to each
other, these
K EPLERS LAWS OF PLANETARY MOTION instruments helped to
measure the density,
In the 17th century, Johannes Kepler set out three simple laws composition, and
that describe the basic motion of a planet in orbit. The same temperature of
laws apply to spacecraft traveling through the solar system. Titans atmosphere
and surface.
Planet Keplers first law states that a planet If Huygens had landed in a liquid,
2 orbits the Sun in a path called an this piece of equipment would
ellipse, with the Sun at one focus. have tested the depth.
1
There are two focuses within an
B
ellipse (A or B). The distance from
one focus (A) to any point on the
KEY PLANETARY MISSIONS
A Sun
ellipse (1 or 2) and back to the Probe Target Encounter Achievement
Orbit
other focus (B) is always the same.
Luna 9 Moon 1966 First soft lander
Area is the same each time. Luna 10 Moon 1966 First orbiter
Keplers second law describes a planets Pioneer 10 Jupiter 1973 First fly-by
speedfastest when close to the Sun Mariner 10 Mercury 197475 First fly-bys
and slower when farther away. 100 days
Venera 9 Venus 1975 First surface images
Mathematically it says: draw a line 100 days Vikings 1 and 2 Mars 1976 First landers
from the planet to the Sun and Sun Pioneer 11 Saturn 1979 First fly-by
another line after a certain time, say
100 days Giotto Halley 1986 First comet fly-by
100 days, and the area enclosed will
always be the same. Voyager 2 Uranus 1986 First fly-by
Voyager 2 Neptune 1989 First fly-by
Orbital path Magellan Venus 1990 First surface maps
Motion of Mars, Jupiter, and Galileo Gaspra 1991 First asteroid fly-by
Saturn during one Earth orbit Clementine Moon 1994 First digital maps
Galileo Jupiter 1995 First orbiter
Mars Pathfinder Mars 1997 First Mars rover
Sun
NEAR Eros 2000 First asteroid orbiter
Earth Mars Stardust Wild 2 2000 First comet sample return
Jupiter Cassini Saturn 2004 First orbiter
Huygens Titan 2005 First distant moon lander
Keplers third law states that the farther a planet is from the
Sun, the slower it travels and the more time it takes to
complete one orbit. The relationship between distance and
Saturn FIND OUT MORE
orbital period is fixed, so astronomers need only to find a H OW ROCKETS WORK 36 S PACE LAUNCHERS 40 S OLAR S YSTEM 78
planets speed to calculate its distance from the Sun. VENUSIAN SURFACE 112 SEARCH FOR LIFE ON MARS 116 SATURNS MOONS 132
SOLAR NEBULA
As the vast cloud spun and cooled, material was
drawn into the center. The center became denser
and hotter, and began generating energy by
nuclear fusionthe Sun was born. At the same 3 The newborn Sun blew off
excess material. Rings formed in
time, the rest of the solar nebula formed into a the disk of material surrounding
the Sun as it, too, contracted.
disk consisting mainly of hydrogen and helium Planetesimalslarge, rocky
gas, with some dust, rock, metal, and snow. objectsformed within the rings.
Rocky and metallic material near the Sun came Grains collided to form ever
together to form the inner planets. In the cooler, larger, rocky particles, eventually
producing planetesimals.
outer regions, snow combined with rock, metal,
Gravity pulls the stars core
and gas to form the outer planets. in with such force that it
sends a shock wave
through space.
SUPERNOVA SHOCK WAVE
A massive star may
PLANETARY FORMATION explode as a supernova
Planet Made from Mass of ring Planets present Time to at the end of its life.
(Earth = 1) mass (Earth = 1) form in yrs In some supernovas,
the stars core
Mercury Rock, metal 30 0.06 80,000
Venus Rock, metal 160 0.82 40,000 collapses in on
Earth Rock, metal 200 1.00 110,000 itself and produces
Mars Rock, metal 200 0.11 200,000 a powerful shock
Jupiter Rock, metal, snow, gas 4,000 318 1 million wave that travels
Saturn Rock, metal, snow, gas 400 95.16 9 million out through space.
Uranus Rock, metal, snow, gas 80 14.54 300 million Some astronomers
Neptune Rock, metal, snow, gas 100 17.15 1 billion
believe that the
contraction of the
FIND OUT MORE solar nebula may have
S OLAR SYSTEM 78 M INOR MEMBERS 138 L IFECYCLE OF STARS 170 been triggered by a shock
W HERE STARS ARE BORN 172 O THER SOLAR SYSTEMS 178 S UPERNOVAS 184 wave from a supernova.
4 Planetesimals joined
to form larger bodies
called protoplanets. These, in
turn, came together to form
the rocky planets: Mercury,
Venus, Earth, and Mars.
EARTH
n alien visiting the solar system would
A have a wonderful choice of worlds to
explore, from the rings of Saturn to the volcanic
DOUBLE PLANET
The third planet from the
Sun appears to be almost a
double planet, as shown in this
Hell of Venus. The third planet from the Sun, Galileo image. Earths Moon is
however, would most intrigue an interstellar one-quarter its size, larger in
proportion to its planet than any
visitor. It combines many of the features of other other. The two worlds are very
planets with some that are all its own. Earth has differentEarth is bright and
volcanoes as on Venus and Mars, craters as bustling, while the Moon is
dull and lifeless.
found on Mercury, and swirling weather systems
similar to those on Jupiter and Neptune.
However, it is the only planet that has both Streetlights in cities EARTH AT NIGHT
liquid water and frozen ice, the only planet with
an atmosphere rich in oxygen, and the only Burning gas at
oneas far as we knowwhere life exists. oil wells
Magnetic field
EARTH AS A MAGNET
E ARTH AT A GLANCE For its size, Earth has the
strongest magnetic field of any
Earth is the largest of the rocky planets. It is the only planet Magnetic pole planet. The magnetism arises in
with a crust split into moving plates, oxygen in its atmosphere, its core, where swirling currents
and liquid water and life on its surface. of molten iron generate electric
and magnetic fields. The
TILT, SPIN, Orbits Sun magnetism changes direction as
AND ORBIT in 365.25 time passes, causing the
days. magnetic poles to wander. At
present, the magnetic poles are
about 1,200 miles (2,000 km)
Spins on its
axis once every
from the North and South poles.
23.93 h.
Axis tilts from
the vertical
by 23.5. Earths core behaves
ATMOSPHERE like a bar magnet at
Water vapor (1%) its center.
and trace gases
Magnetic field lines
Oxygen (20.9%) Solar wind
Nitrogen (78.1%)
STRUCTURE SCALE
Crust Van Allen belts
trap particles Earth MAGNETOSPHERE
Mantle of
from solar wind.
silicate rock
Outer core
(liquid iron)
Inner core
(solid iron) Earth is about four times
the size of the Moon. Solar wind
Sun
MAGNETOSPHERE
LOCATER Earth is the third planet
from the Sun.
Earths magnetism extends far into space to form a
huge magnetic bubble surrounding Earth. This
magnetosphere protects Earth from the effects of the
solar windelectrified particles that sweep outward
ICE from the Sun at high speeds. Some electrically charged
More than a tenth of Earths surface is particles from the solar wind do leak into the
covered in ice, mostly in the ice caps magnetosphere and become trapped, especially within
at the poles. Other planets, including two ring-shaped regions called the Van Allen belts.
Mars, have polar ice caps, but only
on Earth do ice and water exist
together. The ice caps grow in
winter and shrink in summer, VITAL STATISTICS
when giant icebergs break off into
Diameter 7,926 miles
the surrounding ocean. Average distance from Sun 93 million miles
Orbital speed around Sun 18 miles/s
Sunrise to sunrise 24 hours
Mass (Earth=1) 1
Volume (Earth=1) 1
Average density (water=1) 5.52
Antarctic ice Surface gravity (Earth=1) 1
cap, seen Average surface temperature 59F (15C)
from space Number of moons 1
EARTHS SURFACE
haped by geological forces that are found
STheoncrust
no other planet, Earths surface is unique.
(outer shell) is split into huge sections
SEDIMENTARY ROCK
Silt washed down by the Ganges
River will be compressed under
the sea into solid rock, which
called plates, which are always on the move so may be pushed up again as
mountains. Such sedimentary
that todays map of Earth is only a snapshot of a rocks result from erosion by
changing world. The moving plates float on a rivers, glaciers, wind, or waves.
partially molten layer of rock. As they collide or
move apart, the surface rocks are destroyed or
renewed. These forces continually replace Earths
rocks, so most parts of the surface are younger GANGES DELTA
than 200 million years old.
RING OF FIRE
PLATE TECTONICS
Strip away the oceans and a strange planet CH
AN TREN
emerges. Earths surface is shaped by plate EUTI
EURASIAN AL
tectonics, the forces caused by the moving
plates. There are eight large plates and l a y a sP L A T E
Hima hawaii
MA ENC
many smaller ones. Some consist only of
P A C I F I C
TR
RI
ocean floor, while others include
AN
continents. The edges of the plates are
PHILIPPINE P L A T E
H
A
marked by long cracks, winding ridges,
PLATE
strings of volcanoes, and earthquake zones.
JA
V
A
landmass, Pangaea.
N
C
H
TR NGA
CH
200 million years ago Pangaea
split into Laurasia, the northern
INDO-AUSTRALIAN
EN
landmass, and Gondwanaland, a
TO
southern landmass.
PLATE
RE
Gondwanaland split
into Africa and South
OF
America as the
South Atlantic
NG
Ocean opened.
RI
Iceland
E U R A S I A N
NORTH E
P LA T E
DG
AMERICAN
RI
A l p s COLLIDING CONTINENTS
PLATE
IC
P L A TE string of mountains.
MI
together
Andes AFRICAN
NAZCA PLATE
SOUTH
RING OF
P L A T E
EAST PAC
AMERICAN
PLATE
FIRE
COLLIDING CONTINENTS
Tristan da cunha
S PREADING WORLD
SC OT I A ANTARCTIC
P LAT E In 1924, German
PLATE meteorologist Alfred
Wegener (18801930)
suggested that continents
VOLCANIC POOLS IN THE ANDES SUBDUCTION
were drifting apart.
WHERE PLATES MEET
The Andes are part of a volcanic
Pacific Ocean
floor forced under
In 1960, American
geologist Harry Hess
chainthe Ring of Firethat South America.
(190669) proposed plate
extends around the Pacific
tectonic theory, confirmed
Ocean. As South America moves
in 1963 by the expansion of
west, it rides up over the Nazca
the Indian Ocean floor.
Plate. This process, known as
subduction, forces ocean-floor
rocks under the continent, FIND OUT MORE
where they are melted by Earths B IRTH OF SOLAR SYSTEM 82
heat and erupt as volcanoes. J UPITER S MOONS 126
Thermosphere, at 55-300
miles (90500 km), is
heated to 1,800F
(1,000C) by the
Suns X-rays.
LAYERS OF ATMOSPHERE
Take a vertical slice of Earths atmosphere and it forms Thunderstorms,
several distinct layers: troposphere, stratosphere, where moist air is
rising and
mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere. As height condensing rapidly
increases, the air gets thinner, but temperature is more
variable. In the troposphere, the temperature decreases
Exosphere, over 300
miles (500 km) above
with height, because rising air expands and cools. The
Earth, where gases stratosphere is warmer, since it absorbs ultraviolet from
boil away into space. the Sun. The thermosphere is heated by the Suns X-rays.
U P IN THE AIR
In 1643, Italian physicist
Evangelista Torricelli
(160847) invented the
barometer for measuring
atmospheric pressure.
Icovering
strange world. Its instruments revealed a green
over much of the land surface, a highly
animals
Animal breathes
dioxide. Using
sunlight, it
incorporates the
carbon into its leaves
in oxygen.
and releases oxygen.
corrosive gas in the atmosphere, and some odd radio
signals. As part of its route to Jupiter, Galileo was
passing planet Earth. The green covering was Oxygen released
by plant
biological material absorbing sunlight. In the process, OXYGEN CYCLE
it was constantly releasing the corrosive gas oxygen, All life on Earth is linked by cycles.
2 Large shallow pools
concentrated
Through the oxygen cycle, plants
which would otherwise disappear in chemical and animals depend on each other chemicals to make the
first cells 4 billion years
reactions. Earth has one special quality that sets it for survival. Animals use oxygen to ago. The first simple
apart from every other object in release energy from food, plants arrived on dry
breathing out carbon dioxide. land about 400 million
the universe: it is the only place Plants live on carbon dioxide, years ago. Animals,
including the first
where life is known to exist. converting it back to oxygen. insects, followed the
plants ashore.
EVOLUTION OF LIFE
Planet Earth is home to more than a million 3 In warm times, about
200 million years ago,
giant tree ferns and
different species of living things, ranging dinosaurs flourished.
from bacteria to giant trees and mammals.
All have come about by the process of
LIFE ON EARTH evolutionchanges in successive 4 Today, life is still
evolving. A new
threat to all life is
Earth is the only world with life, generations as species adapt to their human activity,
because it is a Goldilocks planet.
It is not too hot, so water does not surroundings and competitors. For the first which is destroying
hundreds of species
boil away, and not too cold, so it 3 billion years, the only life on Earth was in every year.
does not freeze. It is not too small, the form of single cells, living in the sea.
so it can contain an atmosphere, They evolved into multicelled plants and
and not too big, so it is not all
atmosphere like the planet Jupiter. animals 570 million years ago. Later, some
of these ventured onto dry land.
BLACK SMOKERS
Not all life requires sunlight to
survive. These worms live in
darkness on the ocean floor,
thousands of yards underwater. They
exist on chemicals and energy
produced by volcanic vents on the
seabed called black smokers. Similar
creatures might live in the oceans of
Jupiters moon Europa.
Cosmic forces
Life on Earth is exposed to lethal BLACK SMOKER
forces from the surrounding
universe. The impact of a comet
or asteroid, powerful flares on
the Sun, or the explosion of a
nearby star can all cause mass
extinctions on Earth, like the
sudden death of the dinosaurs.
Fern
SIMPLE LIFEFORMS
Some of the simpler life-forms
have survived for hundreds of
Cockroach millions of years. Ferns were the
(insect) first plants to colonize dry land,
well before flowering plants
evolved. Mollusks in the sea and
insects on land have stayed the
same for 350 million years.
COMPLEX SYSTEMS
Many plants and animals have
Flowering plants use evolved to become more
birds and other complex. Flowering plants use
animals to disperse insects to pollinate them. Birds
their seeds.
and mammals are warm-
blooded, so they can endure
Hummingbird
temperature changes. Dolphins
and all apesincluding
humanshave large brains to
help them survive.
ORBITAL PATH
Apogee (farthest
point from Earth)
The Moons orbit around Earth is not circular, so
the distance between them varies. At its closest,
the Moon is 221,519 miles (356,500 km) from
the center of the Earth; at its farthest it
Earths
equator
is 251,966 miles (405,500 km)
away. The Moons path is tilted
EARTHS SATELLITE at an angle to Earths equator.
The Moon is the Earths only natural Perigee (nearest point to Earth)
Moons orbit
satellite. Most moons are much smaller
Waning crescent:
than their parent planets, but our Moon only a thin slice
is relatively large in comparison, with a of the Moons
diameter one-quarter that of the Earth. It is SIDEREAL AND LUNAR MONTHS disappearing
The 27.32 days it takes for the Moon to orbit sunlit part is
almost big enough for the Earth and Moon the Earth is called a sidereal month. But the still visible.
to be thought of as a double-planet system. Moon actually takes slightly longer29.53
daysto complete its cycle of phases, because
the Earth is also moving around the Sun. This
is the lunar or synodic month, and it is the
VITAL STATISTICS basis of our calendar months.
Diameter 2,160 miles
Average distance from Earth 238,855 miles
Orbital speed around Earth miles/s
New Moon to new Moon 29.53 days
Mass (Earth =1) 0.01
Light from
Volume (Earth = 1) 0.02
the Sun New Moon: the Moon is
Average density (water = 1) 3.34 between the Sun and
Surface gravity (Earth = 1) 0.17 Earth, so the sunlit part Moons
Average surface temperature 4F (20C) is facing away from us. orbit
The side facing Earth is
FIND OUT MORE in darkness and invisible.
LUNAR ECLIPSES
When the full Moon moves through the Earths L UNAR ECLIPSES
shadow, a lunar eclipse occurs. The Earth stops 20092021
direct sunlight from reaching the Moon, and the If the Moon has risen when the
Moons face darkens or is reduced to a faint red disk. eclipse occurs, it will be visible.
In a total eclipse, the entire Moon is in the umbra,
the central, darkest part of the shadow. In a partial December 31, 2009 (partial)
eclipse, some of the Moon is in the umbra and the June 26, 2010 (partial)
rest is in the penumbra, the paler, outer part. December 21, 2010 (total)
June 15, 2011 (total)
December 10, 2011 (total)
Eclipsed Moon looks red if Earths June 4, 2012 (partial)
Path of Moon
atmosphere bends Suns rays so April 25, 2013 (partial)
that they fall on lunar surface. A total April 15, 2014 (total)
lunar eclipse October 8, 2014 (total)
TIME-LAPSE PHOTOGRAPH OF TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE
can last for April 4, 2015 (total)
Earth Umbra Penumbra more than September 28, 2015 (total)
an hour.
August 7, 2017 (partial)
January 31, 2018 (total)
July 27, 2018 (total)
July 16, 2019 (partial)
Sunlight May 26, 2021 (total)
November 19, 2021 (partial)
Wolves howling
Earth
LUNAR INFLUENCES Tidal bulge also forms on side facing Each coastal place experiences a
Earth
SPRING NEAP
TIDES TIDES
Babylon
Path of eclipse
at todays
rotation rate
MOONS SURFACE
F rom earth, the moon looks like a very gray
world, but even the variations in its grayness can
tell us something about it. The lighter areas are
Mars-sized body
struck Earth a
glancing blow.
Rocky crust
is 12-75 miles
(20120 km) thick.
Highlands, above the level of
the maria, were the first parts of
the crust to cool and solidify.
LUNAR LANDSCAPE
Two distinctive landscape forms are
noticeable on the Moon: dark gray
plains, or maria (singular: mare), and
lighter highlands. Covered in a vast
number of craters, the highlands are
the oldest surviving parts of the
Moons crust. The smooth plains are
large craters that were filled with lava.
They often contain a few smaller,
more recent craters, and are usually
surrounded by mountains.
Material is thrown out Path of colliding Wall of Moon Path of ejecta Secondary craters are
of the crater by the force meteorite rock is pushed up (ejected material) formed by falling ejecta.
of the impact. around crater.
8 Command Module
enters atmosphere
7 Approaching
Earth, Command
Module separates
3 The rest of the rocket
is discarded, while the
Command, Service, and Lunar
amount of dust in space, and the number
of solar particles reaching the Moon.
75 miles (120 km) from Service Module. Modules continue to Moon.
above Earth.
4 Lunar Module
descends to
Moons surface.
1Liftoff from
Cape Canaveral. 5 Command and
Service Modules
orbit Moon, waiting
Apollo 15s
Jim Irwin
Antennas sent TV
pictures back to Earth.
LUNAR MISSIONS L UNAR FIRSTS
The Apollo missions are famous for taking astronauts to the
Moon, but many remote-controlled craft, such as the US Rangers Luna 2 became the first
and Surveyors, also made the journey. The Russian Luna spacecraft to hit the Moon
spacecraft were the first to reach the Moon, orbit it, photograph its when it crash-landed on the
farside, and land on its surface. Lunokhod 1 and 2, two Russian surface in 1959. A month
robot vehicles, explored the Moon between 1970 and 1973. later, Luna 3 took the first
photographs of the farside.
Lid with solar
Lunokhod 1 was cells for power
a radio-controlled
Radio
antenna Ranger 7 crashed on the
vehicle that Moon in 1964 and returned
trundled 6 miles the first close-up images,
(10 km) over the
Moons surface in
taking 4,308 photographs.
1970 and 1971.
Luna 9 was the
first spacecraft to
Petals opened
after landing to Cameras allowed
In 1966, Luna 9 sent back
the first television pictures
make a successful allow antennas scientists on
soft landing on the
from the lunar surface.
to extend. Earth to direct
Moon in 1966. the vehicle. MOON ROCK
MOON BASES
NASA has announced that it intends to set up a
permanent base on the Moon by about 2024. Other Soil-testing Wheels gripped
countries, such as China, have ambitions to establish equipment soft lunar soil.
lunar bases, too. To remain on the Moon for months Apollo 8 carried the first
at a time, astronauts will need to extract materials, astronauts around the Moon
Living quarters buried
such as oxygen, from the surface rocks. Solar panels under the soil protect
in 1968, making 10 orbits.
provide the Moon-dwellers from the
Communication dishes relay Lunar cars carry inhabitants living quarters extreme temperatures and In 1969, Neil Armstrong
messages to and from Earth. over the surface. with power. bursts of solar radiation. became the first person to
walk on the Moon. His
Apollo 11 mission brought
back rock and soil samples.
NEARSIDE FEATURES
The extensive dark maria lie
between and 3 miles (2 and
5 km) below the average 7
surface level. The southern TYCHO
The ray crater
area is mainly high, cratered Tycho, formed
land with a handful of large, 100 million years
walled plains. Both polar ago, contains central
regions are highland areas. mountain peaks and is
ringed by high, terraced walls.
The most recently formed Its rays are only visible under direct
features are bright ray craters. light around the time of full Moon.
100
(c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
EARTH AND MOON
of interlinked maria is the Mare the naked eye. Dark, flat areas are Mare
Crisium, an oval basin measuring maria, while lighter areas are Tranquillitatis
280 by 350 miles (450 km by highlands. Binoculars reveal Mare
563 km). Its smooth, lava-filled individual craters and Crisium
floor contains two large craters mountain ranges.
Picard and Peirceplus several Observing is easiest
smaller ones. Luna 24 returned to when sunlight hits the
Earth with 6 oz (170 g) of soil surface at an oblique
from this mare in 1976. angle, so that the
shadows cast put the
landscape into relief.
Maria are usually referred to by their
Latin names. Mare Crisium means The terminator, the line
Sea of Crises, Mare Tranquillitatis separating the dark side of the Mare
translates as Sea of Tranquillity, Moon from the bright side, is the Fecunditatis
Aristoteles
and Mare Imbrium is the best place to see detail.
Sea of Showers.
Eudoxus Theophilus
RUPES ALTAI
MARE Rupes Altai is a mountain
VAPORUM
MARE
24 range that forms an arc
TRANQUILLITATIS around the southwestern edge
of the Mare Nectaris, rising
about 5,900 ft (1,800 m) above
8
20 the surface level of the mare.
5
Like the Montes Apenninus,
11 Rupes Altai formed when the
16
16
MARE force of a striking meteorite
Albategnius FECUNDITATIS thrust the land around the
Theophilus impact zone upward.
Cyrillus
MARE HUMBOLDT CRATER
NECTARIS This impact crater is named after
Catharina
the German statesman Wilhelm
von Humboldt (17671835). It is
surrounded by a high mountain
Walter wall. A blanket of ejecta
Stevinus material thrown out at the time
of the meteorite impactcovers
Piccolomini the ground outside the walls.
Inside the crater is a central
peak, while a system of fractures
runs across the crater floor.
Maurolycus
LANDING SITES 7 Ranger 7 Surveyor 1,
Marked on the map are 7, 8, & 9 3, 5, 6, & 7 FIND OUT MORE
the landing sites of the M OON S SURFACE 96
16 unmanned landers and Luna 2, 9, Apollo 11, E XPLORING THE MOON 98
6 crewed craft that reached the 13 13, 16, 17, 11 12, 14, 15, F ARSIDE OF THE MOON 102
Moon between 1959 and 1976. 20, 21, & 24 16, & 17 A STEROIDS 140 M ETEORITES 148
TSIOLKOVSKY
A prominent farside feature is
Tsiolkovsky, whose dark floor of MARE Lacus Luxuriae
solidified lava makes it halfway MOSCOVIENSE
between a crater and a mare. It
is 110 miles (185 km) across,
with a large, mountainlike
structure in its center. The area
close to Tsiolkovsky is heavily
cratered. The surface material in
this area is thought to be some of
the oldest on the Moon. Mendelev
VAN DE GRAAFF
This irregularly shaped crater is Necho
about 140 miles (233 km) in
diameter and has several smaller
craters inside it. Surprisingly for
such a large crater, Van de Graaff is
only 2.5 miles (4 km) deep. The
basin has a stronger magnetism
Aitken
and is more radioactive than the
land surrounding it, which may be
because volcanic rock lies buried
under the surface of the crater.
MARE
FARSIDE FEATURES INGENII
The two prominent maria on the Jules Verne
farside are the Mare Orientale and M Leibnitz
MARE AR
Mare Moscoviense. Craters abound E
AUSTRALE AU
ST Von Karman
but they tend to be smaller and not This mare creeps RA Pauli
LE
as dark as those on the nearside. into both nearside and
The most noticeable craters are the farside views of the Moon.
Its shape is poorly defined. It is
circular depressions such as probably an area of dark volcanic Schrdinger
Hertzsprung, Apollo, and Korolev. rock rather than a true impact basin.
102
(c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
EARTH AND MOON
MARE ORIENTALE
This huge mare, the Moons
youngest, straddles the boundary
between the farside and nearside.
At 196 miles (327 km), it is
surrounded by concentric rings of
mountains 540 miles (900 km) in
diameter. Beyond them lies ejected
material, which has covered earlier
craters. Only the center of the
impact basin filled with lava.
Korolev
Crookes
M APPING THE MOON
In 1609, Englishman Thomas Harriot (15601621) drew a
Moon map based on observations made with his telescope. A
year later, Galileos maps drew attention to the Moons features.
Barringer
E
AL
MERCURY
Red areas, nearest the FALSE-COLOR
equator, are hottest. TEMPERATURE MAP
OF MERCURY
SCARRED SURFACE
About 4 billion years ago, in the early history of the solar system, TEMPERATURE
Roasted by its neighbor, the Sun, Mercury has the
the young Mercurys surface was punctured by meteorite impacts. greatest variation in day and night temperatures
Lava flooded out from the interior to form extensive plains, of any planet. The average surface temperature is
giving the planet an appearance that, at first glance, 333F (167C), but when the planet is closest to
resembles the Moon. With no wind or water to shape the Sun, the temperature can soar to above 842F
(450C). At night, it cools quickly, since Mercurys
its crater-scarred landscape, Mercury has atmosphere is too thin to retain the heat, and
remained virtually unchanged since then. temperatures fall to as low as 292F (180C).
104
(c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
INNER WORLDS
VITAL STATISTICS
Caloris Basin
Diameter 3,032 miles
Average distance from Sun 36 million miles
Orbital speed around Sun 29 miles/s
Sunrise to sunrise 176 days
Mass (Earth = 1) 0.06
Volume (Earth = 1) 0.06
Average density (water = 1) 5.43
Surface gravity (Earth = 1) 0.38
Average surface temperature 333F (167C)
Number of moons 0
MESSENGER TO MERCURY
The Messenger mission to Mercury was
launched in 2004. It made its first Mercury
fly-by in January 2008, when it returned many
images including this one. After two more fly-bys,
Messenger will have slowed down enough to go into
orbit around Mercury in 2011. It will then map almost
the whole planet in color. It is the first spacecraft to
visit Mercury since Mariner 10 in 1974 and 1975.
S
U
sky, so it is a difficult planet to observe. Even a
P
L I S
Caloris Montes A
N
E I
mountain chain I T
space-based observatory, such as the Hubble Space was formed by
I A
N Strindberg
Telescope, cannot provide views of Mercurys surface, the Caloris
impact.
I Zola
s
S
since the Suns rays would damage the telescopes U
e
A
O
t
Van Eyck K I A
B
I T
n
sensitive instruments. After the Mariner 10 mission B
N
O
A
M
S
in the mid-1970s, astronomers had no new pictures
S
L
I
Bront
P
s
R
of Mercury until Messenger made its first fly-by in
i
O
r
o
2008. Messenger proved for the first time that
IA
a l
A
IT
volcanism helped form Mercurys smooth plains. Couperin
N
C
LA
P
IN B
D U
O BU PL D
D AN H
CALORIS BASIN H ITI
A
This enormous crater is about 800
Wang Meng
miles (1,300 km) wide. It was Balzac
formed 3.6 billion years ago when Phidias
Mozart
TIA
an asteroid-sized space rock about Mena
60 miles (100 km) across crashed
NI
into Mercury. This false color
LA
image emphasizes differences in
P
composition between the Caloris R
I Goya
T
Basin and its surroundings. The Sophocles
Beethoven
orange spots inside the basin rim
are thought to be volcanoes.
106
(c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
INNER WORLDS
Al-Hamadhani Praxiteles
Kuan Han-Ching
TRANSIT OF MERCURY
Mussorgskij Mercurys path across our sky
Proust
Wren usually takes it just above or
below the Sun. But every few
Lermontov years, when the Sun, Earth,
Li Po and Mercury are aligned, a
transit occurs and Mercury
Giotto
Vivaldi
travels across the Suns face.
Yeats The planet appears as a black
dot and can take several
Handel hours to cross from one side
Polygnotus of the Sun to the other.
Machaut
Homer
Titian
L IFE OF MERCURY
Renoir
DISCOVERY RUPES Mercury was formed
Towering up to miles (2 km) about 4.6 billion years ago.
Repin above its surroundings, the Over the next 700 million
Ibsen Discovery Rupes is a vast ridge years, the surface became
that stretches for about 300 miles cratered by space rocks.
(500 km) across Mercurys
Chekhov Unkei surface. Many similar features By 500 million years later,
the planet had cooled and
Mirni
VENUS
Inferior
Western elongation: Venus conjunction:
visible before sunrise. Venus lost in
Suns glare.
ORBIT OF VENUS
Venus orbits closer to the Sun than
SURFACE FEATURES Earth does, so it sometimes passes
The Venusian surface has changed greatly during the Maat Mons, one of the between Earth and the Sun. Around the
largest volcanoes on
planets life. The present surface is only about half a Venus, rises 5 miles
time of this inferior conjunction, Venus
billion years old. The rocky landscape we see now was (9 km) from the is lost from view in the Suns glare.
ground and is 125 miles Venus is brightest at its elongations,
formed by intense volcanic activitya process that still (200 km) wide. when it is farthest from the Sun in the
continues today. Rolling volcanic plains with highland sky. At these times, the planet is visible
regions cover much of the planet. The most extensive either after sunset or before sunrise.
region of highland is Aphrodite Terra, which has
several large volcanoes, including Maat Mons. Lava flows extend for
hundreds of miles
Computer-generated view across the plains at the
using radar images from base of Maat Mons.
Magellan spacecraft.
108
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INNER WORLDS
Rocky
mantle
Silicate
Venus is a little smaller
crust
than the Earth.
VITAL STATISTICS
Belts of narrow
Diameter 7,521 miles ridges rise a few
Average distance from Sun 67.2 million miles hundred yards
Orbital speed around Sun 21 miles/s and stretch for
Sunrise to sunrise 117 days hundreds of
Mass (Earth = 1) 0.82 miles across
Volume (Earth = 1) 0.86 the plain.
Average density (water = 1) 5.2
Surface gravity (Earth = 1) 0.9
Average surface temperature 867F (464C)
Number of moons 0
VENUSIAN PLAINS Lavinia
FIND OUT MORE More than three-quarters of Venus is covered by plains Planitia is
that were largely formed by volcanic processes. The one of the
S OLAR SYSTEM 78 E XPLORING THE PLANETS 80 main plains
V ENUSIAN ATMOSPHERE 110 V ENUSIAN SURFACE 112 plains are marked by volcanic and impact craters, lava of Venus.
M ARS 114 A STEROIDS 140 I MPACTS 150 flows, and features sculpted by the Venusian wind.
VENUSIAN ATMOSPHERE
hen venus and earth were young, some 4 billion years
Wago, their atmospheres were similar. Today, things are very
different. The Venusian atmosphere, with a mass 100 times
greater than the Earths, is so thick that you would never see the
stars from the surface. It is mainly carbon dioxide, but also
includes sulfur dust and droplets of sulfuric acid from the
planets many volcanic eruptions. This hostile atmosphere
VENUS EXPRESS
makes Venus a hot, gloomy, suffocating world. Europes Venus Express was launched in
2005 on a mission to investigate Venuss
atmosphere in great detail from orbit
STRUCTURE OF THE ATMOSPHERE around the planet. Its seven instruments
made infrared, ultraviolet, and visible light
Immediately above the Venusian surface is a clear region observations. In 2006 it returned the first
INFRARED IMAGE OF CLOUDS
of atmosphere, stretching up to a height of 25 miles OVER SOUTH POLE images ever taken of Venuss south pole.
(40 km) or so. Above this is a thick, unbroken cloud layer
rising a further 12 miles (20 km). The clouds, which
POLAR CLOUDS
contain dust and sulfuric acid, stop direct sunlight from This Venus Express
reaching the surface, making Venus permanently infrared image shows
overcast. Finally, there is a clear, sparse layer of waves in Venuss
atmosphere stretching at least another 12 miles (20 km). clouds at the bottom
right and a whirling
vortex over the south
Temperature differences in
atmosphere cause layers to
pole at the top left.
circulate in loops. The region between is
50
a collar of cool cloud.
Sulfuric acid forms in
U p p Cold collar is about 63F
e r middle layer from
(35C) cooler than
L a sulfur dioxide.
y e surrounding clouds.
r
35
DESCENT OF RUSSIAN
VENERA SPACE PROBE
C l o
u d
L a Lander enters
y e atmosphere. The combined orbiter
r and lander circles the
25 planet before separating.
First parachute
L o and insulation
w e shell are jettisoned.
r
L
a
y ATMOSPHERIC STUDY
e Main parachute Probes sent to fly through
r
slows lander, Venuss atmosphere have to
Braking shield
which gathers survive the corrosive clouds
protects probe.
data about
0 the clouds. and the high pressure, which is
90 times greater than the Earths
at surface level. A number of
probes have entered the
Increasing height (miles)
110
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INNER WORLDS
CLOUD MOVEMENT
The Suns heat drives the clouds
around Venus. As gases in the
equatorial part of the atmosphere
are warmed by the Sun, they rise MAY 3, 1980
AT 5:07 AM
and move toward the cooler polar Cloud-top
regions. The newly arrived gases movement forms
sink to the lower cloud layer as they Y- or V-shaped
patterns.
cool. They move back to the equator
and the process starts again. JUNE 7, 1980
AT 1:04 AM
Sunlight bounces
reflects away. off cloud tops. Name Type Arrived Achievement
ght
Clouds stop most Mariner 2 Fly-by Dec 1962 Found carbon dioxide in atmosphere
light from Venera 4 Atmosphere Oct 1967 First data returned from atmosphere
reaching surface. Veneras 5 Atmosphere May 1969 Tested atmosphere, assumed to
Thick sulfuric
acid clouds and 6 have impacted with surface
Veneras 7 Lander Dec 1970 First landers to send data back
Carbon dioxide and 8 July 1972 from Venusian surface
layer holds in heat. Veneras 9 Orbiter/ Oct 1975 Landers returned one image each of
About
and 10 lander rock-strewn surface
20%
Infrared
surface. by ground
and structure of atmosphere
cannot escape
Veneras 13 Lander Mar 1982 First color pictures from surface;
into space.
and 14 first soil samples analyzed
Veneras 15 Orbiter Oct 1983 Radar images of surface
Surface and 16
temperature is Vegas 1 Atmosphere/ June 1985 Balloon probes investigated
GREENHOUSE EFFECT 867F (464C), and 2 lander atmosphere; landers tested surface
Less than a quarter of the sunlight falling on Venus about 720F Magellan Orbiter Aug 1990 Radar imaging of surface
reaches the surface. Light that gets through the (400C) higher Venus Express Orbiter Apr 2006 Global atmosphere study
clouds warms the ground which, in turn, releases than it would
the heat in the form of infrared radiation. Like glass be without an
atmosphere.
trapping heat in a greenhouse, the atmosphere FIND OUT MORE
traps the infrared radiation, so the temperature on E XPLORING THE PLANETS 80 E ARTHS ATMOSPHERE 88 M OON 92
Venus builds up and is always very hot. V ENUS 108 V ENUSIAN SURFACE 112 J UPITER S ATMOSPHERE 124
VENUSIAN SURFACE
lthough venus is the closest planet to the
A Earth, its surface is perpetually hidden by
cloud. Only since 1969 have scientists succeeded
MAXWELL MONTES
In the middle of Ishtar Terra,
a highland region about the size
of Australia, is the steep Maxwell
in seeing through its cloud layers, using radar Montes mountain rangethe
highest part of the Venusian
techniques similar to airport radar that can surface, rising 39,000 ft
locate aircraft through cloud and fog. The data (12,000 m).
collected by Earth-based instruments and
orbiting spacecraft have been combined to Ishtar Terra is an elevated
plateau encircled by narrow
T E R R A
produce a global map of the planet. The most belts of mountains.
T
A
R
Lakshmi Planum is a
orbiter between 1990 and 1994. As this view of smooth volcanic MI PLANUM
SH
K
one side of Venus shows, it is a planet of volcanic plain dominated by
two large shield
V
E
LA Colette
S T
plains with some highland regions. volcanoes, Colette U
T
A R U P E S
Sacajawea
and Sacajawea. R U P E S
SEDNA
PLANITIA
SIF MONS
The thousands of volcanoes Gula Mons
spread randomly over the
Venusian surface are outlets
where the planets internal heat Sappho
can escape through the crust. Patera
Some of the largest volcanoes, E
such as Sif Mons, are found in I
Eistla Regio. Sif Mons stands S
G
T
6,500 ft (2,000 m) above the
U
N L
I
EV A
surrounding plain and has a ERE
PLANITIA
diameter of 210 miles (300 km).
TIN
P
A
H O E B
T
ALPHA REGIO
IN
The first feature to be
PLA
Navka Planitia
identified on the Venusian
E
NITIA
surface using Earth-based
R E G
SURFACE FEATURES
L
V
A
IN
IA
Venus is a largely smooth planetabout 90 percent of it is Lavinia Planitia is a lava
PLANITIA
no higher than 2 miles (3 km). Lowland volcanic plains, or plain cut off from the
rest of the Venusian lava
planitia, cover 85 percent of the surface. The remaining plains by Alpha Regio.
L
A
15 percent consists of a number of highland areas, named D
A
terra or regio, that were pushed up by movements in the Magellans data added about
planets crust. Magellan identified individual features as 4,000 surface features to the
global map of Venus. Many are
small as 75 miles (120 m) across, and revealed dunes and named after famous women,
streaks in the rock formed by the action of the wind. such as the biblical figure Eve.
112
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INNER WORLDS
Radar dish
Northern polar region is a
broad plain crossed by long
belts of ridges that stretch for
several hundred miles.
Beam recorded Ma
images of strips rad in be
Tellus Tessera plateau
up to 6,000 miles ar am
sig
rises about 6,500 ft MAGELLAN na of
sig ected
I
O
covering 98 percent of the
ls
Venusian surface. Two radar
na
fl
T B
Re
E
L beams surveyed long, narrow
E
L
strips of land below Magellans
U
S
E
T
BEL
E S
A
L
S E
P
GI
R A
O
I
N I
R EACHING THE
T
T I A
SURFACE
A
Pavlova
O
R
V
E
G
I
The first surface image
taken from the surface itself,
A P H R O D I T E T E R R
A by Venera 9 in 1975, showed
MEAD CRATER a rock-strewn landscape.
The multiringed Mead has a
diameter of 170 miles (280 km) In 1982, Venera 13 sent
and is the largest impact crater back color images from the
A on Venus. Inside the craters ring surface and made the first
I
I
T is rough terrain with a hilly analysis of Venusian soil.
N
L A central region. Outside the
crater, material ejected at the
P
by wind-eroded corridors.
COLOR IMAGE FROM VENERA 13
APHRODITE
TERRA Small landers dropped by
the Russian craft Vegas 1 and
The most extensive
2 in 1985 measured surface
highland region on
temperature and pressure,
Venus, Aphrodite Terra
and analyzed rock.
stretches for 3,600 miles (6,000
km). The western part shows little
evidence of volcanic activity, but the FIND OUT MORE
eastern part is occupied by Atla E XPLORING THE PLANETS 80
Most highlands rise M ERCURY 104 V ENUS 108
about 13,00016,500 ft (4,000 Regio, a large volcanic rise with rifts
V ENUSIAN ATMOSPHERE 110
5,000 m) above the lowland plains. and peaks, such as Maat Mons.
3
4
5 Mars usually
appears to
move east
against the
material and, along with Mercury, Venus, and Earth, it is background
of stars.
one of the four terrestrialor Earthlikeplanets of the 2
1
inner solar system. Mars is one and a half times more
distant than the Earth from the Sun. In the late 1990s, Mars is
overtaken by
scientists began to study the Red Planet in Earth, reversing
unprecedented detail. They may yet uncover fossils, its apparent
motion.
or even show that primitive life exists there today. 5 4 3
6 2
The smooth northern lowlands
1 Orbit of
were formed after an intense 7
period of meteorite bombardment. 4 Mars
5 3
The pale areas around the 6
rims of impact craters are 2
windblown dust deposits.
7 Sun 1
Dark areas are thought to Orbit of Earth
correspond to regions of
fine-grained rock formed RETROGRADE MOTION
from solidified lava.
Planets beyond Earth, including Mars, sometimes
seem to drift backward in the sky. This is known as
retrograde motion. The planet is still traveling
forward, but it appears to fall behind as Earth,
which orbits the Sun faster than Mars, overtakes it.
Mars is 129 million
Earths orbit is almost
miles (207 million km)
circular, giving the
from the Sun at its
planet less extremes
closest approach
of temperature.
(perihelion).
Sun
ORBIT
Mars has a more elliptical orbit than Earth, so its
distance from the Sun varies more. At its closest
approach, Mars receives 45 percent more solar
radiation than at its farthest. Temperatures on the
surface vary from 193F to 72F (125C to 22C).
SURFACE FEATURES
Much of the Red Planets surface is a
frozen rock-strewn desert interrupted by
dunes and craters. But Mars also has some
of the most spectacular and diverse features
of the solar system. Its volcanoes and canyons
dwarf those found on Earth. The planets red
color comes from soil rich in iron oxide (rust).
114
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INNER WORLDS
SURFACE ICE
This unnamed crater in
Marss far northern
region is about 21 miles
(35 km) across. It
contains a circular patch
DIGGING FOR ICE of water ice that has
The Mars Phoenix Lander remained after carbon
carried a miniature laboratory to dioxide frost has
Marss arctic region in 2008 with evaporated from the
the goal of finding out whether north polar
life could exist there. Its robotic cap in the warmer
arm dug this trench and scooped summer weather. There
up soil samples that were is also some water ice
analyzed by the onboard along the rim and walls
laboratory. The white material of the crater.
visible in the trench is ice under
the surface soil.
116
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INNER WORLDS
CANALS ON MARS?
The channels first seen by Giovanni Schiaparelli
Side valleys caused were mapped in the 1890s by Percival Lowell
by discharge of from his observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona.
ground water Lowell argued that they were canals that carried
water from the Martian poles to arid equatorial
regions, and converged at oases. The channels
seen by both Lowell and Schiaparelli later proved
to be an optical illusion. K EY MOMENTS IN
MARTIAN HISTORY
The War of the Worlds by
H. G. Wells was published
Gas analyzer in 1898, reflecting intense
One Viking experiment looked speculation about the
for gases produced by living possibility of life on Mars.
organisms in the soil. A soil
sample was fed with nutrients, Nutrient supply In 1965, Mariner 4
but the gases given off did not sent back 22 pictures of a
prove the existence of life. Inert helium gas desolate-looking Mars.
Scientists thought it
resembled the Moon.
Bright lamp promoted Martian soil wetted
growth of any plant with nutrient solution. The Mariner 9 mission in
cells for five days. 197172 revealed the vast
canyons of Valles Marineris
Gases from soil sample separated. and huge volcanic
structures on the planet.
Plantlike cells in the soil could be
detected by another Viking experiment. In 2006, Mars
A bright lamp encouraged cells to grow.
Gas analyzer
Reconnaissance Orbiter began
The soil was heated and gases from any the largest ever program to
cooked cells were analyzed. No
conclusive evidence of life was found. collect data from Mars.
Heat broke down any organic chemicals
in the soil and converted them into gas.
Antenna relayed data
VIKING LANDER EXPERIMENTS from Viking Lander.
In 1976, two Viking spacecraft arrived at Mars.
Twin cameras
Each released a Lander that parachuted to the
VIKING LANDER
surface carrying sophisticated experiments
Meteorology
designed to pick up the tell-tale signs of living instruments
organisms in the Martian soil. At first, the
experiments seemed to indicate the
presence of life, but later analysis
favored nonbiological
explanations for
the results. WELLSS WAR OF THE WORLDS
MISSIONS TO MARS
Scientific
Sojourner Rover
instruments
weighed 20 lb (9 kg) PATHFINDER
and was 25 in
(63 cm) long.
ince a stream of robotic spacecraft
Sdetectives,
has been leaving Earth for Mars. Like
these missions seek answers to
Three
petal-shaped
doors are
open.
118
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INNER WORLDS
Solar panels
supplied
power.
GLOBAL SURVEYOR
Global Surveyor reached Mars in September 1997, and spent
18 months slowing down into a low orbit just 210 miles (350 km) MARS SCIENCE LABORATORY
above the surface. It carried cameras and spectrometers designed The largest robotic rover ever planned for the planet, Mars Science
to map the planet in detail, and study its weather patterns and Laboratory weighs 2,000 lb (900 kg) and measures 5 ft 4 in (1.6 m) in
chemical composition. It operated until November 2006. length. It will carry a collection of scientific instruments much bigger
and more advanced than its predecessors, and will be landed by
MARS ODYSSEY parachute. NASA hopes to launch it in 2009 to arrive in mid-2010.
NASAs 2001 Mars Odyssey conducted
its main scientific program in orbit
around Mars between 2002 and 2004. SUCCESSFUL MARS MISSIONS
It mapped the distribution of minerals Name Year of Country Mission
and chemical elements and discovered arrival type
large amounts of water below the Mariner 4 1965 US Flyby
surface in the polar regions. Mariner 6 1969 US Flyby
Mariner 9 1971 US Orbiter
Mars 2 1971 Russia Orbiter
MARS EXPRESS Mars 3 1971 Russia Orbiter and lander
Mars Express was the European Space Vikings 1 and 2 1976 US Orbiter and lander
Agencys first mission to Mars. It arrived Global Surveyor 1997 US Orbiter
in orbit in December 2003 and was Mars Pathfinder 1997 US Lander and rover
expected to return images and data until Mars Odyssey 2001 US Orbiter
Mars Express 2003 Europe Orbiter
at least 2009. However, the Beagle
Mars Expl. Rovers 2004 US Rovers
lander it carried failed. Reconnaissance 2006 US Orbiter
Orbiter
Phoenix Lander 2008 US Lander
MARS RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER FIND OUT MORE
NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reached I NTERPLANETARY TRAVEL 72 E XPLORING THE PLANETS 80
orbit in 2006. One of its goals was to study the L IVING PLANET 90 E XPLORING THE MOON 98
history and distribution of water on Mars. S EARCH FOR LIFE ON MARS 116
It will return more data than all previous L IFE ON OTHER WORLDS 236
missions together.
a
O
because molten rock continues to pour out
ss
the northern ice cap and B
Fo
the planets spectacular
from the same spot on the surface for volcanoes and canyons
pe
close to the equator. s ae m
millions of years. os Te
F
is
e
ot
a
LAND STRUCTURES
ss
re
a
Fo
M
Highlands dominate the planets southern hemisphere, while e
lus
Milankovic
a
vast lowland plains lie to the north. Long cliffs exist between
ss
Tanta
Fo
IA
PLANIT A
the two regions. Craters formed by meteorite impacts scar a
b
Al
ARCAD
the planets southern regions, and are scattered across the
north. Huge volcanoes such as Olympus Mons, the Uranius Tholus
Valles Marineris canyon system, and many ridges and
fractures are found in or around Tharsis Rise, just
north of the equator. Geraunius Tholus
Tharsis Tholus
N TES
it
A
V sma
ha
M
A
P
T
Z asma
C
A
L
O Ch
IS
N N s
IT I Tu NAI
T HARS
Tharsis Rise IA S SI NU
A M
Pavonis Mons L
extends
P
5,000 miles
(8,000 km),
the distance RIA
Y N UM
from London, A
S
England, to the L P
IS
P
m
e
Sirenu
Fossa
120
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INNER WORLDS
Dark, low-
reflective patches Polar ice cap
METEORITE CRATERS ON MARS
SPOTTING SURFACE FEATURES
IDALI Water ice clouds sometimes Mars is the only planet on which surface details can
C A develop, but dust and carbon
A be distinguished with a relatively inexpensive
e
R
CH YSE P
as
K L
A
NI T IA
NAE
U
L N UM
L A
P
NU IFER
T
S
a
OPHIR CHASM
BI
m
as
Ch Part of the giant canyon system of Valles Marineris, Ophir
Coprates
A
SI
G
A Holden
M landslides, and erosion by wind and water. The canyon wall is
13,000 ft (4,000 m) high, and landslide debris is visible at the base
Hale of the cliffs. Waterlogged material behind canyon walls coupled
with quakes may have caused landslides in many canyons.
m Montes
e idu
er E A
N R
Y T I POLAR ICE CAP
M
A R G I
U
JUPITER
he fifth planet from the sun is
Tvery different from the terrestrial
(Earthlike) planets. Jupiter is by far
the largest planet in the solar system
over 1,300 Earths would fit into its volume, and RING SYSTEM
its mass is 2.5 times that of all the other planets Jupiters faint ring system was first seen in images sent back by the
Voyager 1 spacecraft in 1979. Later images from Voyager 2 and
combined. It exerts a huge gravitational pull, the Galileo spacecraft revealed details of its structure. There is a
which has deflected comets that may otherwise cloudy inner ring that extends toward the cloud tops, a flattened
central ring, and an outer ring, which Galileo has shown to be one
have hit the Earth. Jupiter is a gas giant; unlike ring embedded within another. The rings are formed from dust
the small, rocky inner planets, it has no solid knocked off Jupiters four inner moons by meteorites.
surface but is all gas and liquid except for a very
small rocky core. All that is visible is the gas ROTATION
exterior. The planet has at least 62 moons Jupiter spins very rapidly, taking
9 hours 55 minutes to rotate on
and a dusty ring system. its axis, compared with the 24
1 4 hours the much smaller Earth
9:42 p.m. takes. The forces resulting from
STRUCTURE its fast rotation flatten the
planet, making it bulge at its
Jupiter is a giant ball of hydrogen and helium, equator. Jupiter is 7 percent
compressed into a liquid inside, and probably shorter from pole-to-pole than
containing a solid rocky core. Knowledge of the core across the equator.
is limited, but it is likely to be 1015 times more 2 5
massive than the Earths. Pressure and temperature
Jupiters rapid spin can be observed
12,500 miles (20,000 km) below the cloud tops are so with an Earth-based telescope.
intense that hydrogen turns into a liquid that behaves Over a period of 2 hours the Great
Red Spot moves about one-quarter
like a metal. Ordinary liquid hydrogen lies above the of the way around the planet. The
metal. Hydrogen and helium gases form an 3 6
planet appears upside-down in this
telescope image.
atmosphere surrounding the planet. 11:34 p.m.
Compounds including sulfur give
Jupiter its multicolored appearance. Jupiter is sometimes known as the
banded planet because of its bands
If Jupiter had been 50 times more of different colored clouds.
massive, its core would have been hot
enough to fuse hydrogen, and Jupiter Spots, ovals, and streaks
would have become a star. on cloud tops are
weather disturbances.
Spins on its
Axis tilts from axis once every
the vertical every 9.93 Infrared image
by 3.1. hours. that has been
enhanced by
ATMOSPHERE computer. Red areas
are the warmest.
Helium (10.2%), with traces
of methane and ammonia
TEMPERATURE
Hydrogen (89.8%)
Jupiter gives out more heat than it receives from the Sun. The
heat is generated by the planet as it contracts. Jupiter was once
435,000 miles (700,000 km) acrossfive times its present diameter.
STRUCTURE Great amounts of energy were released as the planet shrank, and it
Atmosphere continues to contract by about in (2 cm) per year. The temperature
Liquid at Jupiters cloud tops is now 166F (110C), and is believed to
hydrogen increase by 0.5F (0.3C) for every half mile (1 km) of depth, for
and helium a core temperature of 54,000F (30,000C).
Metallic SCALE
hydrogen
Probably
Jupiter is
11 times the
D ISCOVERY TIMELINE
solid core
LOCATER
diameter of Earth. In 1610, German
astronomer Simon Marius
(15731624) discovered and
named the four largest moons
Sun Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun. of Jupiter; they were later
studied by Galileo Galilei.
Jupiters Jupiters Great Red Spot
magnetosphere was first observed in the
17th century.
Lines of
magnetic force
Astronomers observed the
OBSERVING JUPITER planets strong emissions of
Jupiter is the fourth brightest radio waves in 1955.
object in the sky. It can be seen
Tail of by the naked eye, and details
Pioneer 10 was the first
magnetosphere spacecraft to reach Jupiter
such as its banding can be seen in 1973. It discovered
Jupiter with a 6-in (15-cm) telescope. Jupiters unusually massive
magnetic field.
MAGNETISM VITAL STATISTICS
Jupiters magnetic field is 20,000 times stronger In 1995, Galileo arrived
than the Earths. Scientists think electric currents in at Jupiter. Its orbiter and
Diameter (equatorial) 88,846 miles
the fast-spinning metallic hydrogen within the Diameter (polar) 83,082 miles probe have revolutionized
planet create the field. This reaches out into space, Average distance from Sun 484 million miles knowledge of the planet.
surrounding the planet in a huge magnetic bubble, Orbital speed around Sun 8 miles/s
or magnetosphere. Its tail extends 400 million miles Sunrise to sunrise (at cloud tops) 9.84 hours
Mass (Earth = 1) 318 FIND OUT MORE
(650 million km) past the orbit of Saturn.
Volume (Earth = 1) 1,321 S OLAR SYSTEM 78
Average density (water = 1) 1.33 E XPLORING THE PLANETS 80
Gravity at cloud tops (Earth = 1) 2.36 B IRTH OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM 82
Cloud-top temperature 166F (110C) E ARTH 84
Number of moons At least 62 I NSIDE THE SUN 154
Low pressure
High
system
pressure
system
124
(c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
OUTER WORLDS
WHITE OVALS
Like the Great Red Spot (GRS), white Increasing
ovals are cyclonic storms. Winds rise temperatures and
up in their centers and push down pressures lower in
around their edges. In 1998, scientists the atmosphere
cause simple,
watched two white ovals merge to colorless gases to
form the largest storm in the solar react, forming
system after the GRS. complex, colored
molecules.
Equatorial Zone
COMET IMPACT
In July 1994, 21 fragments of
Parachute slowed the the comet Shoemaker-Levy-9
probes fall through slammed into Jupiter. Some of
the atmosphere. the impacts, at 130,000 mph
Instruments measured (210,000 km/h), sent 2,500 mile-
atmospheric composition, (4,000 km-) wide fireballs
pressure, and temperature. Probe descended for 1,200 miles (2,000 km) above the
South Polar Region 57 minutes before
being crushed by cloud tops. Temporary dark
Jupiters atmosphere. spots showed the sites of impact.
GALILEO PROBE
NASAs Galileo spacecraft arrived at Jupiter FIND OUT MORE
in December 1995. Its orbiter circled the planet
until September 2003. It released a separate probe, S OLAR SYSTEM 78
Heat shield protected E ARTH S ATMOSPHERE 88
which descended into the atmosphere. The probe the probe as it fell S ATURN 128
observed only wisps of cloud, and much less through the U RANUS 134
oxygen and less water than scientists predicted. atmosphere. M ETEORITES 148
JUPITERS MOONS
upiter and its known moons are often described as looking
Jlike a mini solar system. They are extremely variedsome are rocky,
some icy, and, tantalisingly, some may have had the conditions needed to
foster primitive life. All the moons except one, Amalthea, are named
GANYMEDE
3,273 MILES
after the lovers and descendents of Zeus, the equivalent in Greek
(5,268 KM) IN mythology of the Roman god Jupiter. The four largest moons were
DIAMETER
CALLISTO
first investigated by Galileo in 1610. Fittingly, it is a spacecraft
2,986 MILES
(4,806 KM) IO
called Galileo that has revealed how the complex elements of
2,264 MILES the Jovian system work together and affect one another.
(3,643 KM)
EUROPA
GALILEAN 1,945 MILES EUROPA
3,130 KM
MOONS The surface of Europa is smooth ice. Evidence
from the Galileo mission points to the existence
The four moons studied by Galileo are of a liquid ocean beneath the ice. Some
with increasing distance from JupiterIo, scientists think aquatic life may have arisen in
Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. They range the warmer parts of the ocean. The Hubble
between 0.9 and 1.5 times the size of our Space Telescope has also detected a thin
atmosphere of oxygen on Europa.
own Moon, and each has its own distinct
personality. The Galilean moons orbit
Jupiter in nearly circular paths almost Water
Plumes of hot water
carve the edges of
exactly around the planets equator. the ice sheets.
Ice floe
JUPITERS LARGER MOONS
Name Diameter Distance to Orbit Year of
Heat from the core rises
in miles Jupiter (miles) in days discovery
through thermal vents (undersea
volcanoes) to heat the water.
Metis 25 79,511 0.29 1979
Adrastea 12.5 80,144 0.30 1979 CROSS-SECTION THROUGH EUROPAS CRUST
Amalthea 124 112,655 0.50 1892
Thebe 62 137,882 0.67 1979 INNER MOONS
Four of Jupiters smaller moons
Io 2,264 261,970 1.77 1610 have orbits within Ios. These images
Europa 1,945 416,876 3.55 1610 of three of them were taken by the
Ganymede 3,273 664,866 7.15 1610 Galileo spacecraft. Amalthea is the
Callisto 2,986 1,170,042 16.69 1610
largest of the non-Galilean moons.
Leda 6.2 6,893,490 239 1974 The inner moons are constantly
Himalia 105 7,133,339 251 1904 battered by meteorites, producing
Lysithea 15 7,282,468 259 1938 dust that replenishes Jupiters THEBE AMALTHEA METIS
Elara 50 7,293,031 260 1905 rings. Metis and Adrastea may
eventually spiral into Jupiter.
Ananke 12.4 13,173,065 631 1951
Carme 18.6 14,042,984 692 1938
Pasiphae 22.4 14,602,218 735 1908
Adrastea Amalthea
Sinope 17.4 14,726,492 758 1914
Metis Thebe Io
OUTER MOONS
Many of the moons beyond the Galilean
moons belong to groups with similar
orbits and characteristics. These families
may be the fragments of shattered asteroids.
All the moons farther than 11 million miles
(17.7 million km) from Jupiter orbit in the Scale in radii of Jupiter
opposite direction from the nearer moons. 1 radius = 44,423 miles (71,492 km) 1 2 3 4 5 6
126
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OUTER WORLDS
GANYMEDE
EXPLORING JUPITERS MOONS Jupiters largest satellite is bigger than the
Name Date Mission highlights planet Mercury. The Galileo mission
discovered that Ganymede has its own
Voyager 1 Mar 79 Images of Galilean moons and magnetosphere, which made scientists
Amalthea. Io volcanism found.
Metis and Thebe discovered.
revise their ideas about its structure.
Voyager 2 Jul 79 First close-ups of Europa. Previously they thought the moon had
Closest view of Ganymede to a rocky core surrounded by water
date. Adrastea discovered. with a crust of ice on the surface.
Galileo Jun 97 Detailed images and data from They now think Ganymedes core is
Sep 03 Galilean moons. Evidence for molten iron surrounded by a rocky
ocean below Europas surface.
mantle with an ice shell.
CALLISTO
The surface of Callisto is completely covered
with craters, dating from the birth of
Jupiters system. Callisto consists of about
60 percent rock and iron and 40 percent
ice and water. The Galileo mission detected
variations in the magnetic field around the
moon. Scientists think the variations may be
caused by electric currents flowing in a salty
ocean beneath Callistos icy crust.
Ganymedes surface has faults
similar to the San Andreas
fault in California, where
Io is covered with volcanoes, grooves have slipped sideways.
molten sulphur lakes, lava
flows and mountains up to
26,250 ft (8,000 m) high.
IO
The gravities of Jupiter, Europa, and Ganymede tug
and push at Io, bending the crust back and forth.
The moon generates heat as molecules bump and
grind against one another. As a result, Io is the OBSERVING MOONS
most volcanically active body in the Solar System. It is possible to track the
It has a thin atmosphere of sulphur dioxide. changing positions of the four
Galilean moons over a few
Farthest moon: 17.7 million miles hours with a good pair of
(28.5 million km) from Jupiter
Ganymede
Callisto
binoculars. The moons played
Himalia Lysithea a vital role in the history of
Ananke Pasiphae Sinope
Europa Leda Elara Carme astronomy; the fact that they
orbited another planet showed
that not everything revolved
around the Earth.
SATURN
aturn, the second largest planet, is the
Saround
easiest to recognize because of the bright rings
its equator. Like Jupiter, it is a large ball of
gas and liquid topped by clouds. Nearly 10 times
farther from the Sun than we are, Saturn was the
most distant planet known before the invention of
the telescope. To the naked eye it looks like a fairly
bright, yellowish star, but you need a telescope to see
the rings. Three missions have flown past Saturn
Pioneer 11, and Voyagers 1 and 2. The Cassini
mission arrived in orbit around Saturn in 2004.
VOYAGER FLYBY
In 1980, the Voyager 1
spacecraft flew past Saturn and its largest
Saturns cloud patterns Rings are made of moon, Titan. Voyager 2 followed in 1981,
are hidden by a haze of particles and larger before going on to Uranus and Neptune.
ammonia crystals. pieces of ice.
BUTTERSCOTCH PLANET
Saturn, like Jupiter, has a surface of clouds,
drawn out into bands by the planets spin.
Saturns clouds are calmer and less colorful
than those on Jupiter. They are also lower in the
atmosphere and colder (the white clouds at the
top are 220F/140C). Above the clouds is a
layer of haze, which gives Saturn its butterscotch
color and makes it look smoother than Jupiter.
ATMOSPHERE
Saturn has three main layers of
clouds, composed of the same
gases as Jupiters clouds, but
with a haze above them. The
cloud layers are farther apart on
Saturn because the planets
gravity is weaker than Jupiters.
White clouds
Blue clouds
STORM STAGE 1
STORMS ON SATURN
Every 30 years or so, during
summer in the northern
hemisphere, storms break out on
Saturn, producing large white
Clouds spots near the equator. These
form dark pictures, taken by the Hubble
belts and
bright zones,
Space Telescope, show a storm
like those cloud that broke out in 1990 and
on Jupiter. spread right around the planet.
128
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OUTER WORLDS
BULGING PLANET
Saturns core Saturn spins every 10 hours S ATURN AT A GLANCE
spins every 14 minutes at the equator,
10 hours but takes nearly half an hour Nine times the diameter of the Earth, Saturn has a rocky center,
39 minutes. longer at the poles. Its low with outer layers of liquid and gas. Bright rings of icy particles
density, combined with its circle the planets equator.
fast spin, mean that Saturns
equator bulges more than TILT, SPIN, Orbits Sun in
that of any other planet.
AND ORBIT 29.46 years.
Saturn is 11 percent wider at
At the equator the equator than at the poles.
Saturn spins Sun
every 10 hours
14 minutes.
If we could find an Spins on its
ocean large enough, Axis tilts from axis once every
Saturn would float. the vertical 10.66 hours.
PLANET DENSITY by 26.7.
Saturn is the least dense of the ATMOSPHERE
planets, with an average
Helium (3.7%)
density only 70 percent and trace gases
that of water (it is
much denser
than this at the Hydrogen (96.3%)
center, but less
dense near the surface). An STRUCTURE
Atmosphere
SCALE
object with Saturns low
density would float in water. Liquid
hydrogen
Cassini and helium
spacecraft Liquid metallic
hydrogen and
helium
Core of rock Saturn is nine times
and ice wider than the Earth.
Sun
CASSINI MISSION
Cassini-Huygens, launched in 1997, is a space mission
studying Saturn, its rings, and its moons. The Cassini
spacecraft went into orbit around Saturn in 2004 and
is expected to continue returning data until at least 2010.
It released the Huygens probe, which landed on the
surface of Saturns largest moon, Titan, in 2005.
Saturn
VITAL STATISTICS
Diameter (equatorial) 74,897 miles
Huygens probe Titan Diameter (polar) 67,560 miles
Average distance from Sun 887 million miles
STORM STAGE 2 STORM STAGE 3 STORM STAGE 4
Orbital speed around Sun 6 miles/s
Sunrise to sunrise (at cloud tops) 10.23 hours
Mass (Earth=1) 95
Volume (Earth=1) 763.59
Average density (water=1) 0.69
Gravity at cloud tops (Earth=1) 0.92
Cloud-top temperature 220F (140C)
Number of known moons 60
SATURNS RINGS
our planets have ringsJupiter, Saturn,
FUranus, and Neptunebut Saturns are by far
the brightest, a glorious sight through even
GLORIOUS RINGS
This view of Saturn cannot be
seen from Earth. It was taken
by Voyager 2 in 1981, looking
small telescopes. The rings may look solid but back as it left the planet on its
they actually consist of chunks of ice and rock, way to more-distant Uranus
and Neptune. The rings are lit
ranging from specks of dust to icebergs larger up by sunlight shining through
than a house, orbiting Saturns equator like a from behind. Saturns globe
shows through the inner part
swarm of moonlets. Saturns rings are probably of the rings.
the remains of one or more captured comets
that have broken up, probably within the past
few hundred million years.
Icy lumps make up the
rings. They range from
tiny particles to pieces
a few yards across.
Shadow of rings
on globe
Ring C is transparent.
130
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OUTER WORLDS
CASSINI CLOSEUP
Seen by the Cassini spacecraft in L ORD OF THE RINGS
close-up, the rings of Saturn break up
into countless narrow ringlets, looking
In 1610 Galileo Galilei
looked at Saturn through
like the grooves of an old-fashioned his primitive telescope, but
gramophone record. Ringlets are mistook the planets rings
visible even in the gaps such as the for two moons. Galileo
Cassini Division. This image shows called these moons ears.
all the inner rings, including the
narrow F ring. Made by combining
images through red, green, and blue
filters, it is close to natural color.
SATURNS MOONS
Epimetheus
HUYGENS PROBE
The Huygens probe was built by the European
Space Agency and named after the astronomer
who discovered Titan. In January 2005, it parachuted
through Titans atmosphere to the surface. It took 2 hours
30 minutes to descend then radioed data back, via the
Cassini spacecraft, for about 2 hours. The pictures it TITANS LAKES
returned of the surface showed a feature like a shore In 2008, instruments carried
line and channels in which liquid might have flowed. by the Cassini spacecraft
confirmed a prediction made
It found a thick layer of orange haze about 1112 miles 20 years earlier that Titans
(1820 km) above the ground. Huygens probe is polar regions have large lakes
Orange-colored 4 ft (1.3 m) across, of liquid methane and ethane.
Ice pebbles surface covered by weighs 700 lb This radar image of a strip
sandy material (318 kg), and carries of terrain 87 miles (140 km)
made by ice grains six instruments.
across is color-coded so that
the smoother liquid patches
look dark. The largest lakes
are similar in size to the Great
Lakes in North America.
ENCELADUS
Though parts of this
moons bright, icy
surface are cratered,
other areas have been
smoothed over by the
eruption of water. The
Cassini spacecraft
observed plumes of
water spewing from four
long surface cracks,
nicknamed tiger stripes.
132
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OUTER WORLDS
TITAN
Titan is the only moon in the solar system SATURNS LARGEST MOONS
with a thick atmosphere, and the only solar Satellite Diameter Distance to Orbit Date of
system body other than Earth with liquid in miles Saturn (miles) (days) discovery
on its surface. Its atmosphere is mainly
nitrogen, like Earths, with a surface Pan 18 83,005 0.58 1990
Atlas 19 85,544 0.59 1980
pressure 50 percent higher than Prometheus 53 86,607 0.61 1980
on Earth. However, Titan is not Pandora 50 88,061 0.63 1980
very much like Earth. Typical Epimetheus 70 94,089 0.69 1966
temperatures are about 292F Janus 111 94,119 0.69 1966
(180C), and its lakes, Mimas 247 115,205 0.94 1789
thick haze, and clouds are Enceladus 313 147,855 1.37 1789
Tethys 662 183,068 1.89 1684
hydrocarbon chemicals,
Telesto 15 183,068 1.89 1980
not water. Calypso 13 183,068 1.89 1980
HYPERION Dione 698 234,503 2.74 1684
Helene 20 234,503 2.74 1980
Hyperions spongelike appearance is Rhea 950 327,530 4.52 1672
Saturns rings
due to the large number of deep, Titan 3,201 759,272 15.95 1655
sharp-rimmed craters on its surface. Hyperion 181 920,257 21.28 1848
It is made mostly of water ice but is Iapetus 915 2,212,591 79.32 1671
so porous inside, 40 percent of it is Phoebe 137 7,996,550 545.08 1898
empty space. Its axis of rotation
Titan wobbles so much, its orientation
in space cannot be predicted. Saturn
Rhea M OON SEARCH
In 1655 Christiaan
RHEA RINGS Huygens discovered Titan.
Saturns second-largest moon, Rhea, is
about one-quarter rock and three- In 1671 Giovanni Cassini
discovered Iapetus and in
quarters ice, and its surface is heavily
1672 he located Rhea.
cratered. In 2008, Cassini mission
scientists found evidence for three thin
rings around Rhea. They are too faint Cassini discovered Tethys
and Dione in 1684.
to be imaged directly, but this picture
shows what they might look like.
In 1898, William Pickering
discovered Phoebe, the first
moon of Saturn to be found
by photography.
EPIMETHEUS
Epimetheus shares an orbit
around Saturn with another
In 1944 the atmosphere of
Titan was discovered by
moon, Janus, near the edge Dutch-born astronomer
of the ring system. Their Gerard Kuiper (190573).
orbits are only 30 miles
(50 km) apart. Every four
years or so, when the
When Saturns rings
were edge-on in 1966,
DIONE inner one overtakes the astronomers discovered
Dione is an icy moon with a outer one, they swap orbits. Janus and Epimetheus.
varied, cratered surface. It shares They may be parts of a larger
its orbit with two much smaller
moons. Helene always keeps
Flattened
shape may be
moon that broke up. In 1980 Voyager 1 flew
past Saturn, discovering the
about 60 ahead of it while tiny due to impact
Calypso Janus moons Atlas, Prometheus,
Polydeuces, only 2 miles (3 km)
Telesto Enceladus Epimetheus and Pandora.
across, trails 60 behind. In this
formation, they cannot collide. Rhea Helene Tethys Pandora
Dione Mimas Prometheus Between 2000 and 2007,
Phoebe Iapetus Hyperion Titan Atlas ground-based astronomers
Pan Saturn discovered 37 small outer
moons of Saturn.
FIND OUT MORE
E ARTH S ATMOSPHERE 88
M OON S SURFACE 96
215 59 24 23 22 21 20 10 6 5 4 3 2 1 J UPITER S MOONS 126
Scale in radii of Saturn (1 radius = 37,500 miles (60,268 km)
URANUS
ranus, the first planet to be
Udiscovered through a telescope, was
spotted on the night of March 13, 1781, by
William Herschel. It is too faint to be easily
seen with the naked eye, although you can
find it with binoculars. Uranus is the third
largest planet in the solar system, but its
most remarkable feature is that it appears to
lie on its side, so that first one pole and then
the other points to the Sun as it moves
along its orbit. Perhaps Uranus was knocked
over by another object while it was forming.
Uranus has 27 known moons and a
series of faint rings.
RINGS
Uranus has 13 known rings,
which circle the planets equator.
The ringsand the equator
appear to be almost upright,
because Uranus is tilted on its
side. Being very dark, the rings
are difficult to see from Earth.
Two tiny moons, Cordelia and
Ophelia, orbit on either side of
the brightest ring (the Epsilon
ring), shepherding it into place. VOYAGER 2 IMAGE OF THE RINGS
VITAL STATISTICS
Diameter 31,763 miles
Average distance from Sun 1.782 billion miles
Orbital speed around Sun 4 miles/s
Sunrise to sunrise 17.24 hours
Mass (Earth=1) 14.5
Volume (Earth=1) 63.1
Average density (water=1) 1.32 Puck is the largest of the Oberon is the second largest
Gravity at cloud tops (Earth=1) 0.89 moons discovered by moon of Uranus. It is Titania, at 980 miles
Cloud-top temperature 323F (197C) Voyager 2; yet, this tiny 946 miles (1,523 km) wide (1,578 km) wide, is the largest
Number of known moons 27 moon is only 93 miles and orbits at a distance of moon of Uranus; it orbits at
(150 km) across. 362,011 miles (582,600 km). 270,800 miles (435,800 km).
134
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OUTER WORLDS
MAGNETIC FIELD
Uranus generates a magnetic
URANUS AT A GLANCE
Magnetic
field line field 50 times stronger than Uranuss extreme tilt gives it unusually long seasons. As the
Earths. However, the magnetic planet follows its 84-year orbit around the Sun, each pole has 42
tion field is tilted at 60 to its axis of
Axis of rota years of continuous sunlight, followed by 42 years of darkness.
rotationwhich would be like
Earths north magnetic pole TILT, SPIN, Orbits Sun in
being in Morocco. Even more AND ORBIT 84 years.
60
extraordinary, the magnetism is
Magnetic generated in the mantle rather
axis
than the core. Spins on
its axis
once every
Axis tilts 17.24 h.
from the
vertical by 98.
ATMOSPHERE
Methane (2.3%)
and trace gases
Helium (15.2%)
Hydrogen (82.5%)
STRUCTURE Atmosphere
of hydrogen, SCALE
helium, and
other gases
MIRANDA Mantle of
water, ice,
Miranda, the smallest of the methane, and
five main moons (diameter ammonia
290 miles/470 km), has a mixed- Core of Uranus is about four
up surface with a bright check silicate rock times the size of Earth.
mark and grooves, shown in detail Sun
above. One theory is that Miranda
broke apart and came together again.
URANUSS MOONS
Ten of Uranuss 27 moons
were discovered by ARIEL AND UMBRIEL D ISCOVERING
Voyager 2 in 1986. The These two moons are similar in
moons are named after size (about 720 miles/1,160 km), URANUS
characters in the writings of
William Shakespeare and
but look very different. Ariel is
the brightest of the major
In 1781, William Herschel
discovered Uranus while
Alexander Pope. The largest, Titania, moons, while Umbriel is the looking at the sky through
is less than half the size of Earths darkest. Ariel is remarkable for his homemade telescope in
Moon. The nine outer moons (not the valleys on its surface, caused Bath, England.
shown below) are seven to 35 times farther by its crust cracking.
Umbriel
from Uranus than Oberon. All but one orbit
in the opposite direction of the nearer moons.
The rings of Uranus were
Juliet Desdemona found in 1977 when the
Portia Cressida planet happened to be
Rosalind
Oberon Titania Cupid Bianca passing in front of a star.
Belinda Ophelia
At least four
rings surround
the planet.
Helium (19%)
Hydrogen (80%)
STRUCTURE SCALE
Atmosphere of
hydrogen, helium,
and methane gases
136
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OUTER WORLDS
CLOUDS
Bright streaks of cloud, similar to cirrus VITAL STATISTICS
clouds on Earth but made of methane, Diameter 30,778 miles
were photographed by Voyager 2. These Average distance from Sun 2.8 billion miles
cloud bands, thousands of miles long, Orbital speed around Sun 3.4 miles/s
Sunrise to sunrise 16.11 h
cast shadows on the main deck of cloud Mass (Earth=1) 17.2
3060 miles (50100 km) beneath. Volume (Earth=1) 57.74
Average density (water=1) 1.64
Gravity at cloud tops (Earth=1) 1.13
Cloud-top temperature 328F (200C)
Number of known moons 13
Despina
Thalassa Galatea Proteus Triton
Neptune Naiad Larissa Nereid
Blue coloring
due to methane
in the planets
atmosphere. 1 2 3 4 5 14 15 224 225
VOLCANO ON TRITON
In 1989, Voyager 2 flew
past Neptune, giving the
Windblown plume TRITON first good view of its clouds,
93 miles (150 km) The largest moon of Neptune, Triton rings, and moons.
long is bigger than the dwarf planet Pluto.
Plume of Probably Triton was once a separate
nitrogen body that was captured by Neptunes
and dust gravity. Triton has the coldest surface
rises. in the solar system, 391F (235C),
Falling dust creates and is covered with frozen nitrogen
dark streaks on and methane.
surface of Triton. VOYAGER 2
VOLCANOES OF ICE
Dark streaks on Triton, photographed
by Voyager 2, are caused by pockets of
nitrogen gas erupting like geysers. Gas
FIND OUT MORE
and fine, dark dust rise 5 miles (8 km)
above the surface and are then blown S OLAR SYSTEM 78
downwind for 90 miles (150 km) or so J UPITER S ATMOSPHERE 124
S ATURN 128
Geyser vent in Tritons thin atmosphere. U RANUS 134
MINOR MEMBERS
early all the mass of the solar system is found
Nin the Sun, planets, and their moons. The
remaining tiny proportion of the material is
Oort Cloud consists of about
10 trillion comets. They have
been here since the creation of
the solar system 4.6 billion
years ago. The Cloud is
distributed among a huge number of small objects. 1.6 light-years (4.5 million
million miles/7.6 million
These are the minor members of the solar system. million km) across.
They are lumps of rock, or combinations of rock,
dust, ice, and snow. The rocky bodies, the asteroids,
are in the planetary region of the solar system. The
snow and dust objects, the comets, form the Oort
Cloud on the outer edge. In between are the Kuiper
Belt objects discovered at the end of the 20th century.
KUIPER BELT
Many thousands of small, icy bodies
exist in the Kuiper Belt, which begins at
the orbit of Neptune. By 2008, more than
1,000 were known, including four classed
as dwarf planets. The main belt extends
to 55 AU from the Sun, but some objects
are in very elongated orbits that stretch
out as far as 100 AU or more. Sometimes Kuiper Belt
their orbits are disturbed so much by the
gravity of Neptune that they enter the
inner part of the solar system as comets.
ARTISTS IMPRESSION OF KUIPER BELT OBJECT
138
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MINOR MEMBERS
Kopff
(long period)
Neptunes orbit D ISCOVERING THE
Uranuss orbit
Neujmin 3 MINOR MEMBERS
Saturns orbit
(short period)
The first asteroid was
discovered in 1801. A
century later nearly 500 had
Tempel-Tuttle
(short period) been discovered, but still
nobody knew what they
were made of.
Hale-Bopp Halley
(long period) (short period) As recently as 1910 many
people feared the return of
PERIODIC COMETS Halleys Comet. They ate
Comet nuclei from the anti-comet pills and
outer solar system grow dreamed of traveling to the
their comas (glowing heads) safety of the Moon.
and tails only when they
travel near to the Sun and
warm up. Periodic comets
follow paths that return them
regularly to our skies. More than
200 are short-period comets,
which orbit the Sun in less than
200 years. Long-period comets may
FEAR OF COMETS, 1910
take thousands of years to return.
Astronomers continue to
find new minor members.
In particular, they are
looking for Kuiper Belt
Neptune
objects and near-Earth
CENTAURS asteroids.
A group of minor members called centaurs
follow paths between the orbits of Jupiter
and Neptune. Astronomers believe that FIND OUT MORE
centaurs follow these orbits for only a few S OLAR SYSTEM 78
million years. They could be Kuiper Belt B IRTH OF SOLAR SYSTEM 82
objects on their way into the planetary A STEROIDS 140
C OMETS 144
system to become short-period comets. M ETEORS 146
Kuiper Belt
Asteroid Apollo
Asteroid Hidalgo
O R B I T o F
takes 14 years to
J U P orbit the Sun. Chiron, an asteroid discovered
it
E R in 1977, has an unusually
elliptical orbit and is now
Trojans thought to be a comet.
Jupiter N
R
Asteroid Amor u
T
A
Asteroid Aten S
O F
I T Uranus
O R B
140
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MINOR MEMBERS
MAPPING THE MAIN BELT Large asteroids in the Pallas (spin time MARS
About 200,000 asteroids have been Asteroid Belt, showing 7.8 hours)
their sizes relative to Mars.
identified and observed long enough for
their orbits to be calculated. The first
asteroids to be discovered in the early
19th century, starting with Ceres in
1801, were seen through telescopes.
The asteroids that astronomers find
today are too faint to be observed
Ceres (spin time
through a telescope but can be picked 9.1 hours)
out on long-exposure images. The
Main Belt has several gaps, known
as Kirkwood Gaps, which are swept Flora family
free of asteroids by Jupiters gravity. Vesta of asteroids
Kirkwood Gapone of several (spin time (spin time
gaps in the Asteroid Belt. 5.3 hours) 12.8 hours)
Neptune
O R B
I T
OF
N
E
P
tU
N
E
A FAILED PLANET
The Asteroid Belt is believed to be When the impacting body
is 1/50,000th of the body
the leftovers of an unborn planet. it hits, the larger asteroid
Material in the Belt region formed breaks up and forms a
more than 600 large, rocky balls ball of rubble.
protoplanetsbut failed to create
one large body 4.6 billion years ago An asteroid hit by an object
more than 1/50,000th of its
when the solar system planets were mass, breaks up and forms
forming. The gravity of the young a family of asteroids. FIND OUT MORE
planet Jupiter stirred up the S OLAR SYSTEM 78
protoplanets, which collided and B IRTH OF SOLAR SYSTEM 82
broke up to form the large number M INOR MEMBERS 138
Stream of M ETEORS 146
of objects in the Belt today. dust forms. M ETEORITES 148
DWARF PLANETS
fter Pluto was discovered in , it was regarded
A as the ninth major planet, although it was soon found
to be very different from the others. It is smaller than
Earths Moon and follows an elongated, tilted orbit. In the
1990s, astronomers began to discover small bodies similar
to Pluto beyond Neptune. Some, such as Eris, were larger
than Pluto. In 2006, astronomers decided to define a
new category of dwarf planets, including Pluto and
Eris, and Ceres in the asteroid belt.
WHAT IS A DWARF PLANET? Earths Moon
Unlike major planets, dwarf planets inhabit the
Asteroid Belt or the Kuiper Belt. To be a dwarf Pluto
planet, a body has to be massive enough for its
gravity to make it spherical, or nearly so. Ceres Ceres
CERES
Ceres was discovered in 1801 and for
50 years was regarded as a planet, until
many more asteroids were discovered
and it was found to be the largest
member of the Asteroid Belt. So when it
Orbit of Jupiter was categorized as a dwarf planet in
Orbit of Neptune 2006, it was the second time its status
Orbit of Saturn Orbit of Uranus
had been changed. This image was
ORBITS taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.
The plutoid dwarf planets in the
outer solar system typically have
orbits that are more elliptical VITAL STATISTICS
than those of the major planets CERES PLUTO HAUMEA MAKEMAKE ERIS
and are tilted to the main plane Average distance from Sun (AU) 2.77 39.48 43.34 45.79 67.67
of the solar system. This Orbit period (years) 4.6 248 285 310 557
diagram highlights the orbits Orbit tilt (degrees) 11 17 28 29 44
of Pluto and Eris but also shows Diameter (miles) 606 1,433 715 932 1,491
the orbits of ten other bodies
Number of moons 0 3 2 0 1
that might be designated as
dwarf planets in the future. Year discovered 1801 1930 2004 2005 2006
Astronomers estimate that Year designated dwarf planet 2006 2006 2008 2008 2006
several hundred dwarf planets
might be listed when the FIND OUT MORE
properties of these distant S OLAR SYSTEM 78 E XPLORING THE PLANETS 80
objects are better known. B IRTH OF SOLAR SYSTEM 82 M INOR MEMBERS 138
A STEROIDS 140 I MPACTS 150
ANATOMY OF A COMET
Coma can grow to
Throughout its life, a comet consists of a 60,000 miles
nucleusa loose collection of snow and (100,000 km)
across.
rocky dust. Comets that travel through
the inner solar system, however, are Nucleus of snow and dust,
usually only miles in
changed by the Suns heat, and for a size, is hidden from
short time the snow turns to gas and view inside the coma.
forms a glowing headthe coma. The
solar wind and radiation also sweeps
away gas and dust from the nucleus into
two tailsone gas, the other dust.
Bright side
faces the Sun.
Gas and dust are
released from the
nucleus when its
NUCLEUS OF A COMET surface is heated
The only solid part of a comet, the nucleus, by the Sun.
was seen for the first time in March 1986. STARDUST AND COMET WILD 2
The spacecraft Giotto flew to Halleys In January 2004, the spacecraft Stardust
Comet as it followed its path through the Impact crater arrived at Comet Wild 2. It collected
inner solar system. Giotto gathered data for samples of dust and gas, and returned them
about 10 hours, photographing the nucleus to Earth. This is a Stardust image of the
from 375 miles (600 km). It measured Crust of Chain of hills comet nucleus combined with a separate
10 miles (16 km) from end to end. dark dust on surface image of the gas jets streaming from it.
144
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Gas and dust released from
the nucleus are blown away
from the Sun and form tails.
COMETARY TAILS
Dust and gas released from the
nucleus form tails. The gas is
pushed away from the Sun by
charged particles in the solar wind.
Small dust particles are pushed by
the pressure of the Suns light. They
are more affected by the Suns
gravity and so form a curving tail.
The tails are longest
close to the Sun.
Tails shrink as
comet moves away
from the Sun.
A tail typically A comets tail always points
stretches for away from the Sun, whether
60 million miles the comet is traveling toward
(100 million km) or away from it.
into space.
Dust tail, which is
yellowish-white, is the
broader of the two tails.
METEORS
very night, bright streaks of light can be seen in Earths
Esky. These are meteors, also known as shooting stars
because of their appearance.They are caused by pieces of rock
and dustlost by comets or colliding asteroidswhich burn
up as they travel through Earths atmosphere. These particles,
meteoroids, are strewn throughout the solar system. Each year,
Earth sweeps up 200,000 tons of meteoroids.
Particles burn up, appearing as random RAINING METEORS
space meteors, or as part of a Meteors have been seen in Earths sky since
meteor shower. prehistoric times, but when this Leonid
shower occurred in November 1799 it was
known only that they were extraterrestrial.
The link between comets and meteor showers
LIFE OF A METEOR was not made until the late 19th century.
Meteors come from short-period comets or
asteroids. Comets lose material when they Meteoroid stream is a ring of
dust scattered along the orbit
travel close to the Sun, and pieces of asteroid of a short-period comet that
break off when asteroids collide. When a returns at regular intervals.
meteoroid enters Earths atmosphere, it is
heated by friction and evaporates, producing
a trail of lighta meteoralong its path. Earths orbit
Short-period comets leave a stream of Sun
meteoroids along their orbit. If Earth crosses
the orbit of one of these comets, a shower
of meteors is seen. Meteors are best seen in the
Earth moves through the early morning skythe
meteoroid stream resulting part of Earth that is
Orbit of comet
in a meteor shower. moving into the stream.
LEONID SHOWER
This long-exposure photograph shows Leonid meteor shower appears to come from
the stars as short trails of light. The a point in the lions mane. There are usually
longer trails in the foreground are 10 meteors an hour during the Leonids.
meteors that fell as part of the Leonid
meteor shower in November 1966.
The trail of meteors in a shower such
as the Leonids all seem to start from
one point in the sky. This point is
called the radiant.
146
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MINOR MEMBERS
METEORITES
ach year about 3,000 space rocks,
Eweighing more than 2 pounds (1 kg) and
too big to burn up in Earths atmosphere,
STONY METEORITE
Most of the meteorites
found on Earth are
lumps of stone. About
land on Earths surface. These rocks are 3,000 of these have
called meteorites. Most fall in the sea and are been collected. They
can be subdivided,
never found. Other meteorites are seen to based on their texture,
fall on land and are quickly collected from into chondrites that
contain drops of
the ground. Some arrive unnoticed and may solidified rock, and
be discovered years, or even centuries, later. achondrites that do not.
Meteorite consists
METEORITE TYPES of iron-nickel alloy.
METEORITE ORIGINS
Most of the meteorites collected are
from asteroids, but a small number
came from the Moon or Mars, and a few
may be from comets. Meteorites are
also found on the Moon. Most of these
are believed to come from asteroids. ASTRONAUT JACK SCHMITT INVESTIGATES THE SITE OF A METEORITE IMPACT ON THE MOON
148
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MINOR MEMBERS
METEORITE FINDS
The largest known meteorite
was found in the ground in
1920. It is called Hoba West after
its landing site in southwest
Africa. The iron meteorite
remains intact and embedded in
the limestone ground where it
fell. It is a national monument
of Namibia.
Melted surface
solidifies into a
thin black crust.
Molten rock
flows away from
direction of fall.
ANATOMY OF A METEORITE
Friction with the Earths
atmosphere causes the outer
surface of a falling space rock to
heat up and melt. Some
meteorites have a uniform outer
surface, while others have a front
and a rear surface.
U NDERSTANDING
METEORITES
Single falls, or showers of
rocks from a fragmented
meteorite, have been
SEARCHING FOR METEORITES STUDYING METEORITES recorded since ancient
Scientists find about 10 meteorites a year by Most meteorites are kept in museums or universities, Egyptian times.
searching undisturbed areas of the Earth, where they are studied by scientists. Special equipment
including Antarctica, the Sahara Desert, and uses the principle of radioactive decaythe breaking
deserts in Australia. It is easy to spot the dark down of elements to form other elements over time
meteorite falls against the snow and ice. to date meteorites and look at how they are formed.
NOTABLE METEORITES
ENSISHEIM METEORITE FALL
Name and site Tons Year of fall
or find
The Donnerstein
Iron meteorites meteorite, which fell near
Hoba West, Namibia 66 1920 Ensisheim, France, in 1492,
Ahnighito, Greenland 33.4 1895 is the earliest surviving
Bacuberito, Mexico 30 1871 example of a meteorite fall.
Mbosi, Tanzania 29 1930
Stone meteorites
Jilin, China 1.95 1976 A meteorite shower in
Norton County, Kansas 1.1 1948 Jilin, China, on March 8,
Long Island, Kansas 0.6 1891 FALLING METEORITES 1976, was the most widely
Paragould, Arkansas 0.44 1930 Every year about six space rocks are seen or observed fall in history.
Bjurbole, Finland 0.33 1899 heard falling to Earth. On May 5, 1991,
Martian meteorites Arthur Pettifor heard a loud whining followed FIND OUT MORE
Zagami, Nigeria 40 lb (18 kg) 1962
by a crash as a meteorite fell in his yard near M ERCURY S SURFACE 106
Yamato 000593, Antarctica 20 lb (13.7 kg) 2000
Cambridge, England. The stony rock was still M ETEORS 146
hot from its journey through the atmosphere. I MPACTS 150
IMPACTS
hen a meteorite collides with Earth it can
W form an impact cratera bowl-shaped
hollow in the Earths surface. Space rocks have
IMPACT ON MIMAS
All the rocky planets, and
many planetary moons, have
impact craters. The icy
produced craters in this way throughout Earths surface of Mimas, one of
life, especially when the planet was young, about Saturns moons, is covered in
them. One huge crater,
4 billion years ago. Craters of between 3 ft (1 m) and Herschel, is 80 miles (130 km)
more than 600 miles (1,000 km) wide exist in large acrossa third of Mimas
diameter. It was probably the
numbers on planets and moons throughout the solar largest impact that a moon of
system. About 150 have been found on Earth. Mimas size could withstand
without breaking up.
CRATERS ON EARTH
Impact craters are found on every continent on Earth,
but they are most common in parts of Australia,
Europe, and North America. This is not because
more have fallen there, but because the surface
of these areas has changed so little that
craters have been preserved. The smallest
are yards across; the largest on land is
85 miles (140 km). Most were formed
more than 50 million years ago.
MANICOUAGAN CRATER
Astronauts orbiting Earth can make
out the Manicouagan Crater, one of the
largest impact craters in Canada. Two METEOR CRATER, ARIZONA
semicircular lakes form the outline,
which is 60 miles (100 km) across.
METEOR CRATER
This huge, well-preserved crater in
the Arizona Desert has been known
since 1871. It was formed 50,000
years ago when an iron meteorite
100 ft (30 m) wide struck Earth.
The crater measures mile (1.2 km)
across and its rim rises 150 ft (45 m)
above the surrounding desert.
150
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MINOR MEMBERS
TUNGUSKA IMPACT
Space rocks do not have to hit Earth to have
a devastating effect. On June 30, 1908, there SPACE ROCK DETECTION
was an explosion 3 miles (6 km) up in Powerful telescopes are looking for
Earths atmosphere, above the unpopulated space rocks that are following orbits
Tunguska River region of Siberia. It was that will bring them close to Earth.
caused by the disintegration of a small piece Telescopes such as those at the Kitt
of comet or asteroid. The blast uprooted Peak Observatory in Arizona can detect
trees in a 12-mile (30-km) area and was objects as small as mile (1 km) across.
heard up to 600 miles (1,000 km) away. SIZE OF TUNGUSKA IMPACT COMPARED TO NEW YORK CITY
I MPACTS ON EARTH
Earth and other young
planets and moons were
bombarded 4.6 billion to
3.8 billion years ago by
space rocks that were left
over from the formation of
the solar system.
A mountain-sized rock
hit Earth 65 million years
ago and formed the 120 mile
HENBURY CRATERS (200-km) Chicxulub Crater,
A cluster of 11 craters in now under the coastline of
northern Australia includes the Mexico. Some people think
smallest craters on Earth. The the impact also led to the
Henbury Crater Field covers an death of the dinosaurs.
area measuring about half a mile
(1 km) from end to end. The Impact craters are still
craters are thought to have occasionally formed on
been formed by a meteorite Earth. In February 1947,
that broke up in the 23 tons of fragments fell in
atmosphere about 5,000 the Sikhote-Alin mountains,
years ago. The smallest Siberia, and produced craters
crater is 20 ft up to 85 ft (26 m) in diameter.
(6 m) across.
FIND OUT MORE
B IRTH OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM 82
S ATURN S MOONS 132
A STEROIDS 140
M ETEORITES 148
SUNS STRUCTURE
The Suns energy is generated in
the core, where it is so hot
59 million F (15 million C)
that atoms of gas are ripped apart,
leaving just their bare nuclei, or
centers. The energy travels through
the radiative and convective zones to
the surface, or photosphere, where it
leaves the Sun, mostly as light and
infrared radiation. On the way, it passes
through the Suns atmosphere, which
extends millions of miles into space.
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THE SUN
SOLAR OSCILLATIONS
In the early 19th century,
some scientists believed that
The photospherethe Suns surface the Sun was a vast lump of
moves up and down in complex burning coal. Others
patterns of vibration. Most of these thought that it was covered
vibrations, or solar oscillations, are with volcanoes, or that it
caused by sound waves generated was kept hot by meteorites
below the surface in the convective bombarding the surface.
zone and trapped inside the Sun. By
carefully mapping the vibration
patterns of the photosphere,
scientists can figure out the Suns
internal structure.
156
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THE SUN
SUNSPOT CYCLE
The overall number of sunspots rises 200 SUNSPOT ACTIVITY 18502000
and falls over an 11-year cycle. The
Number of sunspots
first spots of each new cycle are seen 150 Flares, prominences, and
near the poles. They gradually other solar events follow the
increase in number, appearing closer same cycle as sunspots.
100
and closer to the equator until the
cycle reaches its peak. The cycle may 50
be caused by the way different parts
of the Suns surface rotate at different 0
speeds, forcing bands of magnetic 1850 1860 1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
activity toward the equator. Date
People held frost fairs on frozen rivers.
Yellow areas are south Dark blue areas are north EFFECT ON CLIMATE
magnetic poles. magnetic poles. Some scientists think that solar
events may influence the Earths
climate, with periods of cooler
weather linked to low solar
activity. One such period was
16451715, when the Sun was
almost spot-free, and the sunspot
cycle seemed to have stopped.
Northern Europe went through a
period of unusually cold weather
now known as the Little Ice Age.
THAMES RIVER, LONDON, DURING LITTLE ICE AGE
MAGNETOGRAM OF
A magnetogram is a map
A SUNSPOT GROUP 35 days ROTATION SPEED
of the Suns magnetic fields. The Sun is a globe of gas, so
33 days
MAGNETIC SUNSPOTS it does not all rotate at the
Sunspots occur in areas of violent magnetic activity 31 days same speed as a solid
called active regions. The magnetic fields inside the object would. The
29 days
Sun are wound up and twisted by the different Suns equator makes
speeds at which the Suns surface rotates. Churning 27 days one rotation roughly
27 days every 25 days, while
gas currents in the photosphere cause loops of 25 days
magnetism to break through the surface and form areas near the poles
sunspots. One end of each loop is a north magnetic turn once every 35
pole, while the other end is a south magnetic pole. days. The way the
Suns surface oscillates,
or vibrates, suggests that
Tower telescopes TIEDE OBSERVATORY, the inner part of the Sun
TENERIFE, CANARY spins like a solid ball, with a
ISLANDS
rotation period of 27 days.
SOLAR OBSERVATORIES
Name Location Type Observations
S OLAR SPACECRAFT
Ulysses was a European Space Agency (ESA) During a total eclipse,
the dark disk of the
craft launched by NASA in 1990 to study the
Moon blots out the
solar wind. Its orbit took it over the Suns polar Sun, revealing the
regions, where it detected high-speed SOHO outer reaches of the
particle streams that do not usually solar atmosphere.
flow past the Earth.
TRACE
ULYSSES
SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory),
launched in 1995, is a joint ESA-NASA craft for
observing the corona and solar oscillations. It is
stationed 900,000 miles (1.5 million km) from Earth.
158
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SUN
SOLAR WIND
Streaming out from the corona
Solar wind into space is the solar wind. It
spirals out Sun consists of particles, such as
from the Sun. electrons and protons, and the
magnetic fields and electric currents
Van Allen radiation that they generate. The strength of
belts trap some particles the solar wind varies with solar
from the solar wind. activity. It affects a region called the
Field is heliosphere, which is 9 billion miles
blown into (15 billion km) from the Sun. The
a long tail. Some of the charged
particles enter the
solar wind passes the Earth at speeds
atmosphere over of 200 to 500 miles/s (300 to
the poles. 800 km/s). The Earths magnetic field
Earth deflects most of the solar wind, but
Magnetic field in the process the field is squeezed
and drawn out into a long tail.
FLARES
Solar flares, violent explosions in the
The eclipse shows up
the corona as a milky- chromosphere above sunspot groups, are
white halo, often caused by a release of magnetic energy.
displaying wisps, loops, They send out bursts of high-energy
and streamers. particles and radiation that can interfere
with radio communications on Earth when
they strike the ionospherethe electrically
charged layer of Earths atmosphere. Flares
can also endanger astronauts in space.
In November 2003,
the SOHO spacecraft FIND OUT MORE
captured this ultraviolet
image of one of the most U LTRAVIOLET ASTRONOMY 26
powerful flares ever recorded. X RAY ASTRONOMY 28
E CLIPSES OF THE SUN 160
visible over a wide area. Total eclipses, when the Sun is completely
hidden, can be seen from only a narrow region of the Earths surface.
In the partial phase
Earth MOONS SHADOW DURING MOONS SHADOW of the eclipse, the
A TOTAL ECLIPSE The shadow cast by the Moon has a dark Sun looks as though
a bite has been taken
center, the umbra, and a lighter area around out of it.
it, the penumbra. During a total eclipse, the
umbra traces a path across the rotating Earth
Warning: never
Umbra that is thousands of miles long, but never look directly at
Night Day more than 165 miles (270 km) wide. the Sun during
an eclipse. It
must be viewed
Moon only through
special filters or
with a projector.
Partial eclipse is visible in Total eclipse is visible in Penumbra A total eclipse can last
areas where the penumbra falls. areas where umbra falls. Direction of Sun up to 7.5 minutes
when the Earth and
Moon are closest to
each other, but it is
TOTAL ECLIPSE usually much briefer.
The Moon appears nearly the same size as the Sun in the
In the few minutes of
sky and covers it almost exactly when the two line up. The totality, the Sun is
Sun disappears, the sky darkens, the stars come out, and the completely hidden by
the disk of the Moon.
Suns pink chromosphere and milky-white corona shine
from around the Moons disk. The period of totality, when The Keck telescope
at Mauna Kea
the Sun is obscured, depends on the Moons distance from Observatory, As an eclipse proceeds,
the Earththe closer the Moon Hawaii. A total the Moon covers more
eclipse occurred and more of the Sun.
is, the longer the eclipse there in July 1991.
lasts. Total eclipses occur
fairly regularly, but any
one place experiences
a total eclipse only
about once every
This eclipse began early
360 years. in the morning, as the
Sun was rising.
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THE SUN
STARRY SKY
On a dark starry night, we can see perhaps
2,500 stars. To our eyes, they appear as little
more than twinkling points of light. Some are
brighter than others, some are grouped in PANORAMIC VIEW
OF THE SOUTHERN
clusters, and here and there a red or blue star MILKY WAY
Coalsack
stands out. It may seem hard to believe, but Nebula
everything we understand about the stars has Alpha Muscae:
magnitude 2.7, type B2
been learned by studying starlight. We know MAGNITUDE SCALE
that they are suns and, like our Sun, they are 4
MAGNITUDE
Type O
Venus
powered by nuclear energy. We know how they 3
Astronomers measure brightness (72,000
in magnitudes. The smaller the 52,000F)
are born, how they live their lives, and how they Sirius 2
magnitude number, the brighter
(brightest 1
die. Astronomers classify stars according to star in 0 the star. The very brightest stars
the sky) Type B
their brightness (magnitude) and color. +1 have negative magnitudes. On a (50,500
+2 dark night, the faintest stars 17,500F)
Polaris +3 visible to the naked eye are
BRIGHTEST STARS Faintest
+4 about magnitude 6. Each step on Type A
star visible +5 the magnitude scale represents (17,300
Name Magnitude Spectral Distance 13,000F)
to the +6 an increase or decrease in
type in ly
naked eye +7 brightness of 2.5 times.
Sirius 1.4 (double star) A0, white dwarf 8.6 +8 Type F
Faintest +9
Canopus 0.6 F0 313 star visible (12,800
Alpha Centauri 0.3 (triple star) G2, K1, M5 4.4 with +10 SPECTRAL TYPES 10,500F)
Arcturus 0.0 K2 36.8 binoculars +11 A stars color depends on its
Vega 0.0 A0 25.3 +12 temperature: the hottest stars Type G
Capella 0.1 (double star) G2, G6 42.2 +13
Rigel 0.2 B8 775 are blue-white and the coolest (10.300
+14 8,500F)
Procyon 0.4 (double star) F5, white dwarf 11.4 are orange-red. Astronomers
+15
Achernar 0.5 B3 144 classify stars into seven spectral
+16
Betelgeuse 0.5 (variable star) M2 640 types: O, B, A, F, G, K, and M, Type K
+17
+18
where O is the hottest and M (8,300
the coolest. Each spectral 6,000F)
FIND OUT MORE +19
Faintest star
A NALYZING LIGHT 18 R ADIATIONS FROM SPACE 20 visible on sky +20 type has 10 subdivisions,
I NSIDE THE SUN 154 H OW FAR ARE THE STARS 166 survey +21 numbered 0 to 9 (hotter to Type M
P ROPERTIES OF STARS 168 L IFECYCLE OF STARS 170 photographs cooler). The Sun is type G2. (6,000
+22 3,800F)
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LIFE OF THE STARS
SPECTRUM SHOWING DARK LINES OF 3 ELEMENTS Wavelengths are longest at red end.
DOPPLER SHIFT
The wavelengths of dark lines in a stars spectrum are affected by
the stars motion. This is the Doppler effect. Motion toward the
Earth shortens the wavelengths, shifting the lines toward the blue
end of the spectrum (blue shift). Motion away from the Earth
stretches the wavelengths and shifts the lines toward the red end of
the spectrum (red shift). By measuring the changes in wavelength,
astronomers can calculate the stars speed along the line of sight.
Star Wavelengths are squeezed by stars motion. Earth
BLUE SHIFT OF STAR MOVING TOWARD EARTH Dark lines shift toward
Theta Carinae: blue end of spectrum.
magnitude 2.8,
type B0 Star Wavelengths are stretched by stars motion. Earth
Lambda Muscae:
magnitude 3.6, type A7
Mu Muscae:
magnitude 4.8, type K4 Bright patch of RED SHIFT OF STAR MOVING AWAY FROM EARTH Dark lines shift toward
hotter gas red end of spectrum.
In 1868, William Huggins used the Doppler effect to find that Shape changes
significantly over
Sirius was moving away from the Sun at 29 miles/s (47 km/s).
200,000 years.
VARIABLE STARS
he stars do not shine as constantly as they
Tappear to at first sight. Stars that vary in
brightness are known as variable stars. In some
variables, such as pulsating, eclipsing, and
rotating ones, there is a regular pattern or period
to their variation. Others, such as eruptive and NOVA IN CONSTELLATION OF CYGNUS, 1975 CYGNUS AFTER THE NOVA Position of
cataclysmic variables, are more unpredictable in former nova
their behavior. A star may vary because it gives CATACLYSMIC VARIABLES
Stars that burst into brilliance when they undergo sudden, violent
out changing amounts of light, or because its changes are cataclysmic variables. They include novas and
light is obscured by shifting dust clouds or a supernovas. A nova occurs when a white dwarf in a double, or
companion star. By plotting graphs, or light binary, star system pulls hydrogen gas off its companion. The gas
builds up until there is a nuclear explosion. In 1975, a nova appeared
curves, of the stars brightness, astronomers in Cygnus, briefly making the binary star 40 million times brighter.
can figure out why the brightness varies.
ETA CARINAE AND Keyhole Nebula is a dark cloud of
KEYHOLE NEBULA
gas and dust silhouetted against
the bright Carina Nebula.
Today, most of Eta
Carinaes energy is in
the form of infrared Carina Nebula,
radiation. which measures
about 300 light-years
across, includes the
Homunculus Keyhole Nebula.
Nebula
envelops star
in dust.
The Keyhole
Nebula lies
about 9,000 light-
Eta Carinae years away.
is thought to be a
luminous supergiant
star, 100 times the
mass of the Sun.
Hinds Variable
Nebula also varies
ETA CARINAE in brightness by
The brightness of Eta Carinae has fluctuated T Tauri flickers reflecting the light
erratically. from T Tauri.
dramatically since it was recorded by Edmond ERUPTIVE VARIABLES
Halley in 1677. By the middle of the 19th Stars that brighten or fade with no
century, it had become the second brightest star regular pattern are called eruptive
in the sky at magnitude 0.8, but then suddenly variables. Their brightness varies
as violent changes occur in their
plunged to below magnitude 6. Eta Carinae had outer atmospheres. Some puff
thrown out a thick cloud of obscuring dust now out clouds of smoke that make
known as the Homunculus Nebula. The shifting them suddenly fade. Others, such
dust and the stars unstable outer layers account as T Tauri, are young stars still
shrinking to a stable size as stellar
for the variations in its brightness. Eta Carinae is winds blow away the dust and gas
classed as an eruptive variable. from which they formed.
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LIFE OF THE STARS
Brightness
variables (named after Delta
constellation of Scorpius
Cephei) are yellow supergiants
and was inspired to compile
that pulsate in a cycle that
the first star catalog.
lasts 1 to 50 days. Time Light curve peaks quickly,
LIGHT CURVE OF CEPHEID VARIABLE then declines slowly.
In 1596, German
astronomer David Fabricius
Star dims dramatically when There is a slight dimming when
brighter star is eclipsed. the fainter star is eclipsed.
(15641617) noted a varying
ECLIPSING VARIABLES star, later named Mira by
Some pairs of stars are so Polish astronomer Johannes
close to each other that they Hevelius (161187).
look like a single star. In
addition, if their orbits are 17TH-CENTURY
angled edge-on to the Earth, ENGRAVING
Period for one orbit
each star periodically passes OF PERSEUS,
Brightness
Algol is
Computerized images STARSPOTS ON the left eye
show half a rotation AB DORADUS of Medusas
of the star. severed head.
ROTATING
The more spots and the
larger the area they cover, Italian astronomer and
the dimmer the star. mathematician Geminiano
VARIABLES Montanari (163387)
Some stars vary Spots may be up to noticed in 1669 that Algol
because their surfaces 1,000 times bigger than varies in brightness. In 1782,
are covered with spots sunspots on the Sun.
Englishman John Goodricke
similar to sunspots. As the (176486) proposed that
stars rotate, different groups of Algol is an eclipsing binary.
spots come into view and the brightness
changes. One such star is AB Doradus, a
cool dwarf star about 65 light-years from the Goodricke discovered
Delta Cephei (the first
Sun. It varies by up to 0.15 magnitudes over a period of Cepheid variable) in 1784.
12.4 hours, the time it takes to complete one rotation. In 1912, Henrietta Leavitt
discovered that the pulsation
period of a Cepheid variable
IMPORTANT VARIABLE STARS is related to its luminosity.
Star Magnitude Period Type
Star dims when
(days)
dark spots come
into view.
Algol 2.13.4 2.9 Eclipsing
Betelgeuse 0.01.3 2,100 Pulsating (semi-regular)
Cor Caroli A 2.842.96 5.5 Rotating Algol
Delta Cephei 3.54.4 5.4 Pulsating (Cepheid)
Epsilon Aurigae 2.93.8 9,892 Eclipsing
Eta Carinae 0.87.9 Eruptive
OBSERVING ALGOL
Mira 2.010.1 332 Pulsating (long period) Algol is an eclipsing variable in
R Coronae Borealis 5.714.8 Eruptive (deep fades) Perseus. Algols eclipses last about 10
T Coronae Borealis 2.010.8 Cataclysmic (recurrent nova) hours and dim the brightness by just
over one magnitude. They occur
FIND OUT MORE every 2.9 days, and are easily viewed
S UN S SURFACE 156 M EASURE OF THE STARS 162 without a telescope. Perseus is best
P ROPERTIES OF STARS 168 C LUSTERS AND DOUBLES 174 seen on fall and winter evenings in
S UPERNOVAS 184 B INOCULAR ASTRONOMY 268 the northern hemisphere.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Light-years
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Parsecs
166
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LIFE OF THE STARS
51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
things about it, such as its size, mass, and age. We find tiny
white dwarfs about the size of the Earth and supergiants
big enough to engulf much of our solar system. Some
stars are only a few million years old, while others are
almost as ancient as the universe itself. To sort out the
LUMINOSITY AND ABSOLUTE MAGNITUDE
different types of stars, astronomers draw a special graph A stars real brightness, compared with the Sun, is
called a Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) diagram. called its visual luminosity: stars range from
100,000 times to 1/100,000 of the Suns brightness.
About 10 low-mass, Astronomers also refer to luminosity in terms of a
Two white dwarfs hydrogen-burning stars absolute magnitude, which is the magnitude
Sun are heavier than type M stars would the star would appear if it were 10 parsecs
the Sun. Sun balance the Sun.
(32.6 light-years) from the Earth.
Sun: 100
P LOTTING THE STARS times size
of white
In 1906, Ejnar Hertzsprung drew a Hydrogen-burning type
M star: 1/10 size of Sun
dwarf
White
dwarf
diagram showing how stars could be
classified into two groups, now called
main sequence stars and giants.
168
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LIFE OF THE STARS
Betelgeuse
10,000 5
Alnitak Canopus
Antares
Achernar
1,000 Polaris
Spica Alphard
Mirfak
Alnath
Dubhe
100 Alioth
Regulus Arcturus 0
Castor Aldebaran
Gacrux
Vega Altair
Visual luminosity (Sun = 1)
Procyon A
Pollux
Absolute magnitude
Sirius
10
Fomalhaut Alpha Centauri A
Sun Tau Ceti
1 Alpha Centauri B +5
61 Cygni A
0.1
61 Cygni B
Sirius B
40 Eridani B
0.01 +10
ZZ Ceti
0.001 Procyon B
Barnards Star
0.000,01
O B A F G K M
Spectral type
White dwarfs are the burned-out cores Stars at the bottom of the main sequence
of stars that have used up all their fuel. are cool, small, red, and low-mass.
MASSES OF MAIN SEQUENCE STARS MAIN SEQUENCE LUMINOSITY LIFESPANS OF MAIN SEQUENCE STARS
Stars lie on the main sequence in order of The luminosity of a main sequence The hot, bright stars at the top end of the
their mass, with the most massive at top left star depends on its massthe more main sequence will burn all their nuclear
and the least massive at bottom right. Brown massive the star, the greater its fuel within about a million years. Stars at the
dwarfs are smaller bodies that do not appear luminosity. The brightest stars are at bottom end are shining so faintly that their
on the main sequence, since they never get the top of the main sequence, and hydrogen will last at least 100 billion years
hot enough for nuclear reactions to start. the faintest stars are at the bottom. longer than the current age of the universe.
LIFECYCLE OF STARS
Nuclear reactions in the star Star sheds material
produce heavier elements. during the course of
its life.
visitor from another planet could visit the hydrogen and helium
gas of a molecular
Earth, he or she would see many kinds of cloud. Inside the star,
people of different sizes and shapes. Our visitor the hydrogen and helium
might guess that the smallest creatures were are changed into heavier
elements. Stars return some of
newly born, and then try to figure out how the their material back into space. This
different kinds of bigger people fit into the discarded material is then recycled to make Gas and dust particles
shed by stars join with
human lifecycle. In a similar way, by studying new stars. The Sun and the Earth are made interstellar material in
of material that was once inside a star. gigantic molecular clouds.
the different types of star, astronomers are able
to piece together the entire stellar lifecycle.
1 Far out in space a cold,
dark cloud of gas and
dust starts to contract under
2 As the cloud shrinks and
heats up, it breaks into
smaller clumps, each of which
the pull of its own gravity. will form a protostar.
STELLAR EVOLUTION
A star begins its life as a shrinking clump of gas and
dust called a protostar. It stops shrinking when
nuclear fusion reactions start in its core. The first
reactions fuse hydrogen to make helium. Later,
helium is changed into carbon, oxygen, andin the
biggest starsiron. Eventually, there is nothing left to
burn and the star collapses. For a few massive stars,
this results in a supernova explosion.
Temperature
Supergiant Supernova
LIFE ON THE MAIN SEQUENCE
Stars spend most of their lives on the main sequence
of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, generating 7 As its
hydrogen
fuel runs out,
MA
Planetary energy by nuclear reactions that steadily convert the star expands
IN nebula hydrogen into helium. As the hydrogen is gradually
SE
QU
to become a red
Path of
E NC
E
used, the star becomes slightly hotter and bigger. supergiant.
high-mass
star Red
giant
Path of
lower-mass star
Absolute magnitude
Visual luminosity
White
dwarf
O B A F G K M
Spectral type
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LIFE OF THE STARS
Suns story
1 STEADY BURNER Most stars are not
heavy enough to become supernovas.
Stars like the Sun spend billions of years
2 SWELLING STAR When all the
hydrogen is used, the Sun will swell
to become a red giant, burning helium
3 WHITE DWARF The planetary
nebula will disperse, leaving the
Suns core exposed. The core is a white
burning up their hydrogen on the main instead of hydrogen. When the helium dwarfa small, dense ball of cinders
sequence before ending their lives in a runs out, the Sun will puff off its outer with no nuclear fuel left. Over billions
quieter, less spectacular fashion. layers to form a planetary nebula. of years, it will cool and fade away.
White Star
dwarf gradually
Main sequence star Red giant Planetary nebula fades.
3 Each protostar is
shrouded in gas and
dust, which flattens into a
4 Eventually, the contracting
protostar bursts into life
and strong jets of gas escape
5 Dust grains condense
and stick together in
the disk around the
6 The young, fully
formed star is now
fusing hydrogen to
disk as the protostar spins. from either side of the disk. protostar, and may make helium on the STARBIRTH
eventually form planets. main sequence. A molecular cloud may contract
under the pull of its own gravity
and split up into smaller clumps.
These clumps warm up as they
continue to shrink and grow more
dense. Astronomers can detect
radio waves and infrared radiation
from the clumps before they are hot
enough to emit light. Eventually
they start to glow. At 50 million F
(10 million C), nuclear reactions
start and new stars are born.
10 Eventually, the iron core
collapses and the star
explodes as a brilliant supernova.
8 The core is
now hotter. The
star uses its helium
9 Nuclear reactions produce
heavier and heavier elements,
until a core of iron builds up. 11 Most of the stars matter is
blown away by the supernova.
to make carbon The stars collapsed core may survive
and oxygen. as a neutron star or a black hole.
Absolute magnitude
SE
QU
E
Visual luminosity
start to shine, they light up and heat the cloud with the NC
E
radiation they give out. Such a glowing cloud is called a nebula. Path of
lower-mass
Fully formed
As the stars shine, the rest of the dark cloud is squeezed by the young star protostar
powerful radiation, and it starts to collapse. Over millions of
O B
years, the whole cloud will turn into stars. Spectral type
A F G K M
OMEGA NEBULA
Another well known star-forming region is the Omega Nebula,
about 5,000 light-years away. Thick dust clouds block visible light
from the inside of the nebula, but infrared light passes through the
dust to reveal a mass of baby stars. Radiation from the new stars
squeezes the dust clouds and triggers a new bout of star formation.
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LIFE OF THE STARS
PROTOPLANETARY DISK
A new star is being hatched inside
this small, dark disk of dust and
gas. The protostar, which is only a
few hundred thousand years old,
has about one-fifth the mass of the
While nuclear Sun. The surrounding disk is seven-
reactions begin in
the protostars, the
and-a-half times the diameter of
disks may condense to Plutos orbit and contains about
form planets. seven times the mass of the Earth.
Stars of the Trapezium light up the nebula.
INTERESTING NEBULAS
Name Constellation Distance in Diameter in
light-years light-years
starsare found all along the Milky Ways spiral arms. Clusters
are important, because all their stars were born out of the
same material at the same time. Astronomers study
them to find out how stars evolve. Even seemingly
solitary stars have surprises in store: when
examined with a telescope, about half the stars
in the sky prove to be doubles or multiples.
Measuring the movements of such stars is the
only reliable way to find the masses of stars.
AGES OF CLUSTERS
Young clusters, such as NGC
2264, are full of short-lived, hot,
blue stars. They are often found
in or near the nebula from which
they formed. The gas of the
nebula has long dispersed from
older clusters such as M67. Old
clusters contain many red
giants, which are stars that have
used their hydrogen fuel and are
nearing the end of their lives. M67, A 3.2-BILLION-YEAR-OLD CLUSTER
OPEN CLUSTERS
Name Constellation Age in millions Distance in Number
of years light-years of stars
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LIFE OF THE STARS
Asterope
DOUBLE STARS
Taygeta Two stars that are not really close may
look as if they are paired if they lie Balance
Maia
along the same line of sight. These are point
Electra
INTERACTING BINARIES
Some binary systems are interacting: the stars are so close
together that gas passes between them. In a semidetached
Streaks in the binary, one of the stars has swollen and is spilling gas on to
dust clouds are the other. In a contact binary, the stars are touching each
caused by
interstellar
other and share a common outer atmosphere. Interacting
magnetic fields. binaries often appear as variable stars, and may also be
strong sources of X-rays.
Stream of gas Swollen yellow
snatched from star loses mass.
companion.
GLOBULAR CLUSTERS
ew sights in the sky are more magnificent than a
Fto aglobular cluster. These tight-knit swarms of up
million stars inhabit the lonely outer reaches
of the Milky Way. Our galaxy may contain as
many as 200 of them, and other galaxies
contain many more. In addition to being
beautiful, globular clusters are of great
scientific importance. Their stars are
among the oldest in the galaxy and help
astronomers to determine the age of
the universe. In recent years,
astronomers have discovered younger
globular clusters in other galaxies, and
it now seems that some globulars are
being formed even as we watch.
M4 Scorpius 7,000 50
M22 Sagittarius 10,000 70
47 Tucanae Tucana 15,000 140
Omega Centauri Centaurus 17,000 180
M13 (Great Cluster) Hercules 23,000 110 Sun
M92 Hercules 25,000 85
M5 Serpens 25,000 130 MAPPING GLOBULARS
M15 Pegasus 31,000 110 Unlike open clusters, which are found only in the disk of the
M3 Canes Venatici 32,000 150 Milky Way, globular clusters occupy a spherical region around
M2 Aquarius 37,000 140 the galaxys central bulge. Astronomers find the distances to
globulars by examining RR Lyrae stars within the clusters. RR
FIND OUT MORE Lyrae stars are a type of pulsating variable star. All RR Lyrae stars
P ROPERTIES OF STARS 168 V ARIABLE STARS 164 have the same luminosity, so astronomers can calculate how far
H OW FAR ARE THE STARS 166 C LUSTERS AND DOUBLES 174 M ILKY WAY 194 away the globulars are by measuring the brightness of these stars.
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LIFE OF THE STARS
47 Tucanae measures
140 light-years across
I DENTIFYING GLOBULARS
and has a mass of about
a million Suns.
In 1677, Edmond Halley recorded the globular Omega
Centauri on a trip to the South Atlantic island of St. Helena.
Globulars probably
contain many white
dwarfs, but they are
In the 1830s, English astronomer John Herschel realized that
too faint to see.
Omega Centauri was made up of countless separate stars.
FORMATION OF GLOBULARS
Globulars are typically 10 billion years old. Astronomers used to
think that globulars were created as their parent galaxies first
started to form. But the Hubble Space Telescope has found much
younger globulars, especially in galaxies that are colliding with
each other. Some of our own globulars
may have been brought to the
Milky Way by smaller galaxies
that collided with it in the
past. Astronomers have also
found a giant open cluster,
R136, that is so big it may
be in the process of
becoming a globular.
galaxy from
almost pure
hydrogen and
helium.
H-R DIAGRAM
Omega Centauri looks like OF A VERY OLD
a slightly fuzzy, bright star. O B A F G K M
GLOBULAR
Spectral type
Light waves
from star
Earth,
16 Cygni B, 93 million miles
155 million miles
Stars
70 Virginis, spectrum
40 million miles
Rho Coronae
Borealis,
21 million miles
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LIFE OF THE STARS
S EARCHING FOR
SOLAR SYSTEMS
Time A stars brightness In 1964, US astronomer
would be reduced by Peter van de Kamp
LIGHT CURVE OF STAR WITH TRANSITTING PLANET
one-ten-thousandth by (190195) claimed to have
an Earth-sized planet. detected a planet in orbit
around Barnards Star, one
PULSAR PLANETS of the stars nearest to the
The pulsar PSR 1257+12 is orbited by at least three planets, Sun. No one has been able
each with a mass similar to that of the Earth. Another Telescope to confirm its existence.
planet has been found around the pulsar PSR 1620-26. A blacks out
pulsar forms when a star explodes as a supernova; how star so that
existing planets could survive such a cataclysmic event is a surrounding In 1984, infrared
disk can be emissions from the star Beta
puzzle. One possibility is that the planets formed after the seen. Pictoris were shown to be
supernova, from the debris left by the explosion. produced by a disk of gas
and dust in which planets
are forming.
BETA PICTORIS
Astronomers have discovered
The first definite example
of an extrasolar planet was
planets that are being formed found in orbit around the
around newborn stars. Beta Pictoris star 51 Pegasi in 1995.
is a young star surrounded by a
swirling disk of gas and dust. The
disk is quite cool, but glows brightly
FIND OUT MORE
at infrared wavelengths. Planets are
probably forming within the disk, S OLAR SYSTEM 78
B IRTH OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM 82
in the same way that the planets of L IFE ON OTHER WORLDS 236
our own solar system formed E XTRATERRESTRIAL
ARTISTS IMPRESSION OF A PULSAR SEEN FROM ITS PLANET around the young Sun. INTELLIGENCE 238
RED GIANTS
Convection cells carry heat from the
core to the surface in rising and falling
currents of hot gas. Some of the
elements made in the core are
carried to the surface as well.
tars do not live forever. A time comes when the
Sreactions
supply of hydrogen dwindles and the nuclear
in the core die down. But instead of
INSIDE A RED GIANT STAR
Helium-burning
inner shell at
fading away, the star now balloons out to become 180 million F
(100 million C)
a brilliant red giant maybe a hundred times its
former diameter. More massive stars become Carbon and oxygen
powerful supergiants, bright enough to be products of helium
burning
seen across intergalactic space. This
transformation happens because, deep
within its core, the star has tapped a Helium produced
by main sequence
new source of energy, helium, that can hydrogen burning
keep it shining for a while longer.
Hydrogen continues
to burn in a shell
on the outside of
INSIDE A RED GIANT the core.
HERTZSPRUNG-RUSSELL
DIAGRAM
MA
IN S
EQU EVOLUTION OF GIANT STARS
ENC A star enters the giant phase when the
E
hydrogen in its core runs out. As the STELLAR WINDS
Visual luminosity
180
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STAR DEATH
SUPERGIANTS
Stars with more than eight times SIZES OF RED GIANTS
the mass of the Sun leave the main Giant stars have a huge range of sizes. When it first
sequence to become supergiants. leaves the main sequence, a typical star can swell up
Like giants, their source of energy to 200 times the diameter of the Sun. Once helium
is the fusion of helium. Unlike burning starts, the star will settle down to between
giants, the carbon and oxygen 10 and 100 times the diameter of the Sun.
produced can undergo further Supergiants can be even bigger and may exceed
nuclear fusion, to make 1,000 times the Suns diameter. One of the biggest
heavier elements. Antares stars of all, the red supergiant Mu Cephei, is bigger
is a red than the orbit of Saturn.
SUPERGIANT STAR ANTARES supergiant.
SPOTTING
PLANETARY NEBULAS
BUTTERFLY NEBULA Planetary nebulas are faint and
One of the most beautiful planetary nebulas is Minkowski often cannot be seen without
2-9, an example of a butterfly nebula. Astronomers believe a telescope. One of the easiest to
that the white dwarf at its center is pulling material off a find is the Ring Nebula in Lyra,
larger companion star, creating a swirling disc of gas and to the southeast of Vega and east
dust. When the red giant blew off its outer layers, the disk of Sheliak. It looks like a small,
deflected the material into two jets, streaming out at more faint smoke ring and can be seen
than 200 mph (300 km/s). The nebula lies about 2,100 through a small telescope on a
light-years from Earth in the constellation of Ophiuchus, dark, moonless night.
and is about 1,200 years old.
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STAR DEATH
WHITE DWARFS
At the center of every planetary nebula is a tiny,
Hydrogen makes up most of the hot star called a white dwarf. This is the burned-
material in the nebula. In this Hubble out core of the original red giant, rich in carbon
Space Telescope photograph, and oxygen produced by the stars helium-
it is shown in red.
burning reactions, and exposed now the outer
layers have been removed. Because they are no
Heavier elements, such as longer producing energy, white dwarfs have
oxygen and nitrogen, show collapsed down to a very small volumea typical
up as green and blue areas.
white dwarf has the mass of the Sun compressed
into a volume about the size of the Earth. About
10 percent of all the stars in the galaxy may be
white dwarfs, but they are so faint that only the
nearest ones can be seen.
Sirius B is the closest white dwarf to the
Sun. It is a tiny star in orbit around the
bright star Sirius.
Supergiants
Planetary Red giants
EVOLUTION OF WHITE DWARFS
nebula phase Temperature
When a red giant puffs off its outer
Absolute magnitude
layers, the exposed core is seen as the
bright central star in a planetary
nebula, on the far left of the
Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. The core
mai is extremely hot and appears as a bright
n se
que point of light with a temperature as
nce
high as 180,000F (100,000C). As the
Visual luminosity
SUPERNOVAS
he most massive stars of all end their lives in a
T colossal explosion known as a supernova. The star
erupts into space, and for a few days can outshine an
Material being
pulled from
companion star
entire galaxy. We can still see the glowing remains of White dwarf
shattered stars that blew up hundreds or thousands of
years ago. Supernovas are rareonly two or three are
expected in our galaxy each century, and most of these
will be hidden by interstellar dust. The last one seen in
Large companion star
the Milky Way was in 1604, but astronomers have
found many more in other galaxies. O THER KINDS OF SUPERNOVAS
An exploding supergiant is a Type II supernovaa
STAGES OF COLLAPSE Supergiant may be more Type Ia supernova is even more powerful. As a small,
than a thousand times the
diameter of the Sun.
dense white dwarf star pulls gas from a larger
companion star, it can increase its mass until it can
Hydrogen makes up no longer support itself and collapses, destroying
most of star.
Core looks like an itself in a huge explosion. Type Ia supernovas always
onion, with layers of reach the same brightness and can be used to
different elements. measure the distance to faraway galaxies.
Nuclear fusion cannot
create elements heavier
Other heavy than iron, and a large Shockwave from collapse tears through the
elements central region of iron star, creating an immense explosion. Heavy
builds up. elements blown out into space help form
Iron at the next generation of stars.
center
Outer layers of core Subatomic neutrinos
collapse inward. burst from iron at center.
Dense core
COLLAPSE OF A STAR
When a star greater than about
eight times the mass of the Sun
runs out of hydrogen, it swells to
become a supergiant. Unlike red
giants, supergiants are hot enough
inside to use the carbon and oxygen Iron core reaches 1.4 solar
made by helium-burning as fuel for masses and cannot support its
own weight. It collapses in on
making heavier elements. Supergiants itself, setting off reactions that Neutron star or
can create elements as heavy as iron. make elements heavier than iron. black hole forms
from collapsed core.
SUPERNOVA 1987A
The brightest supernova in Earths skies
for almost four centuries appeared on
February 23, 1987, in the Large Magellanic
Cloud, a small satellite galaxy of the Milky
Way. Over 85 days, the stars brightness rose
to magnitude 2.8, and it was easily visible
without a telescope, but the supernova was
surprisingly faint compared with those in
distant galaxies. Astronomers also detected
Three years before the explosion, the star that became Supernova 1987A continued to brighten until May 20,
a burst of neutrinos from the collapse of Supernova 1987A was a barely visible blue supergiant powered by radioactive elements created in the
the core three hours before the star known as Sanduleak 69202. It originally had a mass explosion. The original stars compact structure
began to brighten. about 20 times that of the Sun. affected its maximum brightness.
184
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STAR DEATH
Site of supernova
The term supernova was
invented by Walter Baade
and Fritz Zwicky in 1934.
1941 photograph of the
same area shows a In 1942, the Crab Nebula
brilliant supernova. was identified as the
Comparing such glowing remains of the
photos can reveal 1054 supernova.
changes in the
galaxys stars.
In the 1950s, US
astronomer William Fowler
(191195) and Fred Hoyle
Outer layers SEARCHING FOR SUPERNOVAS explained how a supernova
of star blasted Astronomers cannot predict when a star will is created when a massive
out into space. explode, and until recently supernovas were star runs out of fuel.
discovered only by accident. Professional
NOTABLE SUPERNOVAS astronomers today use automatic telescopes
Supernova 1987A in the
and computers to search hundreds of distant Large Magellanic Cloud was
Year Constellation Magnitude Distance in
light-years
galaxies in one night. Amateur astronomers the first nearby supernova
also play an important part in hunting for to be studied with modern
185 Centaurus 8 9,800 supernovas. Some use traditional photography, instruments.
386 Sagittarius 1.5 16,000 others use electronic cameras, while many
393 Scorpius 0 34,000 just use their eyes and memory. They have
1006 Lupus 9.5 3,500 discovered more than 130 supernovas FIND OUT MORE
1054 Taurus 5 6,500 U NUSUAL TELESCOPES 32
1181 Cassiopeia 0 8,800
since 1957, when the first amateur
discovery of a supernova was made. L IFECYCLE OF STARS 170
1572 Cassiopeia 4 7,500 N EUTRON STARS 186
1604 Ophiuchus 3 12,500 B LACK HOLES 188
1987 Dorado 2.8 160,000 S CALE OF THE UNIVERSE 218
CRAB NEBULA
The best known neutron star lies at the heart
of the Crab Nebula, the remains of a star that
exploded as a supernova almost 1,000 years
ago. Although most of the stars material has
been flung over a region of space 15 light-
years across, the collapsed core of the star
remains. Spinning furiously 30 times a
second, the neutron star is the powerhouse Gas from the
of the nebula, pouring out energy in the explosion, driven
outward at
form of light, radio waves, and X-rays. 600 miles/s
(1,000 km/s)
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STAR DEATH
Ripples spread out Astronomers have discovered more than Rotation axis
from the pulsar as its a thousand pulsars since the first one was
radio beams heat the
gas around them. found in 1967. Pulsars are strongly magnetic,
spinning neutron stars that send out Magnetic field
rhythmic bursts of radio waves. The fastest
pulsar sends out a pulse 642 times a second, Neutron star
while the slowest pulses every 5.1 seconds.
Most pulsars lie in our Milky Way Galaxy, but
many have been found in globular clusters.
Magnetars are a type of neutron star with
an even stronger magnetic field. They may Beam of
radio waves
be linked to some mysterious gamma-ray
bursts from space.
Magnetic pole
BLACK HOLES
he most bizarre objects in the universe, black
T holes are aptly namedthey emit no visible
light at all. And yet, most black holes are the end
CYGNUS LOOP
SUPERNOVA REMNANT
X-rays emitted by
hot gas in explosion
state of the most brilliant objects in the cosmos:
giant stars that go supernova. The supercompressed
No central
core that remains after the explosion has such neutron star
strong gravity that even light cannot escape itso
the object is black. And since nothing can travel FORMATION
faster than light, anything that falls in is trapped When a supernova explodes, the stars core
usually collapses to become a neutron star, but
foreverso it is also a hole in space. Tracking down not alwaysthis fiery supernova remnant
black holes against the blackness of space is a great shows no sign of a central neutron star. If the
collapsing core is heavier than three solar
challenge, but astronomers are now masses, even densely packed neutrons cannot
convinced that they do exist. hold up against gravity, and the star collapses
completely to become a black hole.
DETECTION
Black holes can be
detected only if they are
Small orbit Companion
star close to another star. The
Balance point
holes powerful gravity pulls
WEIGHING A BLACK HOLE streamers of gas off its
When astronomers find a star in orbit with an invisible companion. The gas pours down
companion, they can weigh the companion to discover toward the black hole, forming a
whether it is a neutron star or a black hole. A neutron star
can be no heavier than three solar masses, so anything
spiral vortex around it called an
more massive must be a black hole. Both objects orbit accretion disk. Friction makes the
around the same balance point in the system, and the swirling gas so hot that it glows fiercely
relative masses of the two stars can be found by looking the hottest parts reach up to 180 million F
at the position of this balance point. Astronomers find the
mass of the visible star from its brightness and color, and (100 million C) and emit X-rays.
can then figure out the mass of its companion. Dust ring feeding Region of
accretion disk black hole
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STAR DEATH
Particles generated by
intense gravitational
field cause a faint glow.
Outer event
Event
Singularity horizon
horizon Inner event
horizon Ergosphere
Objects may go
into orbit around the Objects can escape the
Singularity black hole. black hole if they give
it a wide berth.
STATIONARY BLACK HOLE SPINNING BLACK HOLE
Objects that come too
close to the black hole are
inevitably drawn in. Schwarzschild radius
ANATOMY OF A BLACK HOLE
All black holes have the same basic structure. The
singularity at the center is surrounded by an invisible Event horizon: once
boundary called the event horizon: nothing can escape inside this boundary,
from inside it. The size of the event horizon is the light cannot escape
Once inside the event horizon, from the hole.
Schwarzschild radius, named after the physicist who object spirals down the steep
first realized its importance. A spinning black hole is sides of the gravitational well. Gravitational well is bottomless,
more complex, with an ergosphere (a region like a trapping matter and light in the
cosmic whirlpool), an extra inner event horizon, black hole forever.
and a singularity shaped like a ring.
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STAR DEATH
3 A frozen mirage of
the astronaut,
reddened and with her
two-way traffic.
In 1939, US physicist
J. Robert Oppenheimer
watch stopped, is seen on (190467) calculated
the event horizon long
after she has fallen in, that black holes
fatally spaghettified. Wormhole tunnel is held were the ultimate
up by antigravity material. stage in a stars
Black hole tunnels are collapse.
thought to pinch off at
the singularity.
NASAS UHURU
WORMHOLES X-RAY SATELLITE
Scientists once thought that rotating black holes
might offer a shortcut to another part of the
universeor even another universeparticularly
large black holes with little spaghettifying effect.
But further calculations showed that the tunnel
American astrophysicist
John Wheeler (19112008)
formed by a black hole would be unstable. One coined the name black hole
way to get through would be to build an artificial in 1967.
black hole, called a wormhole, with sides
Light emerges from the other
end of the wormhole,
supported by some kind of antigravity substance
(though no such substance is yet known).
Cygnus X-1, the first
distorted by curving space. black hole to be identified,
was discovered by the
American Uhuru satellite
in 1971.
D ISTORTING SPACE AND TIME Normal space
MILKY WAY
ur home in the universe is the Milky Way Galaxy. If you could look
O down on the Milky Way from above, the view would be a bit like flying
over a glittering city at night. The Sun is just one of the 400 billion stars
that inhabit this space city. Mingled in with the stars are vast clouds of dust
Halo Disk Central bulge
and gas, the material from which future stars will be made. In places, the
SHAPE OF THE MILKY WAY
clouds are pierced by brilliant nebulas in which stars have just formed. The Viewed from the side, the
Milky Way is a spinning, spiral-shaped galaxy 100,000 light-years (ly) across, galaxy is shaped like a flat
OVERHEAD VIEW OF
but only 2,000 ly thick. Astronomers disk with a bulge at its center.
Surrounding the disk is a huge
THE MILKY WAY think it began life billions of years spherical region called the halo,
ago as a vast, rotating cloud of gas which marks the original extent
The disk that collapsed into a disk under of the galaxy when it was a ball
contains long, of gas. The halo contains
sweeping the force of its own gravity, but globular star clusters and
spiral arms.
was then enlarged by mergers mysterious dark matter.
with nearby galaxies.
Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy is
passing too close and being slowly
ripped to pieces by the Milky
Ways mighty gravitational forces.
Cassiopeia A
KEY TO MAP Orion Arm, also Perseus Arm is STRUCTURE OF THE MILKY WAY
called the Local Arm, the main outer
Star associations is a major arm lying arm. It is broad Mapping the objects in our galaxy reveals its true shape. Two
Hydrogen gas
between the Perseus and ragged, and major spiral arms, and segments of others, wind around an
and Sagittarius Arms. in places almost
clouds
Our solar system lies merges with the elongated central bulge. Bright young stars, pinkly glowing
Molecular clouds at its inner edge. Orion Arm. nebulas of gas and dust, and dense, dark molecular clouds
Nebulas
trace out the shape of the arms. By contrast, the central bulge
contains little gas and mainly consists of old stars.
X-ray sources and supernova remnants
194
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MILKY WAY
Stars
INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM
Dust 0.1%
Gas 9.9%
HORSEHEAD NEBULA
Warm intercloud medium IN ORION
contains mainly hydrogen
gas, which glows pink
where it is most dense.
Alnitak is
one of the
stars forming
Orions Belt.
BETWEEN
THE STARS
The interstellar
medium is far from
uniform. Most of the gas
is spread out in what is called
the warm intercloud medium,
where warm is 14,500F (8,000C)
hotter than the Sun. Throughout this are
bubbles of thin gas, where temperatures exceed
18 million F (1 million C), created by the energy of supernovas or Dust clouds around young stars Horsehead Nebula
groups of young, hot stars. There are also cold clouds of hydrogen look blue because the stars light
is scattered by dust particles.
is part of a dense
molecular cloud. It
atomsoften curving, filamentlike structures that outline the shells of The same happens to the Suns is 4 light-years from
rays in the Earths atmosphere,
ancient gas bubbles. Finally, there are very dark, dense clouds of which is why the sky is blue.
nose to mane.
molecules of gas and dustmolecular cloudsin which stars are born.
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MILKY WAY
COSMIC DUST NGC 3603 is the most massive nebula in NGC 3576 forms part of the
Particles of cosmic dust are a type of the galaxy visible to optical telescopes. Carina complex of star formation.
soot that gets thrown off the
surfaces of old, cool stars. These
ice-covered particles measure less
than a thousandth of a millimeter
across and are made of graphite (as
used in the lead in pencils) or
minerals called silicates. They have
GRAPHITE Magnified an onionlike structure that is made
DUST PARTICLE 10,000 times up of concentric shells.
Spinning
particles DUST AND MAGNETISM
Cosmic dust particles spin around in
space. Weak magnetic fields in the
interstellar medium make the dust
particles line up so that they spin at
right angles to the direction of the
magnetic fields. This is probably the EFFECTS OF DUST
cause of the striped effect behind the Cosmic dust impedes the passage of light through space and has a
Lines of Horsehead Nebula. dramatic effect on how we see the stars. For example, the nebulas
magnetic force NGC 3603 and NGC 3576 look a bit like twins when viewed from
Dust particles
In this infrared Warm
the Earth. In fact, NGC 3603 is by far the more brilliant of the two.
line up with However, it appears comparatively faint to us because its brilliant
image the Cygnus intercloud
magnetic field. light is dimmed and reddened by dust lying in front of it.
Loop is yellow-green. medium
COSMIC CHEMISTRY
In dense molecular clouds, where the conditions
are cool and undisturbed, atoms link up to form
molecules. More than 150 molecules have been
identified in space. Here are 10 of the best-known:
Water H2O
Formaldehyde CH2O
Hydrogen cyanide HCN
Formic acid CH2O2
HOT GAS BUBBLES Hydrogen sulphide H2S
The hottest, but least dense, parts of the Cyanoacetylene HC3N
Ammonia NH3
interstellar medium are gas bubbles such as the
Glycine C2H5NO2
Cygnus Loop, which was created by a supernova Methanol CH3OH
more than 20,000 years ago. It is still being Acrylonitrile C3H3N
heated by the shock waves from the explosion.
Chemical reactions inside molecular clouds can
build up complex molecules from much simpler
ones, such as the series of reactions that leads to
the formation of methanol.
Cone Nebula
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MILKY WAY
HYADES CLUSTER
The head of Taurus the Bull
is traced out by the stars of
the Hyades, while his red
eye is marked by Aldebaran,
a bright red giant star. The
Hyades is the nearest star
cluster to Earth, just 150 The glowing gas
light-years away. It lies at the is heated by young Pelican Nebula
center of a supercluster of stars in the molecular is shaped like a
stars that envelops the Sun. cloud beside it. pelicans head.
the Perseus Arm, the outermost main spiral arm. Being DOUBLE CLUSTER
so close to the edge, it is vital to our understanding of The Double Cluster lies 7,000
light-years away. The two open
the galaxy because there are few bright stars or clusters (h and Chi Persei) are
complicated structures behind it to clutter our view. 50 light-years apart and each
LOCATION OF MAP AREA contains several hundred stars.
IN MILKY WAY They form the heart of a loose
Tycho Brahes Supernova Remnant Chi Persei and h Persei make up the Double group, or association, of young
is the remains of a white dwarf that Cluster. There are more stars in h Persei and stars 750 light-years across.
Cassiopeia A is the tangled collapsed when its companion star they are older (5 million years) than those
wreck of a dead star. dumped too much gas on it. in Chi Persei (3 million years).
In places, the Perseus
Sun Arm nearly merges with
NGC 7538 is a dark the Orion Arm.
molecular cloud hiding a
cluster of newly born stars.
M36, M37, and M38 are
It contains enough matter
young star clusters in the
to make 500,000 Suns.
constellation of Auriga, lying
just over 4,000 ly away.
IC 1795 is the biggest M36
star-forming region Plasketts Star is
in the Perseus Arm. actually two stars very
M38 close together, weighing
W3 M37 in at 51 and 43 times
NGC 457 is a star h Persei the Suns mass.
cluster containing 3C 58
Phi Cassiopeiae, a Rosette
Chi Persei
yellow supergiant that Nebula
will one day explode
IC 1805 The map shows
as a supernova.
an area of the
IC 1848 Crab Nebula Perseus Arm about
8,500 ly across.
IC 1805 and
IC 1848 form a
double cluster,
sparser and
younger
than h and
Chi Persei.
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MILKY WAY
SAGITTARIUS ARM
ying between the orion arm and the galactic center is the Sagittarius
L Arm, one of the Milky Ways two major spiral arms. It is a broad and
sweeping arm that wraps itself around the entire galaxy before beginning
to peter out. The Sagittarius Arm is difficult to unravel from our position
in the Orion Arm, because great swathes of dust block the
view. Radio waves and infrared radiation can pass
through the dust, but astronomers then find that ETA CARINAE
At 5 million times brighter than
objects in this busy region are often obscured because the Sun, Eta Carinae is one of
they lie along the same line of sight as other, nearer the brightest stars knownand
objects. Nevertheless, astronomers are discovering it also one of the most unstable.
This Hubble image shows it still
to be full of strange and unusual features. cocooned in the dust it ejected
when it flared up in 1843. It will
probably explode as a supernova
within a few thousand years.
LOCATION OF MAP AREA PSR B1937+21 is one of the Eagle Nebula is Omega Nebula is SN 1006 is
IN MILKY WAY most rapidly rotating pulsars named after a a blister of hot gas the wreck of
known. Its extreme spin rate dusty, eagle- at one end of a a supernova in Jewel Box is a cluster of beautiful
may have been caused by a shaped silhouette dense molecular 1006 ce that shone blue stars close to the Southern
companion star dumping superimposed on cloud 65 light- so brightly that it Cross in the sky. One star, Kappa
The map shows a material onto it. the glowing gas. years long. cast shadows. Crucis, has become a red giant.
section of the
Sagittarius Arm
approximately Carina Nebula
12,000 ly across. is home to the
star HD
93129A, which
is 5 million
times brighter
than the Sun.
Cygnus X-1
is a double Trifid
star in Nebula
which one
of the stars
is now a
black hole.
Lagoon
Nebula
Black Widow
V404 Cygni Pulsar
Sun
KEY TO MAP
Hydrogen gas clouds PSR 1919+21 was Scorpius X-1, the STRUCTURE OF THE SAGITTARIUS ARM
the first pulsar to be first X-ray source
Nebulas discovered. Its pulses to be discovered Great nebulas and dense molecular clouds dot the part of
seemed so artificial outside the solar the arm that is closest to us. The Eagle, Omega, Trifid, and
that its discoverers system, is a dead
Molecular clouds
nicknamed it neutron star. Lagoon Nebulas make up one enormous region of starbirth,
Star associations
LGM1, meaning with the giant Carina complex not far away. The region also
Little Green Men1.
Pulsars and has its share of star corpses, pulsars, and black holes. Closer
supernova remnants to the galactic center, molecular clouds dominate the arm.
Star clusters
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MILKY WAY
Companion star
HOW THE BLACK
TRIFID AND LAGOON NEBULAS WIDOW DESTROYS
These two nebulas, more than 5,000 light-years away, are among ITS COMPANION
the most striking in the sky. The Trifid Nebula (top) gets its name,
which means divided into three parts, because dark dust lanes split
the nebula three ways. The nebula surrounds a compact cluster of Pulsar
stars whose radiation heats the hydrogen inside it until it glows
pink. The Lagoon Nebula (bottom) envelops a cluster of stars Pulsar gives
about 2 million years old, many of which are so massive and out intense Gases evaporate and
bright that they can be seen with the naked eye. radiation. waft away into space.
Molecular Ring
consists of a series of Sagittarius A* is a tiny,
huge molecular clouds. intense radio source that
The ring is expanding at marks the exact center
90 miles/s (150 km/s). It of the Milky Way.
was set in motion by an
explosion about a
million years ago.
Sagittarius A East lies
just behind the
galactic center. It is
Astronomers are still probably a bubble
uncertain about the of hot gas created
exact positions of by a supernova.
many of the
features in the
galactic center.
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MILKY WAY
MAGNETIC STRUCTURES
The innermost 100 light-years D ISCOVERING THE
are dominated by magnetic fields CENTER
a thousand times stronger than
those found elsewhere in the
In 1918, Harlow Shapley
calculated the Suns position
Milky Way. These are obvious in in the galaxy and how far it
the filaments making up the Arc. is from the center by
This is part of the Radio Lobe, a measuring distances to
vast region of magnetized gas in globular clusters.
the shape of a chimney. Within
this magnetized region are many
strange objects unique to this
After studying fast-moving
gas clouds near the center,
part of the galaxy, such as the Jan Oort proposed in 1957
Mouse. The origin of the that there must have been
magnetic fields is not known. some sort of outburst there.
molecules
In the mid-1960s, scores of
were identified in
The Arc, which curves like a the galactic center, and the
The Mouse colossal solar prominence,
consists of filaments of gas
Molecular Ring was mapped.
is probably a neutron
star speeding 150 light-years long but
Tail is
100 light-
through space. only half a light-year wide. Infrared studies in the 1970s
and 1980s revealed details
years long.
about the central star cluster.
CENTRAL SPIRAL
The central 10 light-years consist of three regions:
In 1983, the USs Very
Large Array radio telescope
Sagittarius A West, Sagittarius A*, and the central discovered rotating gas in
star cluster. Sagittarius A West looks like a tiny the galaxys central spiral.
spiral galaxy, but the smaller spiral arms are streams
of gas falling inward, while the two main arms are
Outer arms
parts of a tilted, spinning disk of hot gas. The rate rotate.
at which the disk spins shows that the material
inside it has a mass equal to 5 million Suns. Strange
object at
center
Sagittarius A* Sagittarius A*
MAGELLANIC CLOUDS
ust as the earths gravity holds the Moon SUPERNOVA 1987A
Jin orbit so, on a vastly greater scale, the Milky
Way Galaxy holds two large satellite galaxies in
On February 23, 1987,
astronomers in Chile were
amazed to see a new star in
orbit around it. The Large and Small Magellanic the Large Magellanic
Cloud. Despite the galaxys
Clouds orbit together on an elliptical path, distance, this supernova
taking more than a billion years to travel once could easily be seen by the
around. At present, the Magellanic Clouds are naked eye for 10 months.
At maximum brightness,
almost at their closest to us, and form a splendid it shone as brilliantly as
spectacle in the southern sky. We can clearly 250 million Suns.
see all the stars and gas clouds in these near Site of Supernova 1987A
neighbors, and the Magellanic Clouds have played
a crucial role in helping astronomers to understand Tarantula Nebula is the biggest and
brightest gas cloud in
the properties of stars and galaxies. the LMC.
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GALAXIES
TARANTULA NEBULA
Named after the dreaded spider with hairy legs, the M AGELLANIC
Tarantula is one of the biggest and brightest of all CLOUDS HISTORY
nebulas. Some 800 light-years across, it is 50 times
the size of the famous Orion Nebula in our Milky The African Karanga tribe
Way. If it were in the position of the Orion Nebula, called the Clouds Famine
the Tarantula would be bigger than the whole and Plenty. Australian
constellation of Orion and shine more brightly than Aborigines thought the
the full Moon. This gas cloud is lit up by hot young LMC was torn from the
stars: the cluster at its center contains more than a Milky Way.
hundred stars, each heavier than 50 Suns.
Leading
Arm
TRIANGULUM GALAXY
The third largest galaxy in the Local
Group, Triangulum, has just one-
tenth the stars of Andromeda, and is
only half the size of the Milky Way.
Like the other major members of
the Local Group, the Triangulum is
a spiral galaxy. It contains many
huge and bright nebulas, one of
which, NGC 604, is among the
biggest regions of starbirth known.
NGC 604 CENTRAL REGION OF THE LOCAL GROUP
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GALAXIES
GALAXIES
nce known as island universes, galaxies are vast
O spinning collections of stars, gas, and dust. Everywhere
we look we see countless billions of these celestial cities,
ranging in size from fewer than a million stars to a trillion
or more, and from tens to hundreds of thousands of light-
years across. Some are simple ovals packed with elderly
stars, while others, like our own Milky Way, are graceful,
rotating spirals with trailing arms of young stars and Malin 1 is the
largest known
glowing gas. All galaxies are held together by their spiral galaxy in
the universe, LARGEST GALAXIES
own gravity, but astronomers still puzzle over why 800 million
Astronomers have discovered new types of
galaxies are the shape they are. light-years
away. galaxy, so faint they have been overlooked
until recently. These ghostly galaxies contain
few stars but a lot of gas. Some of them are
many times the size of the Milky Way.
GALAXY CLASSIFICATION
Galaxies vary widely in size, mass, and
GALAXY NGC 3379: TYPE E0 GALAXY M32: TYPE E2 GALAXY M59: TYPE E5
brightness, but astronomers classify
them into just a few main types. The
three main groups are ellipticals,
spirals, and barred spirals. These
groups are then subdivided further.
Other galaxies are irregular, with no
obvious structure. The very smallest
galaxies are classified as dwarf
spheroidals or dwarf ellipticals. The
largest of all are giant ellipticals, which
have grown by swallowing up other ELLIPTICALS
galaxies, a process called galactic More than half of all galaxies are ball-shaped
collections of old stars, with no sign of spiral arms or Lenticular galaxies (type S0) are
cannibalism. Spiral galaxies are a group of galaxies that seems to
a disk. Ellipticals have very little dust and gas, and no
normally of medium size. stars are being born inside them. They vary a lot in
bridge the gap between ellipticals
and spirals. Lenticulars have a
masssome of the smallest and largest galaxies are central bulge of older stars and
ellipticals. Ellipticals are denoted by E followed by a a disk of younger ones, but no
spiral arms.
number. E0 galaxies are almost circular, while
E7 galaxies are flattened ovals.
GALAXY STATISTICS
Name Constellation Type Distance in
millions of ly Bright regions are
areas of starbirth. IRREGULAR GALAXY M82
M105 Leo E0 38 IRREGULARS
M32 Andromeda E2 2.5 Some galaxies cannot be classed
M59 Virgo E5 60 as ellipticals, spirals, or barred
Sombrero Virgo Sa 28 spirals. Irregular galaxies (type Irr)
NGC 2841 Ursa Major Sb 50
Andromeda Andromeda Sb 2.5
have no regular shape and are rich
Pinwheel Ursa Major Sc 27 in gas and dust. The Magellanic
Triangulum Triangulum Sc 2.9 Clouds, the two companion
Whirlpool Canes Venatici Sc 30 galaxies of the Milky Way, are
NGC 2859 Leo Minor SBa 85 irregulars. The galaxy M82, which
NGC 5850 Virgo SBb 110 is going through a massive burst of
NGC 7479 Pegasus SBc 105
M82 Ursa Major Irr 11
star formation, is also classed as
LMC Dorado Irr 0.17 irregular.
Astronomers once thought
that M82 was an exploding galaxy.
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GALAXIES
CLOSE ENCOUNTER
A simulation reveals how the Antennae
may have formed. The computer is not
powerful enough to simulate all the
billions of stars in the two galaxies, so
each galaxy is represented by only 350
stars, revolving around a massive central
point. As the two galaxies approach and
orbit one another, the computer calculates
how these stars respond to the complex
gravitational tug of war. 1 The Antennae were
two separate spiral galaxies
1.2 billion years ago.
2 The galaxies began
to smash into each other
900 million years ago.
3 The galaxies became distorted
as they spun around each other
600 million years ago.
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GALAXIES
300 MILLION YEARS AGO 200 MILLION YEARS AGO 100 MILLION YEARS AGO TODAY
GLANCING BLOW
About 300 million years ago, the Whirlpool Galaxy had a near miss
with a smaller galaxy. In this computer simulation, we are seeing
the collision from one side. As a smaller galaxy brushed the edge
of its disc, the more massive Whirlpool escaped relatively
unharmed. However, the collision wreaked havoc on the
smaller galaxy, as the Whirlpools gravity tore out stars
to form a temporary bridge between the two.
STARBURST GALAXY
A starburst galaxy is usually the aftermath of
Hot stars, less than 10 million years
old, show that the collision took a galactic collision in which the galaxys gas
place very recently. clouds are squeezed together, triggering a
sudden burst of star formation. Discovered
Fate of the Milky Way: in 5 billion years in 1983 by the Infrared Astronomical
time, our Galaxy will smash into the Satellite, starburst galaxies are filled with hot
Andromeda Galaxy, perhaps forming a young starsseen as red spots in this
system like the Antennae. infrared view of M82 (a galaxy in Ursa
Major). The graph shows the energy given
out by different regions of the galaxy.
CLUSTERS OF GALAXIES
alaxies are not solitary objects. They gather together in groups NGC 4473
NGC 4461
VIRGO CLUSTER Type Sa
Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is a member of a
cluster of about 30 mostly small and faint
galaxies known as the Local Group. The nearest
large cluster is the Virgo Cluster, which lies
50 million light-years away toward the Arp 120
constellation of Virgo. It is an irregular cluster Type Sa
Virgo 50 11 86/30
Fornax 70 8
Centaurus 140 5 113/45
Cancer 210 11
Perseus 240 17 167/75
Coma 290 20 203/95 HOT GAS IN CLUSTERS CLUSTER EVOLUTION
Hercules 490 15 113/45 Observations from X-ray satellites Clusters form from mergers of
Abell 2256 760 10 185/85 show that galaxy clusters are filled with smaller groups of galaxies. An X-ray
Corona Borealis 940 8 212/100 hot gas at temperatures of up to 212 picture of gas in the Abell 2256
Gemini 1,000 9 million F (100 million C). The gas Cluster shows a bright spot to the
comes from the galaxies, and forms right of center caused as another
FIND OUT MORE pools in the center of clusters. This X- group of galaxies is absorbed into the
X RAY ASTRONOMY 28 L OCAL GROUP 208 ray image of the Virgo Cluster reveals a cluster. In clusters that are no longer
G ALAXIES 210 C OLLIDING GALAXIES 212 cloud of hot gas more massive than all swallowing groups, the gas is more
S CALE OF THE UNIVERSE 218
G ALAXY FORMATION 228 the galaxies in the cluster put together. evenly spread throughout the cluster.
214
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GALAXIES
NGC 4435
Type E4
Small ellipticals and
irregulars are too
NGC 4402 faint to be seen in
Type Sb distant clusters.
M86
Type E3
NGC 4388
Type Sb NGC 4889 NGC 4874
Type E4 Type E0
COMA CLUSTER OF GALAXIES
NGC 4413
Type SBb
LOCAL SUPERCLUSTER
Just as galaxies form clusters, so clusters form superclusters. A
supercluster may contain dozens of clusters in a region more than
100 million light-years across. Superclusters have complex shapes
some have winding streamers of galaxies, and others are flat like
pancakes. Our Local Group is an outlying member of the Local
Supercluster, centered on the Virgo Cluster. It consists of 11 main
clouds joined in a flat structure 10 times as wide as it is thick.
Canes Venatici
Virgo Cluster Cluster
COMA CLUSTER
The nearest dense, regular cluster to the Milky Way lies in the
constellation of Coma Berenices. The Coma Cluster contains more
than 3,000 galaxies and is about 300 million light-years away. It
consists mainly of elliptical and lenticular galaxies. Unlike the
sprawling Virgo Cluster, Coma is compact and rounded with a
smooth, nearly spherical distribution of hot gas. The cluster
appears to have two clumps, each centered on a giant elliptical
galaxy. It is possible that the Coma Cluster is the result of a
Local Group falling merger long ago between two clusters of about the same size.
toward center of Supercluster
Crater Cluster Leo Cluster at 155 m/s (250 km/s). The Coma Cluster is itself at the center of the Coma Supercluster.
ACTIVE GALAXIES
small number of galaxies are
A different from all the rest, pouring
out huge amounts of energy from a
Jet emits radio waves and
sometimes visible light.
ACTIVE GALAXIES
Name Constellation Type Distance
in millions RADIO LOBES
of light Jets of hot gas are blown
years out of the galaxys center
across hundreds of
Centaurus A Centaurus Radio 15 thousands of light-years.
M77 Cetus Seyfert 45
NGC 1566 Dorado Seyfert 50
Where they encounter
M87 Virgo Radio 50 intergalactic gas clouds,
NGC 4151 Canes Venatici Seyfert 65 they billow out into huge
Cygnus A Cygnus Radio 740 radio-emitting lobes.
BL Lacertae Lacerta Blazar 900 Magnetic field funnels
PKS 2349-01 Pisces Quasar 1,500 charged particles around the
3C 273 Virgo Quasar 2,100 black hole. Those traveling at
OJ 287 Cancer Blazar 3,800 very high speeds can escape.
Jet wavers as it runs
3C 48 Triangulum Quasar 4,500 into other particles.
3C 279 Virgo Blazar 5,800
3C 368 Ophiuchus Radio 8,400
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GALAXIES
QUASARS
Quasars are among the most H ISTORY OF ACTIVE
INSIDE THE CORE powerful objects in the universe, GALAXIES
but are so far away that they look
At the heart of the galaxy is
a huge black hole perhaps a like faint stars. They emit radio In 1943, US astronomer
Carl Seyfert (19111960)
billion times the mass of the waves, X-rays, and infrared, as
noted a class of spiral
Sun. This is the galaxys power well as light, and sometimes
galaxies with very bright
source or engine, fueled by have visible jets. Quasars are
coresSeyfert galaxies.
infalling interstellar gas. As it the brilliant cores of remote
galaxies, with the dust ring tilted
is sucked into the hole, the gas
forms a spinning accretion disk. to reveal radiation British physicist Stanley
Hey (19092000), discovered
Electrically charged particles emitted by the
Quasar PKS 2349-01: Hubble an intense source of radio
released as the gas heats up photograph of this quasar, 1.5 accretion disk.
waves in Cygnus in 1946.
are caught up in an intense billion light-years away, reveals a
magnetic field, and escape
at the poles to form the jets.
faint galaxy surrounding the
brilliant central engine. In 1954, German-born US
astronomers Walter Baade
SEYFERT GALAXIES (18931960) and Rudolph
About one in 10 big spiral Minkowski (18951976)
galaxies has a very bright spot found a faint, peculiar
of light at its center. This is a galaxy at the position of the
Jet contains charged particles Seyfert galaxy, and may be a less Cygnus A radio source.
and magnetic fields.
powerful version of a quasar,
with a smaller black hole in its
core. Some astronomers think
that all large spiral galaxies,
including the Milky Way, may
Jets are traveling close to become Seyferts at
the speed of light as they some time. RADIO GALAXY CYGNUS A
leave the core. Seyfert galaxy NGC 1566 lies 50
million light-years away and is a
dimmer version of a quasar.
Dutch astronomer
Maarten Schmidt (1929 )
showed in 1963 that a faint
Gas from just a single star,
shredded by the black holes RADIO GALAXIES starlike object found at the
gravity, can fuel even the most Radio galaxies are some of the position of radio source
luminous galaxy for a year. largest objects in the sky. One or 3C 273 lay far beyond our
two jets shoot out for thousands own galaxy. This was the
Central part of disk of light-years from the center, first quasar.
is hot enough to emit feeding streams of gas into huge
X-rays. clouds on either side of the were
In 1968, radio signals
galaxy. In a radio galaxy the detected from the
central dust ring is seen edge-on, strange object known as BL
so the core is hidden and Lacertae, previously
the fainter jets mistaken for a variable star.
become visible. BL Lac became the
Radio galaxy 3C 368: blue lines prototype of the blazars.
over this image show the intensity
of the galaxys radio emissions.
many
In the 1970s and 1980s,
astrophysicists helped
BLAZARS to show how all these
Looking similar to quasars, different types of active
blazars vary rapidly in galaxy could be explained
Outer edge of brightness by as much as 100 as ordinary galaxies with
accretion disk is fed supermassive black holes at
by disrupted stars
times, showing changes from
and interstellar gas. day to day. Blazars are believed their centers.
to be active galaxies with jets
pointed directly toward us. We
Accretion disk is made of are looking straight down the jet FIND OUT MORE
interstellar gas and the
remains of stars. into the core and seeing light R ADIO ASTRONOMY 24
and other radiation X RAY ASTRONOMY 28
from the accretion B LACK HOLES 188
Blazar 3C 279: this Compton Gamma disk around the H EART OF THE MILKY WAY 204
Ray Observatory image shows high- S CALE OF THE UNIVERSE 218
energy radiation from the blazars core. black hole. E XPANDING UNIVERSE 220
Oort Cloud
218
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THE UNIVERSE
Cepheid star
DISTANCE MEASUREMENT Brightness doubled G ROWING
Brightness
Astronomers use radar to measure the UNIVERSE
Light curve
distance to planets, and parallax to
measure the distances of stars. Neither Aristarchus realized the
universe was much bigger than
method can be used outside the Milky the Earth in about 260 bce:
Way. So researchers have built up a ladder his observations put the Sun
of distances, finding the distance to 4.3 million miles (7 million km)
away from Earth.
nearby galaxies by comparing their stars Time
to similar stars in the Milky Way, and then Brighter Cepheid
using the distances to these galaxies to Light curve
Brightness
find how far away other galaxies lie. Brightness quadrupled has longer
period.
ROTATING SPIRAL GALAXY
Time
In 1619, Johannes Kepler
proved the planets orbited
Red shift on edge Blue shift on edge CEPHEID STANDARD CANDLES the Sun, and that Saturn
moving away from Earth moving toward us If two stars generate the same amount of light but was nearly 10 times farther
one appears dimmer, it must lie farther away. out than Earth.
GALAXY ROTATION METHOD Astronomers use Cepheid variables to measure
By studying nearby galaxies with distances distance in this way, because the period of their During the 1780s,
established from Cepheids, astronomers have found brightness variations is dictated by their average William Herschel calculated
that a spiral galaxys total brightness is related to the brightnessthe brighter the star, the longer the the Milky Way was about
rate it is spinning. This rate can be established from cycle. Astronomers find the true brightness of a 10,000 light-years across
the red and blue shifts on each side of the galaxy. Cepheid from the length of its cycle, and compare far bigger than generally
Galaxies with the same rotation speeds can be used this to its apparent brightness to measure the believed, but only one-tenth
to measure distances up to a billion light-years. distance to the galaxy in which it lies. of the actual figure.
Void
In 1918, Harlow Shapley
1 billion light-years proposed that the Milky
Way constituted the entire
universe, with a diameter of
300,000 light-years.
In 1963, astronomers
identified the first quasar,
3C 273, which lies 2 billion
light-years away.
DISTANCES FROM SUPERNOVAS
Supernovas are exploding stars so
brilliant that astronomers can spot Astronomers can now
identify galaxies up to
them in galaxies billions of light-years
13 billion light-years away
away. Astronomers identify different
kinds of supernova from the way their
light brightens, then fades. Type 1a FIND OUT MORE
supernovas always reach the same S OLAR SYSTEM 78
maximum brightness, so they form V ARIABLE STARS 164
Local
Supercluster ideal standard candles. This onethe H OW FAR ARE THE STARS ? 166
bright white dotappeared in galaxy S UPERNOVAS 184
L OCAL GROUP 208
Galaxy NGC 4526 in 1994. C LUSTERS OF GALAXIES 214
filament
EXPANDING UNIVERSE
ook deep into space, and something very odd seems to be
L going on. In every direction, distant clusters of galaxies
are rushing away from usand the farther a cluster lies, the
3 billion years ago: distances
between galaxy clusters were
Hercules
Cluster
25 percent smaller than they are today.
quicker it is speeding away. It seems that our Milky Way is
distinctly unpopular! In fact, every galaxy cluster is 75 million
light-years
moving apart from every other one, just as raisins
in a cake move apart when it is baked. The
expansion of the universe is very useful to
astronomers: once they have measured the rate
of expansion for nearby galaxies, they can use
a galaxys speed to find its distance.
EXPANSION OF SPACE
Although the universe is expanding, it is not
expanding into anything. Instead, space itself is
stretching, and carrying clusters of galaxies with it. Perseus
Cluster
Imagine space as a framework of rubber strips, with
the clusters attached. As the framework expands, they Virgo Cluster
Coma
are drawn apart. Every region of space is expanding at SPACE AROUND A CLUSTER Cluster
the same rate, so the farther apart two clusters are, the
Combined gravity of
more rapidly the space between them grows. whole cluster
Space within
Gravity of single gravitational well
Dark lines formed by Hubbles law: Edwin Hubble galaxy does not expand.
elements in galaxy found that a galaxys speed
absorbing light depends on its distance.
Increasing redshift and speed
Space outside
gravitational well
is free to expand.
220
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THE UNIVERSE
Perseus
Cluster
BIG BANG
he big bang was the beginning of everything: time,
T space, and the building blocks of all the matter
in the universe. The great cosmic clock began
Very hot,
young
Most likely date for Big Bang:
13.7 billion years ago
universe
ticking some 13.7 billion years ago in a fireball
so concentrated that matter and antimatter
were created spontaneously out of energy. Young galaxies
were densely
EXPANSION REVERSED
At the instant of creation, the universe packed. The universe is expandingand so it
stands to reason that, in the past,
was almost infinitely hot and dense. everything must have been closer together.
Then it began to expand and cool If the motion of the galaxies we see today is
reversed, it leads back to an instant around
and it is still expanding and 13.7 billion years ago when they all occupied
cooling today. Gravity holds clusters a single point. This was the origin of the
of galaxies together. explosion called the Big Bang.
The universe
today Fueled by the release of the strong
BEFORE THE BIG BANG force, the universe suddenly inflates.
There was no before the Big It doubles its size every 10 quadrillion
Bang, because time did not quintillionths of a second.
exist. Time and space have
always been intimately linked
in what Albert Einstein called a An instant after creation,
the universe is almost
space-time continuum. Once infinitely hot and
time came into being, space expanding quite slowly.
could start to expand. Equally,
once space had been created,
time could begin to flow. Increasing time
Big Bang
Undisturbed space-time,
seen in an imaginary view INFLATION
from outside the universe.
Most astronomers believe the Big Bang was quite a
Peaks show space-
small bang. Conditions in the early universe turned energy
time disturbances. directly into equal amounts of matter and antimatterabout two
pounds (1 kg) of material. Moments later, something vastly more
dramatic happened: cosmic inflation. The universe blew up,
Turbulent space-time has growing in size a hundred trillion quintillion quintillion times in a
peaks, each potentially a Big
Bang that can create a fraction of a second. Inflation released huge amounts of energy to
universe like ours. create more matter, and shape the forces that control our universe.
222
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THE UNIVERSE
SCALE OF
INFLATION
In a fraction of a
second, the universe
grew from smaller
than an atom to
bigger than a galaxy.
PARTICLE TRACKS
Subatomic particles,
like those created in
the hot, dense, and
hectic conditions of
the early universe,
can be studied in
particle accelerators.
B IG BANG THEORY
In 1929, Edwin Hubble
discovered that the universe
was expanding.
Georges Lematre
proposed in 1931 that
the universe began in an
exploding primeval atom.
Exotic particles
include X bosons,
Quarks (red) and
Higgs bosons, and
MATURING UNIVERSE leptons (green)
released during
WIMPs.
The early universe was seething inflation
with exotic particles and
antiparticles, some extremely
shortlived. Quarks, leptons,
and WIMPs, among others,
cannoned around at
temperatures of 18,000 trillion
trillion F (10,000 trillion
trillion C). Within three
minutes, the temperature
dropped to less than
1.8 billion F (1 billion C)
and the universe was a calmer
place with fewer, more
stable particles. Forces are carried between
particles by W and Z bosons,
gluons, photons, and gravitons.
X-BOSON DECAY
X boson Anti-X
ACCUMULATION OF MATTER
Inflation created equal amounts of matter and
antimatter particles. The reason they did not
annihilate each other completely, leaving an empty
universe, may be due to the X boson and its twin,
the anti-X.These were the heaviest particles of all, SEARCHING FOR ANTIMATTER
and could be created only by the high energy of Particles Antiparticles Particles Antiparticles An antimatter galaxy would look
inflation. As the universe cooled, both particles exactly like a normal one, except
became unstable and decayed into lighter quarks around its edge. Here, where
and leptons. But, for every 100,000,000 antimatter meets normal matter
More particles
quarks and leptons created, only than antiparticles from the rest of the universe, there
99,999,999 antiparticles emerged. would be tell-tale flashes of energy
This tiny imbalance resulted in all as they annihilated each otherbut
the matter in the universe today. so far, none has been detected.
Particles Antiparticles
224
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THE UNIVERSE
Lepton: particle
sensitive to the weak
forceelectrons are the
lightest type of lepton.
Neutrino: low-mass,
very common particle
found in three types.
Proton Neutron
C REATING NUCLEI (hydrogen
Protons and neutrons started nucleus)
to form at about one second, Gluon: transmits the strong force
that joins quarks together.
and over the next three
minutes they combined to Deuterium
form the nuclei of the (hydrogen-2) Photon: massless particle carrying
lightest elementsmostly radiation and electromagnetism.
hydrogen and helium. Each The most common particle.
element has a unique number
of protons, but can have Graviton: particle thought to carry
COMPOSITION OF THE COSMOS several isotopes with different gravitational force.
Detailed calculations predict that the numbers of neutrons. The Proton
ashes of the Big Bangthe elements universe soon dropped Helium-3
created in the first three minutesshould FIND OUT MORE
below the temperature
have the proportions 77 percent hydrogen, and density needed for E XPANDING UNIVERSE 220
23 percent helium, and 0.000,000,1 percent B IG BANG 222
this nuclear fusion, E CHOES OF THE BIG BANG 226
lithium. Analysis of gas clouds such as the Neutron
and no more elements Helium-4 D ARK MATTER 230
Eagle Nebula bears these figures out. were formed. (2 protons + 2 neutrons)
high-energy gamma radiation. As the universe expanded PHOTON SCATTERING Last scattering
In the early universe, photons of surface: this division,
and cooled, the radiation lost some of its energy, turning formed 300,000 years
light were continuously interacting
into X-rays, light, and finally heat radiation. The drop in with atomic nuclei and electrons, so
after the Big Bang,
separates the opaque
temperature also affected particles, slowing down the neither got anywhere. Photons from the transparent
would bounce off one particle, universe. The heat
electrons until they began to combine with the atomic nuclei radiation that forms
to form the first atoms. These atoms did not interact with only to collide with another, then the background
another. Light could never travel in radiation comes
radiation, so light was finally able to travel in straight lines a straight line and, as a result, the from this surface.
over long distances, and the universe became transparent. universe was opaque.
226
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THE UNIVERSE
Hydrogen
atoms Helium atom
FORMATION OF ATOMS Photons travel longer
By 300,000 years after the Big Bang, the distancescollisions
temperature had dropped to 5,400F are rarer. Radiation from the last scattering
FIND OUT MORE
(3,000C). The negatively charged electrons surface continues to cool as the
had now slowed down so much that they could universe expands, turning from light R ADIO ASTRONOMY 24
be pulled into orbit around the positively and heat to radio waves. B IG BANG 222
F IRST THREE MINUTES 224
charged nuclei of hydrogen and helium, G ALAXY FORMATION 228
forming the first atoms.
Filament
DARK AGE OF THE UNIVERSE
The universe became transparent 300,000 years after the
Big Bang. The brilliant light from the explosion turned
into invisible infrared, and then into a background
radiation of radio waves. The matter it left behind was
cold and dark, unable to generate light, and the
universe went through a long period of darkness
until the first stars began to shine. During
this gloomy era, clumps of dark matter
that had already formed began to attract
the surrounding gas, laying the
foundations of galaxies.
Stars all lie in foreground,
1 Gas shone brilliantly 300,000
years after the Big Bang,
forming a patchwork of hotter
within the Milky Way.
Close-up from
COBE
3 By the age of 300 million years, the
universe consisted of huge empty
voids, surrounded by filaments of
background denser gas. As the gas pulled together
radiation map into galaxies, the first generation of
2 The gravity of dark matter began to
draw gas into a network of filaments
about 3 million years later.
stars had begun to shine.
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THE UNIVERSE
FIRST STARS
The first stars were made almost entirely of G ALAXY ORIGIN THEORIES
hydrogen and helium, the gases from the Big
Bang. During their short lives, they created new
In 1966, American physicist Jim Peebles (1935)
proposed the bottom-up theory, in which galaxies
elements such as carbon and oxygen, and threw First stars formed from built up from smaller clouds.
dense regions of gas where
them out into space in supernova explosions, to clouds collided.
be incorporated in a second generation of stars
and planets. Aside from hydrogen, helium, and a
Soviet physicist Yakov Zeldovich (191487) put
forward a top-down theory in 1969: primordial gas
small amount of lithium, all the other elements in formed huge flat clouds that broke up into galaxies.
the universe today were made by stars.
1 Milky Way probably
formed from
thousands of small gas The discovery of huge filaments of galaxies in
clouds pulled together 1981 provided support for the top-down theory.
Small irregular galaxy by dark matter.
appears large because it
is only 1 billion In 1995, the Hubble Deep Field showed mergers
light-years of small galaxies, supporting the bottom-up theory.
away.
FIND OUT MORE
H UBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE 12 C OLLIDING GALAXIES 212
A CTIVE GALAXIES 216 E CHOES OF THE BIG BANG 226
D ARK MATTER 230
Globular clusters
and stars near the
2 Dense gas in the galaxys core
collapsed to form a massive
black hole, surrounded by a
galaxys center date
brilliant disk of gasa quasar.
from this time.
Cross-section of
quasaraccretion disk
around a black hole
BIRTH OF A GALAXY
Young galaxy, 10 billion The Hubble Deep Field shows that most
light-years away galaxies formed from colliding clouds of
gas. If the clouds were swirling around
The original Hubble image
one another, the resulting galaxy was
contains some 500 galaxies, a rotating spiral with some gas left
but most are too faint to Milky Way over. If the clouds were not
show up in this reproduction. today rotating, then all their gas turned
to stars, forming a gas-free ball of
starsan elliptical galaxy. Other
CONTINUING FORMATION
ellipticals were late starters,
Galaxy formation is still going on
formed when two galaxies
today, as small galaxies and gas
collided at high speed.
clouds come together to build up
larger galaxies. Often, a large
galaxy will collide with and Old stars
absorb a smaller galaxy. The
giant elliptical radio galaxy Black hole at
Centaurus A has recently core now quiet
swallowed a spiral galaxy.
Young stars
Dark band of gas and dust in Centaurus A, and gas
left over from the spiral galaxy it merged with
COSMIC MIRAGE
Resembling strands of a cosmic spiders web, the luminous arcs
in this Hubble image provide strong evidence for dark matter.
Abell 2218, a cluster of galaxies 3 billion light-years away, is
acting as a gravitational lens. Its gravity is pulling at passing
light rays from more distant galaxies, focusing them into bright
curves. The gravity needed to focus light in this way is 10 times
stronger than the visible galaxies can provide, so 90 percent of
the clusters mass must reside in invisible dark matter.
Radio emission
SPIRAL GALAXY M81 from hydrogen Red regions are
spinning away from us.
Large GRAVITATIONAL LENSING BY MACHOS
ROTATING GALAXIES Magellanic
Cloud Light from a star sets
The rapid spinning of spiral off toward Earth.
galaxies indicates that they are
surrounded by vast haloes of
dark matter. Without the
Light enters halo
gravity of this dark matter, the of the Milky Way.
outer parts of the galaxy, which
are often whirling around at MACHOS
over 120 miles/s (200 km/s), Ordinary matter exists in the form of small stars, brown
would be flung out into space. dwarfs (failed stars), and black holes, which are difficult
to see. Objects of this kind might account for some of
Blue regions are
approaching.
the dark matter in the halos of galaxies and are called
MACHOsmassive compact halo objects. Some
astronomers believe they have detected a few MACHOs
SPEEDING GALAXIES by the lensing effect their gravity has on light from
The first evidence for dark matter distant stars, but no one is sure how common they are.
came from clusters of galaxies. In the
1930s, Fritz Zwicky found that these Stars Invisible gas
galaxies move so fast that the cluster MATTER IN THE UNIVERSE and MACHOs
should rapidly break up. Gravity Astronomers now think that
from some unseen matter must only 17 percent of the mass in
be pulling them back. Later, the universe is ordinary matter,
astronomers found hot gas in with 2 percent in stars and
clusters, also trapped by a 15 percent as invisible gas and
strong gravitational pull. MACHOs. The other 83 percent
consists of subatomic particles
GALAXY CLUSTER CL0024+1654
called WIMPs.
WIMPs
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THE UNIVERSE
Star (arrowed) at
Gravity of MACHO is normal brightness
shown as a gravitational
well in space. MACHO BRIGHTENING
As a MACHO moves in front
Light converges
of a distant star, its gravity
and brightens as it focuses and brightens the stars
approaches Earth. light. Astronomers have found
stars in the Large Magellanic
Cloud occasionally brightening
in just this way.
FLAT SPACE POSITIVELY CURVED SPACE NEGATIVELY CURVED SPACE Space is already expanding as
matter rushes away from the
Big Bang.
STRETCHING SPACE
The mass of an object tends to bend space inward Flat space
around it, but the discoveries that the universe is
flat and expanding even faster have convinced most
astronomers that there is a mysterious force, hidden
within empty space itself. The popular name for it is
dark energy. It has the opposite effect of gravity and
tends to push space outward. Albert Einstein
proposed such a force in his general theory of
relativity and called it the cosmological constant,
but later thought he had made a mistake. Dark energy stretches space,
increasing the rate of expansion.
STRETCHING OF FLAT SPACE
232
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THE UNIVERSE
F LAT UNIVERSE
Astronomers are now sure that the universe is flat, to a high
degree of accuracy. Theory predicted that the size scale of
Milky Way
the ripples in the background radiation could reveal the
shape of space but the first observations of the ripples,
made by the COBE satellite, were not accurate enough.
In 2000, an experiment called BOOMERANG was flown on
a high-altitude balloon to study the background radiation.
It found that the universe was probably flat. Since 2003,
the WMAP satellite has collected precise data confirming
Distant galaxy that the universe really is flat.
ANALYZING RIPPLES
This graph is the
result of analyzing
Brightness of spots
UNIVERSE TODAY
Today, galaxies like the Milky Way are
in their prime. Stars are being born,
and there is plenty of gas and dust
around to fuel starbirth in the future.
The Milky Ways spiral arms are
studded with glowing nebulas and
hot, young, blue stars.
Universe slows to a halt after several
trillion trillion years. By this time
CLOSED UNIVERSE our galaxy is long dead, with only a
Older stars central black hole surrounded by
in hub the remains of stars.
CLOSED UNIVERSE
If some as yet unknown force slows down
1 A trillion years after the Big
Bang, the Milky Way uses up all
its gas and dust, so no new stars
the expansion of the universe in the future,
the expansion could stop. Eventually it would
form. Even the longest-lived stars collapse in a fiery collision, the Big Crunch. The
start to die, and the spiral
arms disappear. countdown to the Big Crunch is like a reversed Big
Bangas matter packs together, the universe heats
Starbirth in up. Any remaining matter disintegrates into atoms,
spiral arms then into subatomic particles. Black holes alone are
unaffected by the intense heat, and start to collide
and join together. Finally, they form a single mega
EVOLUTIONARY PATHS OF THE UNIVERSE black hole that sucks in all remaining matter.
234
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THE UNIVERSE
3 million years to
the Big Crunch 100,000 years to
New measurements made
in 1997 showed that the
the Big Crunch
OSCILLATING UNIVERSE universe does not have
Big Bang enough mass to pull it back
into a Big Crunch.
Big Crunch
Last three
TELESCOPE USED TO INVESTIGATE
minutes
THE FUTURE
Galaxies merge
as the universe Universe
contracts. The background expands again
temperature rises to 68F (20C). Universe expands Universe contracts
PLANET URSA
The star 47 Ursae Majoris has a planet 2.8 times
the mass of Jupiterand it is likely to have several
more. This illustration shows a hypothetical small,
Male Ursan extends his
low-gravity planetnamed Ursain the outer external gills to breathe the
reaches of its planetary system, with some of the thin air. Large eyes
life-forms that might have evolved there. These open in dim
light.
Ring of compound eyes
creatures grow high, curl up when cold, have gives all-around vision
big eyes to see in the dark, and have developed in bright light.
efficient ways of breathing in the thin air. Mouth at ground level,
close to the plants
Ursans feed on
Female Ursan curls protectively Sexual organs are
around her newborn, budded specialized interlocking
from a tentacle. When it matures, tentacles.
it will detach to lead an
independent existence.
236
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THE UNIVERSE
REQUIREMENTS OF LIFE
Exactly how life arose from the basic P ROBABILITY OF LIFE
chemicals that existed on the early If intelligent life, capable of communicating over
Earth is a mystery, but a major interstellar distances, is to arise on a planet, then
factor must have been the right a variety of different conditions must be just
environment. These stromatolites in right. Pioneering astronomer Frank Drake,
Western Australia are the unaltered who began investigating extraterrestrial
descendants of the earliest life on our intelligence in 1960, was the first to consider
planet. Their environment shows the the different factors.
conditions needed for life: warmth,
light, a suitable atmosphere, and Stars must be born at a reasonable rate to
water to aid the complex chemical replace those that die. In our galaxy, 10 are
born every year.
reactions which life requires.
The star must have planets for life to exist on.
Stromatolites are
layers of algae. A planet of the right size must exist at the
right distance from the star, where it is neither
too hot nor too cold.
STROMATOLITES IN SHARK BAY, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Ursan tree
Life needs to emerge on the planet.
Ursas plants are purple instead of Life on the planet needs to evolve into
green, because they photosynthesize intelligent lifegreen slime is not capable of
using a different form of chlorophyll. communicating its existence.
In the low gravity, plants grow tall.
The intelligent life-forms must develop
technology to communicate over interstellar
distances.
EXTRATERRESTRIAL INTELLIGENCE
nce regarded as eccentric, the search
O for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI)
has become widely respected. It involves Radio waves carry the Arecibo
message. This radiation can
many disciplinesastronomy, physics, travel at the speed of light
through even the dustiest
chemistry, information technology, and regions of space, and so is ideal
for interstellar communications.
biology. Most SETI scientists use radio
telescopes to listen for artificial signals from
space, while a few are looking for laser
transmissions. Any deliberate message should
come in some easily decoded form. We have
already sent our own messages, but have yet
to detect a signal from space.
BIRTH OF SETI
In the 1950s, during the early days of radio astronomy, a
young American called Frank Drake realized that radio
telescopes were ideal tools to communicate with
extraterrestrials. They could pick up signalsand, used in
reverse, broadcast signalsright across the galaxy. Drake
was soon joined in his research by other astronomers.
Their most ambitious proposal was Project Cyclopsa
purpose-built array of 1,500 radio telescopesbut it was
too expensive to get off the drawing board.
ARECIBO MESSAGE
In 1974, the Arecibo Radio Telescope in
Puerto Rico sent a message to the stars.
It consisted of 1,679 on-off pulses
beamed toward globular cluster M13, a
dense ball of stars 25,000 light-years
away. An intelligent alien would realize
that 1,679 is made by multiplying the
prime numbers 23 and 73. Arranging the
pulses in a rectangle 23 columns wide
and 73 rows deep creates a pictogram
ARECIBO RADIO TELESCOPE
explaining the basis of life on Earth.
238
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THE UNIVERSE
8
4
The first block shows
PROJECT PHOENIX
D EVELOPMENT
2 the numbers 1 to 10 in
1 binary codethe form NASA set up a SETI OF SETI
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
of numbers used by
computers.
project in 1992, but
when it was canceled
SETI began in 1959, when
Giuseppe Cocconi (1914 )
by politicians, the and Philip Morrison (1915
The most important elements of
scientists found 2005) published a paper,
life are hydrogen, carbon, private funding. Searching for Interstellar
15 8 7 6 1 Hydrogen nitrogen, oxygen, and phosphorus. Renamed Project Communications, in the
P ON C H
This block picks out the atomic Phoenix, it used radio science journal Nature.
numbers of the five elements. telescopes around the
Phosphorus world, including one
at Greenbank, West
In 1960, Frank Drake
Oxygen Nitrogen
Carbon began Project OZMAthe
Virginia, until 2004. first radio telescope search
5 7 RADIO TELESCOPE AT GREENBANK for artificial signals.
Proportions of the key elements
1
0 0
P O N C H
in some important biological
molecules are shown in this block. CONTACT NASAs Jupiter and
C5H7O C5H7O Sugar (C5H7O, coded green), If we do make contact with alien life, it Saturn missions Pioneer 10
phosphate (purple), and the
would be the biggest news event of all time. and 11, launched in 1972
nucleotides (orange) make up the and 1973, each carried an
structure of DNA, the molecule Different groups of peoplethe military,
that forms the basis of religious communities, scientists, and engraved plaque with a
life on Earth. politicianswould all respond in different primitive message from
ways according to their own agendas. Earthintended to be read
Sugar molecules
Should we reply, or would it be too by any extraterrestrials who
dangerous? Who will decide what to say? might encounter the
Two twisted strands show the spacecraft after they left
double-helix structure of DNA, the solar system.
the huge molecule that divides
and replicates to pass on the
blueprints of life. Alien life-forms In 1974, the Arecibo
would almost certainly depend on message was sent toward
a molecule like DNA to pass on globular cluster M13.
genetic information.
SPINNING EARTH
e observe the universe from the deck of a
W giant spaceship speeding through the cosmos.
Spaceship Earth is not, however, an ideal observing
platform. It spins all the time, so everything seems to Greenwich
In the northern
At any time, half the globe hemisphere, the Suns
is facing the Sun and NIGHT DAY Suns path
across sky path lies to the south so
bathed in sunlight, and it travels left to right.
half is facing away from E S W
the Sun and in darkness.
Darkness allows us to
AFRICA Light from the Sun Earth spins west-east,
see stars in the sky. As
so the Sun appears to
Earth spins, the stars
SUN rise in the east and set
appear to move from
in the west.
east to west. ATLANTIC
OCEAN
changes. After one complete spin, Earth is facing the runs through Greenwich in
same direction, and the stars have returned to the England. Earth spins through
360 in 24 hours, so it turns Sun
same place in the skythis takes 23 hours 56
by 15 in each hour. If the 12 12 noon
minutes (a sidereal day). In this time, Earth has time in Greenwich (GMT, midnight
traveled 1.5 million miles (2.5 million km) along its or Greenwich Mean Time)
The ships clock is
orbit of the Sun, and it has to rotate an extra 1 is 6 p.m., it must be 6 a.m. at Rotation at 6 p.m. GMT.
180 east. The Earths spin of Earth So the ship must
before the Sun is in the same place in the sky. This helps navigators to find their
6 a.m.
be at 90 west of
takes 4 minutes, so a day measured relative to the longitudeprovided they Calculate longitude by multiplying
Greenwich, in the
Gulf of Mexico.
Sun (a solar day) is 24 hours long. know the time at Greenwich. difference in hours by 15.
242
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GETTING STARTED
Polaris Polaris
POLARIS AND LATITUDE Acrux SOUTHERN LATITUDE
In the northern hemisphere, the In the southern hemisphere
height of Polaris, or the North Celestial Celestial 27 there is no pole star, but the
90 north pole 90 south pole
Star, in the sky varies according 72 Southern Cross (Crux), which is
to latitude (distance north of the 45 27 from the celestial south pole
45
equator). At the North Pole Horizon Horizon can act as a guide to finding
(latitude 90N), Polaris is Latitude 90N Southern Cross in latitude. It is easiest to use in
directly overhead (90 above the April: if Acrux is 72 April (when it appears upright
above the horizon, in the sky) or in October (when
horizon), and at the equator subtract 27 from
Polaris
(latitude 0), it is just visible on this. Your latitude it appears upside down). Work
the horizon (0 above the Equator out the height of the star Acrux
will be 45.
horizon). At 60N, it is 60 45 from the horizon. If the cross
above the horizon, and at 45N Horizon is upright, subtract 27 to find
it is 45 above the horizon. Latitude 45N 45 your latitude; if upside down,
add 27.
27
Star altitudes: Astronomers measure 90 Acrux
the height of a star above the horizon in 90
degrees. From the horizon to overhead Polaris Southern Southern Cross in October: if Acrux is
is 90; a star halfway up in the sky is at Cross 63 63 above the horizon, add 27 to this.
45; one on the horizon is at 0. 0 Horizon Your latitude will be 90S.
Acrux
Equator
EARTHS ORBIT
s our planet spins on its axis, it is hurtling
A around the Sun at 60,000 mph (100,000 km/h),
providing ever-changing views of the universe.
JUNE TEMPERATURES
On this side of its orbit, the Earths tilt leans the North
Pole toward the Sun. In June, therefore, the Sun
shines directly on the northern hemisphere, raising
During this orbit, the height of the Sun in our skies temperatures so that it is summer time. Sunlight hits the
alters, too, leading to the progression in weather southern hemisphere at a slant, so it is spread out more
thinly and delivers less heat. South of the equator, the
from winter to summer, and back. By understanding temperature drops to winter cold.
Earths orbit, astronomers can explain why some
seasonal phenomena coincide with signs in the JUNE Summer
Suns heat
concentrated in
Throughout its
annual orbit, Earths
skyfor example, the annual flood of the Nile a small area axis always points in
the same direction.
River just after the appearance of the star Sirius, Same amount of
which ancient Egyptians ascribed to the sky gods. heat spread over
a wider area
APRIL
Winter
YEARS, SOLSTICES, AND EQUINOXES North Pole leans
Earth completes one orbit around the Sun in toward the Sun
365 days or one year. During this yearly trip, we in June.
244
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GETTING STARTED
FEBRUARY DECEMBER
MARCH
December
PRECESSION In 1609, Johannes Kepler
Earths axis of rotation is not absolutely fixed: it calculated that Earths path
(midsummer)
swings around very gradually, like a spinning top around the Sun must be an
Equinoxes about to fall over. At present, it points to Polaris. ellipse, not a circle.
June Over 26,000 years, the axis will slowly drift
(midwinter) around the sky, pointing to different pole stars, In 1728, Englands
before once again pointing at Polaris. This effect, Astronomer Royal James
SW W NW N NE E SE precession, is caused by the Moons gravity Bradley (16931762) observed
pulling on the tilted Earth. aberrationa seasonal shift in
SUNS SOUTHERN PATH the direction of starlight
Midwinter in the southern hemisphere sees the Polaris Polaris caused by Earths motion
Sun take its lowest path across the sky: it rises Vega which proved Earth is moving.
Axis of
in the northeast and sets in the northwest. At rotation
the equinoxes, its path is higher and it rises in FIND OUT MORE
Vega becomes
the east and sets in the west. During December, Polaris is pole star in S PINNING EARTH 242
the Sun reaches its highest point, and is rising pole star in 14,000 ce. M APPING THE NIGHT SKY 250
and setting in a more southerly direction. 2000 ce. S TAR MAPS 252261
DAYTIME ASTRONOMY
stronomy can be as much fun by day as by night,
Abecause some celestial objects are bright enough to
be seen even when the sky is not dark. The most
Use cardboard as a mask to
stop the Sun from shining
directly onto the screen.
obvious is the Sunour own star, and the only
one that can be seen in detail from the Earth. It Cut a hole in the
center of the mask
is dangerous to observe the Sun directly, but the same size as
projecting it onto a screen usually reveals plenty one of the binocular
lenses. Tape the
of ever-changing detail. The Suns brightness mask to the
binoculars so
makes it difficult to see fainter objects in the that one lens lets
sky, but they are there. The Moon and some light through.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Each sunspot
has a central dark
area, the umbra,
surrounded by a Day 4
lighter area,
the penumbra.
Day 5
TRACKING SUNSPOTS
Plotting the positions of sunspots
Limb, or edge, Day 6
of the Sun appears Faculas are bright
daily shows how they move across the face of the
darker than the areas usually seen Sun. This is because the Sun rotates, just as the Earth does.
center. near the limb. Sometimes a sunspot goes all the way around and returns to
Sunspots are dark areas where
magnetic fields restrict the the same position about 29 days later, but usually it changes
Suns light output. over a few days and fades away. Big sunspots often appear in
pairs, lined up roughly parallel with the Suns equator.
246
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GETTING STARTED
SUN REFLECTED
OVER WATER COLOR OF THE SUN
The Sun is usually described as being yellow, but its
true color is pure white. The reason it looks yellow is
that the human eye often glimpses the Sun when its light
is dimmed by clouds, or when it is low in the sky just before
sunset, which yellows its light. Reflections of the bright Sun
on water, however, show clearly its real, pure-white color.
DAYTIME MOON
The Moon is often easy to see in the daytime sky, particularly FIND OUT MORE
when it is at its brightest during its nearly full phase. Look for M OON 92
it in the afternoon in the east or southeast before full Moon N EARSIDE OF THE MOON 100
(east or northeast in the southern hemisphere), and in the V ENUSIAN ATMOSPHERE 110
morning sky in the west or southwest after full Moon (west or I NSIDE THE SUN 154
northwest in the southern hemisphere). It will be higher in S UN S SURFACE 156
the sky during winter than during summer. E CLIPSES OF THE SUN 160
VENUS IN THE EVENING SKY
PREPARING TO STARGAZE
he sky is clear, the sun has gone down, and the stars
T are beginning to come out. The scene is set for a good
nights observing. This is the time to get prepared, because
GOOD VIEWING CONDITIONS
Some nights are good for looking at stars, while
others are better for planets. Brilliantly clear
evenings often have turbulent air. This spoils views
once outside there should be no need to come in for a of the Moon and planets, but is good for finding
forgotten pencil, or a pair of gloves. If the weather is cold, faint nebulas. Windless conditions are more suited
to studying the Moon and planets, despite the mist
be prepared for it to become even colder. Put on warm that may form.
clothes, not forgetting a warm hat. Plan carefully
The fainter the stars
what to observe ahead of time. It is frustrating visible, the better the
to miss seeing a particular favorite object transparency.
ESSENTIAL EQUIPMENT
Good observers keep a record of what they
have seen. Any notebook will do, but one with
plain sheets will be better for drawing. For each
observation, write down the time, date, year, and
location, and describe the weather conditions,
particularly any mist or cloud. Also note if the
times are in summertime. Keep a record of any
instruments used, such as binoculars or a telescope.
To look at star maps or take notes, use a flashlight covered
with red cellophane. This will give a reddish light that
will not affect night vision.
CHECKLIST
Warm clothing, including NORTH AND SOUTH
waterproof shoes It is important to get ones
Notebook and pen or pencil bearings before observing. The
Accurate watch Sun is due south at noon (north
Red-covered flashlight in the southern hemisphere), so
Binoculars note its position in relation to
Something to sit on nearby objects such as trees that
Books and star maps can be identified at night.
A small table (useful to put
everything on)
LIGHT POLLUTION
RED-COVERED City lights spread their glow into
FLASHLIGHT the sky, causing light pollution
NOTEBOOK
that often drowns out the fainter
stars. Town dwellers should
Before going outside to
observe, organize the choose a spot as far from lights
notebook into the as possible, and make sure that
categories of objects to no lights shine directly into their
be recorded. eyes. If the Moon is full, even
Make a red flashlight by covering an ordinary
flashlight with a piece of red cellophane held country dwellers will find it
by a rubber band, or use a red bicycle lamp. difficult to see faint objects.
248
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GETTING STARTED
CELESTIAL SPHERE
North celestial pole
60 declination
Earths
North
30 Pole
90N latitude (North Pole) 45N latitude (Mid-Europe) declination
Ecliptic
0 latitude (equator)
Celestial
equator
250
(c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
GETTING STARTED
CONSTELLATIONS
A distinctive pattern of stars is known as a
constellation, and the entire sky is divided into
88 such groups. There is usually no real link between
the individual stars of a pattern. In Cassiopeia, for
instance, the five main stars are all at different
distances, and none is near each other. The lines on
star maps joining stars together are simply there to
help the observer see the patterns.
Taurus Aries
Pisces
ZODIAC
The constellations along the ecliptic are host to the Sun,
Gemini Aquarius Moon, and planets, and were regarded as special in ancient
times. They are known as the zodiac, a name that comes
from the Greek word for animalsmost of the
constellations are named after animals. Traditionally,
there are 12 constellations in the zodiac.
Capricornus
VIEWING CONSTELLATIONS
Name When Where
h
15
URSA MAJOR Th e P l o u g h
9h
Mizar BOTES
The bright star Capella in Merak Megrez
F
Alioth Alcor
EB 8
E
R
JUN
UA
h
16
are so close together Dubhe
RY
h
M81 M82
LYNX
Declination, the celestial
17h
Kochab DRACO
7h
equivalent of latitude on
Earth, is shown by the URSA MINOR
M92
circular grid lines. It is
HERCULES
measured in degrees. Nu Draconis
JANUARY
JULY
+40 +50 +60 +70 +80 +90 +80 +70 Cat's Eye +60 +50 +40
Nebula
18h
6h
Polaris
19 h
5h
CEPHEUS
DE
ST
Cluster Garnet Star
C
4h
GU
EM
Delta
AU 20
up the Double Cluster. Double Cephei Deneb
PERSEUS
BE
Cluster
Eta Cassiopeiae
R
North
Little America
Algol Dumbbell
Nebula CASSIOPEIA M39 Nebula h
21
3
h
ON
RI
CONSTELLATIONS
TI
IL
W
Almach
Originally, a constellation was a distinct NO 2 LACERTA
ER
h ANDROMEDA
pattern of stars, given a Latin name. In 1930, VE 22
h
252
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GETTING STARTED
APRIL
SOUTH POLAR HIGHLIGHTS Alpha Centauri is the closest
The best-known feature of the southern sky is the 13h
12h
bright star to the Sun,
11 h
MA CH 4.4 light-years away.
Southern Cross, which is made up from the five Y 14 Eight-Burst AR A small telescope
Nebula
brightest stars of Crux. Follow a line from h
Centaurus A
CENTAURUS 10 h
M shows that it is
Gacrux through Acrux to locate the south actually a
celestial pole, which is at the center of 15
Omega
Centauri
double star.
Southern
h
9
the map. Two bright stars, Alpha
h
Gamma C r o s s VELA
Crucis Blue Planetary Nebula
Centauri and Hadar, point toward LUPUS
Y
Mimosa NGC3532
the Southern Cross.
AR
CRUX
JU
Acrux
U
Eta Carinae Gamma
NE
16 h
Jewel Box
BR
Velorum
Hadar IC2391
Carina Nebula
8h
Alpha Coalsack
FE
Southern
Centauri Pleiades
LOCATER NGC2547
NORMA
CIRCINUS MUSCA
North polar map
NGC6231 PUPPIS
NGC2516
7h
17 h
JANUARY
Canopus
JULY
40 50 60 70 80 90 80 70
6h
18h
CORONA
5h
constellation in the sky but AUSTRALIS Small
PAVO Magellanic RETICULUM
Cloud CAELUM
is one of the best known. 47 Tucanae
Its main stars are on the Peacock
flags of Australia and SAGITTARIUS
ER
New Zealand. HOROLOGIUM
AU
MB
TUCANA
CE 4
GU
20
INDUS
h
ST
Achernar
DE
MICROSCOPIUM ERIDANUS
21
PHOENIX
h
3h
ON
Alnair
RI
TI
IL
W
SE 22 GRUS
PT ER2h
h
Delta
EM MB
Gruis
BE E Large and Small
R V
NO
23 h 1h
Planisphere Magellanic Clouds are
0h
galaxies in orbit around the
OCTOBER Milky Way. Both are visible to
The stars visible the naked eye, but binoculars will
SOUTH POLAR MAP reveal star clusters and nebulas
depend on your
latitude, the time, lying within them.
and date.
SOUTHERN PLEIADES
USING A PLANISPHERE This open star cluster, also known as
A planisphere is a circular star map with a mask that IC 2602, is easily seen with the naked
rotates to show the area of sky visible at any given date eye. It is sometimes called Southern
or time. Held upside down over the head, it shows Pleiades because of its similarity to
which stars will be visible at that moment. Planispheres the Pleiades cluster. It contains
are designed to work at specific latitudes, so find out about 30 stars, eight of which are
your latitude before buying one. brighter than magnitude 6.
M39 America
1h 0h 23h Nebula
The maps are designed to overlap. Stars at the Algol LACERTA
Almach
edges are repeated on the next map. Stars at +40 +40
the top also appear on the outer edge of the 61 Cygni
PERSEUS Andromeda
north polar map, and those along the bottom Galaxy
M32
on the south polar map. If joined together,
they would form one continuous map CYGNUS
+30 ANDROMEDA +30
TRIANGULUM Triangulum
Galaxy
Right ascension, the equivalent of
Alpheratz VULPECULA
longitude on Earth, is labeled in Square of
hours along the top and bottom. ARIES Pegasus
+20 +20
Declination, the equivalent of Gamma Arietis
PEGASUS
latitude on Earth, is labeled in DELPHINUS
degrees on both edges.
M15
PISCES
+10 +10
Andromeda Galaxy is the most Enif
distant object usually visible to Circlet
the naked eye. It is 2.5 million CETUS ECL
IPT EQUULEUS
light-years away from Earth. Find IC
Wa t e r J a r
it by moving northeast from star 0 M77
M2 0
to star, starting from Alpheratz.
Mira
10 NGC246 10
Saturn
AQUARIUS Nebula
CAPRICORNUS
Helix Nebula
20 20
NGC253
FORNAX Fomalhaut
SCULPTOR
PISCIS
30 AUSTRINUS 30
NGC55
M15 GLOBULAR CLUSTER
This cluster can be seen about 20 PHOENIX
MICROSCOPIUM
GRUS
to the right of the bottom of the Delta
Gruis
40 40
Square of Pegasus. In binoculars
ERIDANUS 0h
M15 looks hazy, but a telescope 1h 23 h Alnair
shows it to be ball-shaped. 2h OCTOBER SEPTE
22 h
INDUS
R
EMBE MBE 21 h
50
3h
NOV SOUTHERN HORIZON
R 50
KEY ON PAGE 252
EAST WIL WEST
T IR
ION
254
(c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
GETTING STARTED
LOCATER
Dumbbell
June to August Nebula is the
remains of a
star that died
thousands of
September to November years ago.
+50
+50
AUG OVERHEAD h
JUNE
21 h UST 15
20 h JULY 16h
Deneb 19 h 17h
North DRACO 18h
America Nebula Northern
Cross BOTES +40
+40
Cy
Vega
M13 This open star cluster, which is
Ri
Ring
BOREALIS
Izar visible with the naked eye.
Nebula R Coronae Borealis
Binoculars show that it has a
Albireo
V- shape of stars that looks like a
+20 Dumbbell +20 flight of duckshence its name.
Nebula VULPECULA
DELPHINUS
SAGITTA HERCULES Three bright stars from different
constellationsDeneb in Cygnus,
Rasalhague Vega in Lyra, and Altair in
+10 +10 Aquilamake up the
Altair
EQUULEUS SERPENS Summer Triangle.
CAPUT
CORONA LUPUS
AUSTRALIS
MICROSCOPIUM CENTAURUS FIND OUT MORE
NGC6231
M EASURE OF THE STARS 162
40 C LUSTERS AND DOUBLES 174
40
TELESCOPIUM ARA
G LOBULAR CLUSTERS 176
19h 18h 17 h NORMA
P LANETARY NEBULAS 182
INDUS 20h JULY 16 h M ILKY WAY 194
UST J UN E M APPING THE NIGHT SKY 250
AUG
h 15 h
21 50 P OLAR STAR MAPS 252
50 SOUTHERN HORIZON
WEST
B INOCULAR ASTRONOMY 268
EAST WIL
TIR
ION
Izar
M3 CANCER
COMA
BOTES BERENICES
+20 Praesepe
Black Eye Galaxy NGC2903 +20
Algieba
Sickle
Arcturus
BLACK EYE GALAXY M100
LEO
M88 M67
A spiral galaxy just below +10
M90 M86 Denebola
M60 M84 M66 M65 Regulus
Coma Berenices, the Black M87 +10
Eye Galaxy has a dark dust Vir
M49
te
r
lane near its center. Small go Clus
M5 M61 Head
telescopes just show a little of
Hydra
hazy oval of light, but large 0 Porrima 0
C
telescopes make it look like IPTI
VIRGO ECL
an eye, hence the name. SEXTANS
Alphard
10 Sombrero Hat Galaxy
Spica 10
Arcturus, in Botes, is a red giant and
LIBRA CORVUS CRATER
the fourth brightest star in the sky.
HYDRA
Zubenelgenubi
Ghost of Jupiter
Nebula
M65 and M66 galaxies are in Leo. 20 20
They are easy to find as they are HYDRA
quite bright, and lie between two
fairly bright stars. With a M83 PYXIS
telescope, the galaxies look like
30
tiny, hazy spindles. CENTAURUS ANTLIA 30
Eight-Burst
Nebula
Porrima in Virgo is a double star. Centaurus A
Between 2005 and 2007, the stars were
40
so close to each other that even with a VELA
40
telescope they looked like a single star. Omega 13h 12h
LUPUS 11h
The next time this occurs will be in 2174. Centauri
14h APRIL 10 h
MARC
MAY
h
15 H 9h
50
50 SOUTHERN HORIZON
KEY ON PAGE 252
EAST WIL
WEST
T IR
ION
256
(c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
GETTING STARTED
LOCATER
M36 is a compact cluster of
March to May about 60 stars, while there
are about 100 stars
scattered across a wider
area in M38.
December to February M36 M38
+5 0
FEBR OVERHEAD R +50
MBE
9h
UARY 3h
URSA
MAJOR
8h JANUARY DECE 4 h Alpha Persei PRAESEPE
Cluster
7h
6h
5h An open star cluster in Cancer,
+40 Capella
Praesepe is visible with the naked
LYNX
Epsilon Aurigae
Algol +40
eye on clear and dark nights. With
PERSEUS
binoculars, it is a splendid sight.
AURIGA
CAELUM
FIND OUT MORE
40
40 W HERE STARS ARE BORN 172
VELA PICTOR HOROLOGIUM O UR LOCAL NEIGHBORHOOD 198
6h
Gamma 8 h 7h 5h G ALAXIES 210
Velorum
JANUARY 4h P REPARING TO STARGAZE 248
NGC2547 DECE
UARY MBE M APPING THE NIGHT SKY 250
FEBR
h 3h
5 0
9 R 50
P OLAR STAR MAPS 252
SOUTHERN HORIZON B INOCULAR ASTRONOMY 268
EAST WIL WEST
TIR
ION
Fomalhaut FORNAX
Declination, the equivalent of latitude,
is labeled in degrees on both edges. NGC253
20 20
Helix Nebula
CAPRICORNUS
Mira
0 M2
M77 0
Wa t e r J a r ECL
EQUULEUS IPT
IC CETUS
HELIX NEBULA Circlet
Enif
The largest, and closest, +10 +10
planetary nebula is the Helix M15
PISCES
Nebula in Aquarius. It can be
seen in a very dark sky, using DELPHINUS
PEGASUS
Gamma Arietis
binoculars or a telescope. The
+20
red color shows only in +20
photographs. Square of
Pegasus
ARIES
VULPECULA Alpheratz
Triangulum TRIANGULUM
+30 ANDROMEDA Galaxy +30
Triangulum Galaxy, a misty patch about CYGNUS
the size of the full Moon in the sky, can be
seen with binoculars on a dark night. It is M32
Andromeda PERSEUS
slightly farther away than the Andromeda Galaxy
61 Cygni
Galaxy, which is to the northeast. +40
+40 Almach
LACERTA Algol
North 23h 0h
America M39 1h
Nebula
22h OCTOBER NOVE
2h
R
EMBE
Deneb
MBE
SEPT
21
h 3h
+50
R +50
NORTHERN HORIZON
KEY ON PAGE 252
WEST WIL
EAST
T IR
ION
258
(c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
GETTING STARTED
M41
December to February
NGC2451
30
Trapezium is a multiple star in the
FORNAX
PUPPIS 30 Orion Nebula, just south of Orions
Belt. The nebula is visible as a misty
COLUMBA
PYXIS patch with the naked eye. A
Adhara
telescope shows four stars in the
CANIS MAJOR shape of a trapezium that were
20 ERIDANUS 20
LEPUS recently born and are now
M41 illuminating the nebula.
Sirius
M47
10 10
40 Rigel
Epsilon Eridani Eridani Saiph Beta
Monocerotis Betelgeuse is a noticeable orange,
Orion Nebula
Trapezium Sigma
while the other stars of Orion are
Orionis
Alnitak
MONOCEROS mostly bluish. It is a red giant star,
ORION 0
0
Mintaka
Alnilam and varies slightly and
M77 Head of HYDRA
Hydra unpredictably in brightness.
Belt of Orion
Rosette Procyon
CETUS Nebula
Bellatrix Betelgeuse CANIS
MINOR
+10 +10
M67
Theta
Tauri GEMINI
Hyades Aldebaran Crab Nebula in Taurus gets its
ECLIPT
IC name from its clawlike extensions.
Crab Eta Geminorum
Nebula +20
It is the remains of a brilliant
+20 Praesepe
Pleiades M35 supernova that appeared in 1054.
TAURUS
Elnath Now all that can be seen with a
ARIES CANCER telescope is a hazy blur.
Pollux
M37
Castor
+30
+30 M38 M36
APRIL Omega
14h
11h Centauri LUPUS
12h
13h
VELA
40
40
Centaurus A
Eight-Burst
Nebula
30 ANTLIA CENTAURUS
30
PYXIS M83
HYDRA
20 20
260
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GETTING STARTED
AUGU
21
16 h INDUS
NORMA
JULY 20h
17 h 19h
18h
ARA TELESCOPIUM
40
40
M7 open star cluster to the naked
NGC6231 eye looks like a bright part of the
CENTAURUS CORONA MICROSCOPIUM Milky Way, about twice the size
LUPUS
AUSTRALIS
of the full Moon. Binoculars or
30 Shaula a small telescope show many
HYDRA M7 30
SCORPIUS stars in this and another
M6 nearby cluster, M6.
M62 SAGITTARIUS
Te a p o t
M4
LIBRA Antares CAPRICORNUS
Lagoon Nebula Nunki
20
ECLIPTIC
M22 20
Trifid
Nebula
Nu M25 Sagittarius is a rich viewing area.
Zubenelgenubi Scorpii Omega Not only does the center of the
Nebula
Eagle Milky Way lie in this direction,
10 Nebula SCUTUM
Algedi but it contains more bright
10
nebulas and star clusters than
Wild Duck
OPHIUCHUS Cluster any other constellation.
M10 AQUARIUS
M12 AQUILA
0
0
SERPENS Eta
VIRGO M5 CAUDA Aquilae
The dark band in the Milky Way,
SERPENS
CAPUT
Cygnus Rift, is caused by dust
EQUULEUS
Altair clouds lying in front of the stars.
+10 +10
Rasalhague
HERCULES SAGITTA
DELPHINUS
BOREALIS +30
+30 Sheliak LYRA
gn
M13
Vega
us
Lyrae
M92 CYGNUS 61 Cygni
C LUSTERS AND DOUBLES 174
ft
+40
+40
BOTES Northern M ILKY WAY 194
Cross North America
18h DRACO Nebula G ALAXIES 210
17h 19 h Deneb P REPARING TO STARGAZE 248
20 h
16h JULY M APPING THE NIGHT SKY 250
AUGU
JUNE
21 h P OLAR STAR MAPS 252
15
h
ST +50
+50
NORTHERN HORIZON
B INOCULAR ASTRONOMY 268
WEST WIL EAST
R EFRACTING TELESCOPES 270
TIR
ION
CROWDED SKY
Lasers and searchlights can
Most objects in the sky, including stars and be seen for many miles. They
planets, are recognizable by their appearance and can also reflect off thin cloud,
as fast-moving spots of light.
movement, once you know what to look for. Study
each new visible object carefully for tell-tale signs,
such as changes of direction and speed, that will
help with identification. Aircraft are common
sights in many night skies and are easy to
distinguish from other objects. Listen for their Moon is seen in different
positions from night to night.
sound to be certain of identification, but
remember that the wind can carry sound away,
and that the noise from a fast-moving plane often
seems to come from far behind it. Con-trails are trails left
by aircraft, which catch
the Sun after sunset. They
may be slow moving if
the plane is distant.
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OBSERVING
MOON WATCHING
Follow the Moon through its
phases, starting with the crescent.
As the month progresses, more
and more details become
Aircraft landing lights are visible. Make drawings
bright and can reflect off of what can be seen,
thin cloud. They appear then identify the
almost motionless for
many minutes if the plane details using a
is approaching. Moon map.
WATER JAR
Faint satellites may take
10 minutes or more to D
cross the sky, depending
on their height.
C G
B
E
F
Iridium (cell phone) A
satellites have mirrored
panels and flash
brilliantly if sunlight
catches them. July-December skies include the distinct pattern
MAGNITUDE KEY
of stars in Aquarius known as the Water Jar.
Locate the Water Jar in the sky between the A = 3.4 E = 5.4
Square of Pegasus and Fomalhaut (see maps on B = 4.2 F = 6.0
Venus can often be seen pages 254 and 258). C = 4.3 G = 6.2
low at twilight. It rises and D = 4.4
sets with the stars.
HEAD OF HYDRA
MILKY WAY
IN JULY A
F B
G
MILKY WAY IN NOVEMBER E
C D
RAY AURORA
RAYS AND CORONAS AURORAS
Auroras often appear as one or more
rays of light, which look like
Colored glows called auroras are common
searchlight beams shining up from around the Earths polar regions. They are
the northern horizon in the caused by streams of particles from the Sun
northern hemisphere (or that are attracted by the magnetic poles
southern in the southern
hemisphere). Occasionally, a as the particles hit the Earths upper
large aurora can be seen atmosphere they cause atoms of gas to glow.
overhead, with colored rays Auroras can look like huge curtains hanging in
appearing to stream down from the sky, slowly changing shape. Sometimes
high in the sky. This is known
as a corona. they are seen over a much wider area,
CORONA particularly when sunspot activity is high.
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OBSERVING
266
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OBSERVING
ISO SETTING
Lower ISO settings are best
for taking photographs at
twilight that include the
Moon or bright planets.
Stars are too faint to be
shown as points of light with
these ISO settings, but if the
exposure is increased the
Earths rotation draws their
images out into star trails.
At higher ISO settings, it is Moon and planets at twilight need an Star trails result from a long exposure Meteors appear suddenly in the sky.
exposure time of 1020 seconds at the (a few minutes to an hour) on low or The best way to photograph them is
possible to photograph stars widest aperture with a low ISO setting. mid- ISO settings. Fix the camera to a to go out during a meteor shower,
with a short exposure time. This is enough to show bright planets tripod and point it at the celestial pole. take long exposures at higher ISO
and stars as points of light. Stars appear as trails of light as the settings, and hope that one will
Earth rotates. Another approach uses appear while the shutter is open.
software to combine many successive A wide angle lens helps.
USING A TELEPHOTO LENS shorter exposures into one picture.
A standard camera lens has a focal length of about 50 mm, Bright comets will show
but telephoto lenses have longer focal lengthsoften 135 mm at higher ISO settings with
or 200 mmand give greater magnification (the exact a 20-second exposure. For
magnification depends on the size of the cameras CCD sensor). fainter comets, stars, and
nebulas, use an equatorial
A camera with a telephoto lens fixed on a tripod is fine for mounting, which tracks
photographing the Moon; it will also show star trails using the stars as they move
exposures of only a few seconds. A motorized equatorial across the sky, or take many
mounting allows the camera to follow faint objects, fixed shorter exposures and
use image processing
such as nebulas, over long exposures. software to combine them
into one image.
Extending lens
hood helps to
reduce risk of DSLR
dew forming camera
on lens. body
Telephoto lens
IMAGE PROCESSING
Once images are downloaded to a computer, photographic image-
processing software can be used to create improved final pictures.
Noise from using higher ISO settings can be smoothed away and color
balance adjusted to make skies darker and stars clearer. Special
astrophotography packages allow images to be combined to give
clearer results, greater sky coverage, or special effects like star trails.
BINOCULAR ASTRONOMY
inoculars are much more than the
B poor relations of telescopes. They show
things that telescopes are not able to, and can
CHOOSING BINOCULARS
High magnification (power) binoculars are not needed for
astronomythose with a magnification of more than 10
be used to make serious observations. Above magnify the users movements to such a degree they can
all, they are good value and convenienteven make viewing more difficult. Binoculars described as 10 x 50
astronomers with large telescopes use them magnify 10 times and have objective (main) lenses of 50 mm.
regularly. Binoculars are two low-magnification Avoid zoom (variable power) binocularsthey have extra
telescopes mounted side by side. For those who lenses that may cause distortion. Generally, binoculars with
prefer to observe with both eyes rather than the characteristic N-shaped tubes (Porro prism) are better
one, they are more comfortable to use than for astronomy than those with straight tubes (roof prism).
telescopes, and can give stunning views of
Pivot bar
the Milky Way, nebulas, and galaxies such Eyepiece lens
provides
as the Large Magellanic Cloud. magnification.
Dioptre corrector
MAGNIFICATION Focusing
Binoculars will show stars in knob
regions where none can be seen
with the naked eye. This makes
them useful even in cities
where light pollution hides all
Barrel
but the brightest stars. The
magnification of binoculars
allows you to see star clusters,
such as the Pleiades, in
greater detail.
BINOCULARS
A DJUSTING BINOCULARS
Pivot bar Focusing knob
Dioptre
corrector
FIT THE EYEPIECES FOCUS THE LEFT LENS FOCUS THE RIGHT LENS
Adjust the separation of the Choose a distant object and Focus on the same object with
eyepieces to match the eyes focus on it carefully, using the the right side using the dioptre
and note the reading on the left side only, by turning the corrector to allow for differences
PLEIADES WITH HIGH-POWERED scale on the pivot bar. central focusing knob. between left and right eye.
BINOCULARS
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OBSERVING
TESTING BINOCULARS
It is possible to test binoculars during the day by
viewing a distant object, such as a tall building,
silhouetted against a bright sky. Adjust the
binoculars, then look at the edges of the field of
view for distortions and false color. The more
expensive the binoculars, the wider the field of
view and the better the brightness. A good tip is to
check a chosen model against the most expensive
ones available before buyingit should be as close
as possible in quality.
Distortion may affect the field of view and make False color shows up as red and blue or green
ETA AQUILAE stars near the edge appear blurred. If testing and pink edges of objects seen against a bright
AND NEARBY during the day, check that an object remains sky. Bad false color, which may not appear too
altair sharp from one side of the field of view to the serious by day, will be very obvious when
STARS
C
other without refocusing. observing the Moon at night.
B
Eta Aquilae
E
A
D
OBSERVING VARIABLE STARS WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Some stars vary in brightness, and
Object Type Location Best visible
many of these can best be observed
using binoculars. Practice comparing Alpha Persei Open cluster Perseus December
Cluster
the brightness of Eta Aquilae with that
Andromeda Galaxy Andromeda November
MAGNITUDE KEY of other stars nearby. Judge whether it is Carina Nebula Nebula Carina April
A = 3.2 brighter or fainter, and by how much, Double Cluster Open clusters Perseus November
B = 3.4 then estimate its actual brightness using Hyades Open cluster Taurus December
C = 3.7 the figures given for the magnitudes of Lagoon Nebula Nebula Sagittarius August
D = 4.4 the comparison stars. Remember that Large Magellanic Galaxy Dorado January
E = 4.5 Cloud
brighter stars have lower numbers. Moon Ecliptic All year
Omega Nebula Nebula Sagittarius August
Days 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Orion Nebula Nebula Orion January
3.5 Pleiades Open cluster Taurus December
3.6 Observations over a week showed Praesepe Open cluster Cancer March
3.7
that Eta Aquilae varied in
Magnitude
REFRACTING TELESCOPES
he simplest telescope is called a refracting telescope,
Tor refractor. It has a large lens, the objective, at the top
of its tube and a smaller lens, the eyepiece, through which a
ACCESSORIES
Refractors are usually provided with a finder (a
low-magnification telescope that helps aim the
main instrument), several eyepieces giving
magnified image is seen. The key feature of any telescope is different magnifications, and a star diagonal.
The star diagonal turns the light through a right
the size of its objective lens, the aperture. The larger the angle, and avoids the need to crouch on the
aperture, the better. Basic refractors give an upside-down ground while viewing. A Barlow lens is also
view and need extra lenses to give an upright image. often includedthis multiplies the power
of each eyepiece.
These lenses absorb precious light, so astronomers
use a simple telescope giving an upside-down image. Dewcap is a hollow tube
Refractors are ideal first telescopes but some are that helps to prevent
dew from forming on
no more than toys. It is possible to make one, the objective.
but this will have a limited use.
Objective is an achromatic lens with
two separate components, one behind
the other, to reduce false color.
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OBSERVING
REFLECTING TELESCOPES
he most common type of telescope for
Tastronomy is the reflecting telescope, or
reflector. Reflectors use a mirror rather than a lens
DOBSONIAN REFLECTOR
Eyepiece
to focus light. Reasonably priced reflectors can be Formica ring enables
made in much larger sizes than refractors and they the telescope to pivot
up and down.
do not suffer from false color. They do need more
maintenance, however, and can give lower contrast
images. Even so, almost all large telescopes are
reflectors. They are fairly simple to build, and some Dobsonian tube is
people buy the optical parts and make their own. made of cheap, light-
weight material such as
At the expensive end of the scale, a telescope thick rolled cardboard.
which combines both mirrors and lensesa
catadioptricis increasing in popularity. Pivot system has a
Formica surface that
This is often computer-controlled. slips against a Teflon
pad for low friction.
Reflected light
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OBSERVING
SCHMIDT-CASSEGRAIN
TELECOPE
TARANTULA NEBULA
Reflectors are excellent for
Declination
scale
observing nebulas such as the
Finder
Tarantula Nebula. The
Tarantula is the brightest
spot within the Large
Magellanic Cloud, visible
Eyepiece
only from the southern
hemisphere within the
constellation of Dorado. Its
Focusing knob color is difficult to see
because the eye is not sensitive
to the nebulas deep red light,
Right ascension scale
even using a large telescope.
COMPUTER CONTROL
The most expensive Schmidt- WHIRLPOOL GALAXY
Cassegrain telescopes have This galaxy is in the northern
their own specially built constellation of Canes
computerized handset. To set Venatici. The astronomer
up, aim it at two known William Parsons, Earl of
bright stars in the sky, then Motor-driven Rosse, (180067) first saw
it will figure out for itself equatorial its spiral structure in 1845
where the other stars mount using a 180-cm reflector,
are. The telescopes then the largest telescope
controller has a huge in the world. With modern
Tripod
built-in database of locations for star reflectors the spiral can be
clusters, nebulas, and galaxies and can seen with telescopes of only
point itself automatically at any object. 12 in (30 cm) aperture.
The names of moons are often associated with their parent planetPhobos
and Deimos were the sons of Mars in Greek myth, while Jupiters moons are
named after his various lovers. Plutos largest moon, Charon, is named after
the boatman who ferried dead souls across the River Styx, while all the moons
of Uranus bear names from English literature. Surface features on planets and
moons are also named according to specific themesnearly all the features
on Venus have female names while those on Callisto are from Norse myths.
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ASTRONOMICAL NAMES
Constellations
Constellations were originally patterns of bright stars in Name Common Name Genitive Size in
square degrees
which ancient civilizations saw animals, people, and
mythical beasts. About 150 ce, Ptolemy created a list of Hercules Hercules Herculis 1,225
48 constellations, and later astronomers added to these to Horologium Clock Horologii 249
Hydra Water Snake Hydrae 1,303
create the current list of 88. Constellations are now defined Hydrus Little Water Snake Hydri 243
as areas of sky rather than as particular patterns of stars. Indus Indian Indi 294
Lacerta Lizard Lacertae 201
Leo Lion Leonis 947
Name Common Name Genitive Size in Leo Minor Little Lion Leonis Minoris 232
(possessive) square degrees Lepus Hare Leporis 290
Libra Scales Librae 538
Andromeda Andromeda Andromedae 722 Lupus Wolf Lupi 334
Antlia Air Pump Antliae 239 Lynx Lynx Lyncis 545
Apus Bird of Paradise Apodis 206 Lyra Lyre Lyrae 286
Aquarius Water Carrier Aquarii 980 Mensa Table Mountain Mensae 153
Aquila Eagle Aquilae 652 Microscopium Microscope Microscopii 210
Ara Altar Arae 237 Monoceros Unicorn Monocerotis 482
Aries Ram Arietis 441 Musca Fly Muscae 138
Auriga Charioteer Aurigae 657 Norma Level Normae 165
Botes Herdsman Botis 907 Octans Octant Octantis 291
Caelum Chisel Caeli 125 Ophiuchus Serpent Bearer Ophiuchi 948
Camelopardalis Giraffe Camelopardalis 757 Orion Orion, Hunter Orionis 594
Cancer Crab Cancri 506 Pavo Peacock Pavonis 378
Canes Venatici Hunting Dogs Canum Venaticorum 465 Pegasus Pegasus, Winged Horse Pegasi 1,121
Canis Major Great Dog Canis Majoris 380 Perseus Perseus Persei 615
Canis Minor Little Dog Canis Minoris 183 Phoenix Phoenix Phoenicis 469
Capricornus Sea Goat Capricorni 414 Pictor Painters Easel Pictoris 247
Carina Keel Carinae 494 Pisces Fishes Piscium 889
Cassiopeia Cassiopeia Cassiopeiae 598 Piscis Austrinus Southern Fish Piscis Austrini 245
Centaurus Centaur Centauri 1,060 Puppis Stern Puppis 673
Cepheus Cepheus Cephei 588 Pyxis Mariners Compass Pyxidis 221
Cetus Whale Ceti 1,231 Reticulum Net Reticuli 114
Chamaeleon Chameleon Chamaeleontis 132 Sagitta Arrow Sagittae 80
Circinus Compasses Circini 93 Sagittarius Archer Sagittarii 867
Columba Dove Columbae 270 Scorpius Scorpion Scorpii 497
Coma Berenices Berenices Hair Comae Berenicis 386 Sculptor Sculptor Sculptoris 475
Corona Australis Southern Crown Coronae Australis 128 Scutum Shield Scuti 109
Corona Borealis Northern Crown Coronae Borealis 179 Serpens Serpent Serpentis 637
Corvus Crow Corvi 184 Sextans Sextant Sextantis 314
Crater Cup Crateris 282 Taurus Bull Tauri 797
Crux Southern Cross Crucis 68 Telescopium Telescope Telescopii 252
Cygnus Swan Cygni 804 Triangulum Triangle Trianguli 132
Delphinus Dolphin Delphini 189 Triangulum Australe Southern Triangle Trianguli Australis 110
Dorado Swordfish Doradus 179 Tucana Toucan Tucanae 295
Draco Dragon Draconis 1,083 Ursa Major Great Bear Ursae Majoris 1,280
Equuleus Foal Equulei 72 Ursa Minor Little Bear Ursae Minoris 256
Eridanus River Eridani 1,138 Vela Sails Velorum 500
Fornax Furnace Fornacis 398 Virgo Virgin Virginis 1,294
Gemini Twins Geminorum 514 Volans Flying Fish Volantis 141
Grus Crane Gruis 366 Vulpecula Fox Vulpeculae 268
3000 B C E 1750
ASTRONOMY TIMELINE 1609 KEPLERS LAWS Johannes
Kepler publishes his New
Astronomy. In this and later works, he
announces his three laws of planetary
3000BCE STONE ASTRONOMY
Stonehenge, built
about this time in southern England, is a
150CE STAR CATALOG
Ptolemy publishes his star
catalog, listing 48 constellations, and
motion, replacing the circular orbits of
Plato with elliptical ones. Almanacs based
giant astronomical calendar with stones endorses the Earth-centered view of the on his laws prove to be highly accurate.
aligned to the Sun and possibly the Moon. universe. His views go unquestioned for
Many other ancient sites are thought to nearly 1,500 years and are passed down
have astronomical significance, such as the
Egyptian pyramids (c. 2600 BCE) and
to Arabic and medieval European
astronomers in his book, The Almagest. 1610 OBSERVATIONS Galileo
Galilei publishes the findings
of his observations with the telescope he
buildings in China and Central and South
America (1st century CE). built. These include spots on the Sun,
craters on the Moon, and four satellites of
928CE ASTROLABE The earliest
surviving astrolabe is
made by Islamic craftsmen. Astrolabes
Jupiter. Proving that not everything orbits
Earth, he promotes the Copernican view
750BCE LUNAR CYCLE In
Babylon, astronomers
discover 18.6-year cycle in the rising and
are the most advanced instruments of
their time. The precise measurement of
of a Sun-centered universe.
setting of the Moon. From this they create the positions of stars and planets allows
the first almanacstables of movements of
the Sun, Moon, and planets for use in
Arab astronomers to compile the most
detailed almanacs and star atlases yet. 1655 TITAN As the power and
quality of telescopes increases,
Christiaan Huygens studies Saturn and
astrology. In 6th century Greece, this
knowledge is used to predict eclipses. discovers its largest satellite, Titan. He also
explains Saturns appearance, suggesting
1054 SUPERNOVA Chinese
astronomers record the
sudden appearance of a bright star. Native
the planet is surrounded by a thin ring.
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ASTRONOMY TIMELINE
1750 1905
1750 SOUTHERN SKIES French
astronomer Nicolas de
Lacaille (171362) sails to southern oceans
1814 FRAUNHOFER LINES
Joseph von Fraunhofer builds
the first accurate spectrometer and uses it
1846 NEPTUNE A new planet,
called Neptune, is identified
by German astronomer Johann Gottfried
and begins work compiling a catalog of to study the spectrum of the Suns light. Galle (1812-1910). He is searching in the
more than 10,000 stars in the southern He discovers and maps hundreds of fine position suggested by Urbain Le Verrier.
sky. Although Halley and others have dark lines crossing the solar spectrum. Le Verrier has calculated the position and
observed from the southern hemisphere In 1859, these lines are linked to chemical size of the planet from the effects of its
before, Lacailles star catalog is the first elements in the Suns atmosphere. gravitational pull on the orbit of Uranus.
comprehensive one of the southern sky. Spectroscopy becomes the method for An English mathematician John Couch
studying what the stars are made of. Adams (181992) also made a similar
calculation a year earlier.
19051965
1906 STAR MAGNITUDE Ejnar
Hertzsprung establishes the
standard for measuring the true brightness
1929 HUBBLES LAW Edwin
Hubble discovers that the
universe is expanding and that the farther
1957 SPACECRAFT Russia
launches the first satellite,
Sputnik 1, into orbit, beginning the Space
of a star (its absolute magnitude). He away a galaxy is, the faster it is moving Age. The US launches its first satellite,
shows that there is a relationship between away from us. Two years later, Georges Explorer 1, four months later.
color and absolute magnitude for Lematre suggests that the expansion can
90 percent of the stars in the Milky Way be traced back to an initial Big Bang.
Galaxy. In 1913, Henry Russell publishes
a diagram that shows this relationship. 1959 MOON PROBES Russia and
the US both launch space
Although astronomers agree that the
diagram shows the sequence in which stars 1930 PLUTO Clyde Tombaugh
discovers Pluto at the Lowell
Observatory in Flagstaffe, Arizona.
probes to the Moon, but NASAs Pioneer
probes all fail. The Russian Luna program
is more successful. Luna 2 crash-lands on
evolve, they argue about which way the
sequence progresses. Arthur Eddington Initially classed as a planet, it is so faint the Moons surface in September, and Luna
finally settles the controversy in 1924. and slow moving that he has to compare 3 returns the first pictures of the Moons
photos taken several nights apart. farside in October.
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ASTRONOMY TIMELINE
19652000
1966 LUNAR LANDINGS The
Russian Luna 9 probe makes
the first successful soft landing on the
1976 VIKING PROBES Two
NASA space probes arrive at
Mars. Each Viking mission consists of an
1990 MAGELLAN The Magellan
probe, launched by NASA,
arrives at Venus and spends three years
Moon in January, while the US lands the Orbiter, which photographs the planet mapping the planet with radar. Magellan
far more complex Surveyor 1 in May. The from above, and a Lander, which touches is the first in a new wave of space probes
Surveyor missions, which are follow-ups down on the surface, analyzes the rocks, including Galileo, which arrives in Jupiter
to NASAs Ranger series of crash-landers, and searches (unsuccessfully) for life. in 1995, and Cassini, which is scheduled
scout sites for possible manned landings. to arrive at Saturn in 2004.
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BIOGRAPHIES
282
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BIOGRAPHIES
284
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BIOGRAPHIES
286
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BIOGRAPHIES
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BIOGRAPHIES
GLOSSARY
Words in italics have their own to measure the position and Brightness See luminosity and Conjunction The point in
entries in the glossary. movement of objects in the sky. magnitude. the orbit of a planet when it
appears directly in line with the
Absolute magnitude See Astronomical unit (au) The Brown dwarf An object Sun when viewed from Earth.
magnitude. average distance between the less massive than a star but
Earth and Sun93 million miles more massive than a planet. It Constellation A pattern of
Absolute zero Lowest possible
(149.6 million km). produces heat but very little light. stars in the sky, often named
temperature: 459F (273C).
after a mythological person or
Atmosphere A layer of gas held Carbon One of the most
Absorption line A dark line in creature. Astronomers define
around a planet by its gravity. common elements in the
a spectrum, caused by atoms constellations as areas of sky,
Also the outer layers of a star, universe, produced by stars.
absorbing radiation of a certain rather than star patterns.
beyond its photosphere. Carbon is the basis of all life.
wavelength. Astronomers use
absorption lines to identify
Corona The Suns very hot
Atom The smallest part of an CCD See charge-coupled device.
elements in stars and galaxies. upper atmosphere, visible as
element, made up of three types a pearly halo during a total
Celestial object Any object
Accretion disk A disk of of subatomic particlesprotons,
seen in the sky, including solar eclipse.
material spiraling into a black neutrons, and electrons.
planets, stars, and galaxies.
hole. Cosmic ray A tiny, fast-moving
Aurora Green and red glow electrically charged particle
seen in the sky near the polar
Celestial sphere An imaginary
ACTIVE GALAXY A galaxy with a sphere of sky that surrounds coming from space.
black hole at its center that is regions, caused by electrically
Earth and on which celestial Cosmological constant See
generating huge amounts of charged particles colliding with
objects appear to lie. Astronomers dark energy.
energy. gases in Earths atmosphere.
measure star positions according
ANNIHILATION The destruction Axis An imaginary line that to their declination (latitude) and Cosmos Another word for the
of a subatomic particle and its passes through the center of a right ascension (longitude) on universe.
antimatter opposite when they planet or star, around which the the celestial sphere.
Crater A saucer-shaped hole
meet. object rotates.
Cepheid variable A type of blasted in the surface of a moon
Antimatter Matter made of Background radiation A faint variable star that changes in or planet by the impact of a
subatomic particles with equal radio signal emitted by the brightness and size. The length meteorite.
and opposite properties to entire skythe remnant of of the cycle of change is linked
radiation from the Big Bang. Crust The rocky surface layer
normal matter. to the absolute magnitude of the
of a planet or moon.
star. Astronomers use Cepheids
Aperture The diameter of Barred spiral galaxy A galaxy
to measure distances in space. Dark energy A hidden
a telescopes main mirror or with spiral arms linked to a
property of space, first proposed
lensa measure of the amount central bulge by a straight bar Charge-coupled device A
by Einstein as the cosmological
of light it can collect. of stars and gas. light-sensitive electronic device
constant, that may be stretching
used for generating images in
APHELION The point in an Big bang The violent event that space itself and accelerating the
modern telescopes.
objects orbit at which it is gave birth to the universe about expansion of the universe.
farthest from the Sun. 13.7 billion years ago. Chromosphere The lower layer
Dark matter Invisible matter
of the Suns atmosphere. It
Apogee The farthest point Billion One thousand million. that is thought to account for
shines pinkish-red, but can be
from Earth reached by the 98 percent of the universes
Binary system A pair of stars seen only when the brighter
Moon or an orbiting artificial mass. Dark matter includes both
in orbit around each other. photosphere is blocked out.
satellite. ordinary matter and WIMPs.
Black hole A collapsed object Circumpolar star Any star Deep-sky object A collective
Apparent magnitude See whose gravity is so strong that that does not appear to set
magnitude. term for nebulas, star clusters,
nothingnot even lightcan from an observers location on and galaxies.
Arc second A unit used by escape it. Earth, but instead appears to
astronomers to measure the circle the celestial pole. Degree The basic unit for
Blazar An active galaxy angled
size or separation of objects in measuring angles1/360 of
in such a way that when viewed Cluster See star cluster and a full circle.
the sky. One arc second is equal from Earth we see radiation galaxy cluster.
to 1/3,600 degrees. coming straight from its core. Doppler effect The change in
Comet A small object made the frequency of waves (of
Asteroid A chunk of rock or Blue shift A shift in spectral of ice and rocky dust. When a
metal in space, varying from sound or radiation) that reach
lines toward the blue end of the comet nears the Sun, the Suns an observer when the source is
a several feet to more than
spectrum. The shift, caused by heat evaporates the ice, creating
550 miles (900 km) across. moving closer or farther away.
the Doppler effect, indicates that a glowing head of gas with tails
Astrolabe An ancient the radiation is emitted by an of dust and gas. Double star See binary system.
astronomical instrument used object moving toward us.
290
(c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
GLOSSARY
Dust Microscopic grains in Eyepiece A small lens placed at its axis. The satellite therefore universethe main component
space that absorb starlight. The the viewing end of a telescope. appears to be fixed in the sky. of stars and galaxies.
dust is soot from cool stars, The eyepiece magnifies the
Giantstar A star that has Inferiorplanet A planet in the
and sometimes clumps together image produced by the main
reached the last stages of its solar system that orbits closer to
in huge dark clouds. mirror or lens.
evolution, has swollen in size, the Sun than Earth does.
Dwarfplanet A small planet, Extrasolar Not belonging increased in brightness, and
Inflation A period of rapid
which is spherical and orbits to the Sunoutside the solar changed in color. Sunlike stars
expansion occurring within less
the Sun as part of a belt of other system. become red giants. Stars with
than a second of the Big Bang.
small rocky or icy bodies. more than 10 times the mass
Extraterrestrial Not of the Sun become supergiants, Infrared Heat radiation
Eclipse An effect caused by one belonging to the Earth. which are the most luminous a type of electromagnetic
celestial object casting a shadow stars in the universe. radiation with wavelengths
on another. Filament A string of galaxy
superclusters stretching across just longer than visible light.
Globularcluster See star
Eclipsingbinary A pair of stars a huge expanse of space. cluster. Intergalactic Between
in orbit around each other in Filaments are the largest galaxies.
such a way that the stars pass in structures in the universe, and Gravitationallensing
front of and behind each other are separated by immense voids. Distortion of light from a distant Interstellar Between stars.
as seen from Earth. object as it passes through a
Fly-by An encounter between region of powerful gravity. Interstellarmedium Atoms
Ecliptic An imaginary line a spacecraft and a planet, and molecules in the space
around the sky along which the comet, or asteroid, in which Gravitationalwell The between the stars.
Sun appears to move in the sky the spacecraft does not stop to distortion of space and time
through the year, and near caused by the gravity of a
Ionosphere The electrically
orbit or land. charged region of the Earths
which most of the planets are massive object such as a star.
seen. In fact, this line is a Focallength The distance atmosphere between 30 and
projection of Earths orbit between a lens or mirror and Gravity Force of attraction 350 miles (50 and 600 km)
around the Sun onto the sky. the point where the light rays it between any objects with mass, above the surface.
collects are brought into focus. such as the pull between Earth
Electromagnetic radiation and the Moon.
Irregulargalaxy A galaxy
Waves of energy, carried by Focus The point in a telescope with no obvious shape.
photons, that can travel through where light rays gathered by Greenhouseeffect The rise in Irregular galaxies are generally
space and matter. It travels at the main lens or mirror come temperature caused by gases small, full of gas, and contain a
the speed of light, and ranges together to form an image. such as carbon dioxide and mix of young and old stars.
from gamma rays (shortest methanetrapping the heat
Frequency The number of Kuiperbelt An area of the
wavelength) to radio waves that a planets surface should be
solar system containing millions
(longest wavelength). waves of electromagnetic reflecting back into space.
of icy, cometlike objects. It
radiation that pass a point
Electron See atom. Halo The spherical region extends from the orbit of
every second.
around a spiral galaxy, Neptune to the inner edge of
Element Any of the basic Galaxy A body consisting of containing dark matter and the Oort Cloud.
substances of nature that millions of stars, and gas and globular star clusters.
cannot be broken down by Lava Molten rock released
dust held together by gravity Heliosphere Space within 100 from the interior of a planet.
chemical reactions. Each and separated from other
element has unique properties. astronomical units of the Sun,
galaxies by empty space. Lepton Any of three types of
where the solar wind still has an
Ellipticalgalaxy A galaxy negatively charged subatomic
Galaxycluster A group effect.
with an oval or round shape, and particles created in the Big
of galaxies held together by Helium The second lightest Bang; only the electron (see
no spiral arms. Elliptical galaxies gravity.
are made mostly of old stars, and and second most common atom) still exists.
contain very little dust or gas. Gammarays Electromagnetic element in the universe,
Libration The slight alteration
radiation with very short produced in the Big Bang and
Ellipticalorbit An orbit in the in the part of the Moons
wavelengths emitted by the by nuclear fusion in stars.
shape of an elongated circle. All surface visible from Earth that
orbits are ellipticala circle is most energetic objects in the Hertzsprung-russelldiagram allows 59 percent of it to be
just a special type of ellipse. universe. A diagram showing how the visible at some time.
Gasgiant A large planet made colors and brightness of a
Emissionline A bright line in Light Electromagnetic
largely of liquid under a deep, sample of stars are related.
a spectrum caused by atoms radiation with wavelengths that
giving out energy of a certain dense atmosphere. Hubbleconstant A measure of are visible to the human eye.
wavelength. Emission lines often Geostationaryorbit An orbit the rate at which the universe is
Lightpollution A glow in the
arise from hot gas in a nebula. 22,300 miles (35,880 km) above expanding, measured in km per
sky, caused by streetlights and
the equator in which a satellite second per million parsecs.
Escapevelocity The speed at atmospheric pollution, that
which one object must travel to takes the same time to circle Hydrogen The most common blocks astronomers view of
escape anothers gravity. Earth as Earth takes to spin on and lightest element in the faint objects.
Light-year A standard unit of Meteor A streak of light in be visible to an average directly opposite from the Sun
astronomical measurement, the skyalso known as a observer in good conditions. for an observer on Earth. This is
based on the distance light travels shooting starcaused by a when the planet is best viewed.
in a year5.9 million million small meteoroid burning up as Nanometer One billionth of a
meter. Optical light See light.
miles (9.5 million million km). it enters Earths atmosphere.
Local arm Also Orion Arm Nebula A cloud of gas and dust Orbit The path of one object
Meteorite A meteoroid that has around another, more massive
the spiral arm of the Milky Way in space. Nebulas are visible
fallen to the surface of a planet
Galaxy in which the Sun lies. when they reflect starlight object in space. Satellites,
or moon. Where it hits the
or when they block out light planets, and stars are held in
Local group The cluster of surface, it may form a crater.
coming from behind them. See orbit by the pull of gravity of a
at least 50 galaxies to which the Meteoroid A fragment of rock also planetary nebula. more massive body.
Milky Way belongs. from asteroids and comets that Neutrino An extremely Orbital period The time taken
Low-earth orbit An orbit is found in space. common subatomic particle for one object to complete its
about 120 miles (200 km) above Methane A gas made of produced by nuclear fusion in orbit around another.
Earths surface. Low-Earth orbits carbon and hydrogen. stars and by the Big Bang.
are used by the Space Shuttle, Neutrinos have a tiny mass and Oxygen An element vital to the
space stations, and satellites. Microgravity A situation are very difficult to detect. development of life, and
where people and objects float widespread in the universe.
Luminosity The amount of about as if they were weightless. Neutron See atom. Oxygen makes up 20 percent
energy given off by a star as Astronauts experience this of the Earths atmosphere.
radiation each second. Neutron star A collapsed star
when in orbit in space. This is composed mainly of neutrons Parallax The shift in a nearby
Magnetic field Magnetism not because they are beyond the the most common aftermath of objects position against a more
generated by a planet, star, or pull of gravity, but because they a supernova explosion. distant background when seen
galaxy, that extends into space. and their spacecraft are falling from two separate points.
through space. Nitrogen A gas that makes up
Magnetosphere The bubble 79 percent of Earths atmosphere. Astronomers use parallax from
around a planet where the Micrometer One millionth of opposite sides of Earths orbit
magnetic field is strong enough a meter. Nova A white dwarf star in to measure the distances of
to keep out the solar wind. a binary system that pulls nearby stars.
Microwave A type of radio material off its companion
Magnitude The brightness wave, which has the shortest star, collecting an atmosphere. Parsec The distance at which
of a celestial object, expressed of the radio wavelengths. When the atmosphere ignites, a star or other object has a
on a scale of numbers. Bright the resulting nova shines parallax of 1 arc second,
objects have low (sometimes Microwave background See thousands of times brighter. equivalent to 3.26 light-years.
negative) numbers; dim objects background radiation.
Nuclear fusion The Particle See subatomic particle.
have high numbers. Apparent Milky way The name of the
magnitude is a measure of combination of nuclei of Payload The cargo carried into
galaxy in which we live. Also atoms to form heavier ones at
brightness as seen from Earth; the pale band of stars running space by a launch vehicle or on
absolute magnitude is a measure very high temperatures and an artificial satellite.
across the sky when we look pressures. Nuclear fusion is the
of an objects real brightness.
along the plane of our galaxy. energy source of stars. Penumbra The outer, lighter
Main sequence The region on part of a sunspot. Also the
the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram Molecular cloud An Nucleus (plural nuclei) The
interstellar cloud made up of lightest part of a lunar eclipse
where most stars lie. Stars on the central part of an atom, where shadow, where the Moon lies
main sequence generate energy molecules such as hydrogen and nearly all its mass is contained.
carbon monoxide. only partially in Earths shadow.
by nuclear reactions that convert The nucleus is made up of
hydrogen into helium. protons and neutrons. Phase The size of the
Molecule A collection of
illuminated portion of a planet
Mantle The rocky layer that atoms linked by chemical bonds Occultation The passing of
or moon, as seen from Earth.
lies between the crust and the so that they act as a single unit. one celestial object in front of
core inside a planet. anotherfor instance when Photon A particle of
Moon A planets natural the Moon blocks the view of a electromagnetic radiation.
Mare (plural maria) A dark satellite. Earths satellite is distant star. Photons are the most common
area on the Moon, originally called the Moon; those of other particles in the universe.
thought to be a lunar sea but planets have unique names, Oort cloud A huge spherical
now known to be an impact such as Io, Jupiters moon. cloud, about 1.6 light-years Photosphere A stars visible
basin or crater flooded with lava. wide, that surrounds the Sun surface, at which the star
Multiple star Three or more and planets. It contains billions becomes transparent. This
Mass A measure of the amount stars held in orbit around each of comets. allows the stars light to blaze
of matter in an object, and how other by gravity. out into space.
it is affected by gravity. Open cluster See star cluster.
Naked eye Unassisted human Planet A spherical object
Matter Anything that has eyesight. The term naked eye is Opposition The point in the
orbit of a planet when it appears made of rock or gas that orbits
mass and occupies space. used for any object that should
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(c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
GLOSSARY
a star. A planet does not Radiogalaxy An active Spectraltype A method of Supercluster A group of galaxy
produce its own light, but it galaxy that shines brightly at classifying stars according to clusters held together by gravity.
reflects the light of the star. radio wavelengths. Most of its color and surface temperature.
See also brown dwarf. radiation comes from huge Supergiant See giant star.
clouds on either side of the Spectroscope An instrument
Planetarynebula The shell of used for splitting starlight into a Superiorplanet Any planet
main galaxy. whose orbital path is farther
gas puffed off by a red giant star spectrum and revealing spectral
before it becomes a white dwarf. from the Sun than Earths.
Radiowaves Electromagnetic lines that tell astronomers about
radiation with very long the composition of the universe. Supernova An enormous stellar
Polarorbit A satellite orbit
wavelengths, produced by gas explosion. Supernovas happen
passing above or close to the Spectrum(pluralspectra) A when a supergiant star runs
clouds and energetic objects.
Earths poles. band of radiation split up by
out of fuel, or when a white
Redgiant See giant star. different wavelengths. The dwarf explodes.
Polestar The star Polaris, in rainbow is a spectrum
the constellation Ursa Minor, Redshift A shift in spectral produced by splitting light. Tidalforce A stretching effect
around which the northern sky lines toward the red end of the across a body caused by the
appears to rotate. spectrum. The shift, caused by Speedoflight A measure of gravity of a nearby object.
the Doppler effect, indicates that how far a ray of light travels in
Positron The antimatter the radiation is emitted by an one secondnearly 186,000 Trillion One million million.
equivalent of an electron (see object moving away from us. miles (300,000 km). Nothing
atom). It has the same mass as Ultraviolet Electromagnetic
can travel faster than this speed. radiation with a wavelength just
an electron, but a positive, Resolvingpower A measure
rather than negative, charge. of a telescopes ability to Spiralgalaxy A galaxy with shorter than visible light.
distinguish fine detail. spiral arms emerging from a Umbra The inner, darker
Prominence A huge arc of gas smooth central hub. Spiral
in the Suns lower corona. Retrogrademotion An region of a sunspot. Also the
galaxies have a mix of old and darkest part of a lunar eclipse
apparent backward movement
Proton See atom. young stars, and are rich in shadow, where the Moon is
of a superior planet in the sky,
as the Earth overtakes it on its star-forming gas and dust. completely eclipsed.
Protostar A young star that journey around the Sun.
has not yet started nuclear Star A hot, massive, and Vanallenbelts Regions of
fusion in its core. Satellite Any object held in luminous ball of gas that makes radiation around Earth, where
orbit around another object by energy by nuclear fusion. Earths magnetic field traps
Pulsar A spinning neutron star its gravity, ranging from moons particles from the solar wind.
Starburstgalaxy A galaxy
that sends beams of radiation and artificial satellites in orbit that has undergone a sudden Variablestar A star that
across space. around planets to small galaxies period of star formation, often changes in brightness. Many
Quadrillion One thousand in orbit around larger ones. as the result of colliding with variable stars also regularly
million million. Seyfertgalaxy A spiral galaxy another galaxy. change size.
with an unusually bright Starcluster A group of stars Visiblelight See light.
Quark A basic subatomic
centera type of active galaxy. held together by gravity. Open
particle, created in the Big Bang. Voids Immense empty
Three quarks combined can Solarflare A huge explosion clusters are loose groups of a
regions of space, separating
produce a proton or a neutron above the surface of the Sun, few hundred young stars;
the filaments of galaxies.
(see atom). caused as two loops of the Suns globular clusters are dense balls
magnetic field touch. containing many thousands of Wavelength The distance
Quasar A distant active galaxy, old stars. between the peaks or troughs
releasing enormous amounts Solarsystem Everything in waves of electromagnetic
of energy from a small central trapped by the Suns gravity, Starsystem See multiple star. radiation.
region. Quasars are some of from planets to comets. Other Steadystatetheory A now
the most distant galaxies in stars also have solar systems. Weightlessness See
discredited theory that the microgravity.
the universe. universe has no beginning
Solarwind A stream of high-
speed particles blowing away and no end, and will remain Whitedwarf The collapsed
Quintillion One million
from the Sun. the same forever. core of a Sunlike star that has
million million.
stopped generating energy.
Radar The technique of Spectralanalysis The study Subatomicparticle Any
of spectral lines to reveal particle smaller than an atom. WIMP A weakly interacting
bouncing radio waves off an massive particle created in the
object to measure its distance information about the Protons, neutrons, and electrons
composition of a star or galaxy, are the main subatomic Big Bang. Most dark matter is
or map its surface. thought to be made of WIMPs.
or to find its red shift. particles that make up atoms.
Radiation A stream of energy X-rays Radiation with a very
in the form of electromagnetic Spectrallines Bright or dark Sunspot A cool dark spot on
lines in the spectrum of a body the Suns surface, created by the short wavelength produced by
radiation or of fast-moving hot gas clouds and stars, and
subatomic particles. emitting radiation. See also Suns magnetic field, that stops
absorption line and emission line. the normal circulation of gases. around black holes.
magnitude 162 Triton 137 gamma rays 20, 3031 Mars 121 Zarya node, International Space
name 274 Venus 108, 109, 112 infrared 21, 223 Neptune 137 Station 65
orbit 789, 108, 109 Von Braun, Wernher 39, 278, 289 optical 21 solar 159 Zeldovich, Yakov 229
phases 111 Voskhod 2 spacecraft 61 radio 21, 245 stellar 180 Zenit Sea Launch platform 42, 43
scale 109 Vostok spaceship 60 ultraviolet 20, 267 Winter Triangle Zeta Orionis see Alnitak
solar system 789 Voyager spacecraft 72, 80, 81, 279 X-rays 20, 289 star maps 257 Zeta Ursae Majoris see Mizar
space probes 72, 80, 81, 110, 111, Jupiter 122 Weak force 222 WLM galaxy 208, 209 Zeus 126
11213, 278, 279 Jupiters moons 127 Weather satellites 46, 47, 523 WMAP satellite 227 Zodiac 245, 251, 293
statistics 79, 109 launchers 41 Wegener, Alfred 87 Wolf 359, star 166 Zodiacal light 264, 265
structure 109 message from Earth 239 Weightlessness 68 Wormholes 75, 191 Zubenelgenubi, double star
surface 108, 11213 Neptune 136, 137 see also Microgravity star maps 255, 256, 260, 261
X
tilt and spin 109 Saturn 128, 130, 131, 133 Weizscker, Carl von 155 Zvezda node, International Space
viewing 111, 247, 249, 263, 271 speed 74 Wells, H. G. 73, 117 Station 65
Venus Express 110, 111 Uranus 134, 135 Wheeler, John 191 Zwicky, Fritz 185, 230, 289
Verne, Jules 73 Vulpecula (constellation) Whipple, Fred 289
Very Large Array telescope 21, 24, name 275 Whirlpool Galaxy 210, 213, 273, 277
25, 205 planetary nebulas in 183 star maps 252, 256, 260 X bosons 224, 225
Very Large Telescope (VLT) 16, 17 star maps 254, 255, 258, 261 viewing 273 X-15 spaceplane 71
Very Long Baseline Array telescope White dwarfs 1823, 293 X-33 spaceplane 71
W
24, 25 and binary pulsars 187 X-ray astronomy 20, 289, 293
Vesta asteroid 72, 73, 140, 141 future of 235 active galaxies 217
Vibrations, solar oscillations 155 gravity of 190 binary systems 175
Viking spacecraft 80, 81, 114, 117, Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) black holes 188, 189
119, 121, 279 diagram 169, 183 creation of universe 226
70 Virginis extrasolar planet 178, 179 W bosons 224, 225 in history 278 discovery of 279
Virgo (constellation) W3 molecular cloud 201 mass 168, 183 galaxy clusters 214
name 275 Walter Baade Telescope 16 and novas 164 giant elliptical galaxies 215
star maps 255, 256, 260, 261 War of the Worlds (Wells) 117 size 168 pulsars 186, 187
viewing 251 Warm intercloud medium 196 star lifecycles 171, 1823 quasars 217
Virgo Cluster (of galaxies) 21415 Warp drives 75 supernova Type I 184 X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission satellite
expanding universe 22021 Water White Knight 71 29
Local Supercluster 208, 218 Earth 84 White Ovals, Jupiter 125 Xichang launch center 42, 43
star maps 256, 260 Earths atmosphere 88 Wild 2 Comet 81, 144, 145 XMM-Newton Observatory 28, 29
Visual binary stars 175 extraterrestrial life 237 Wild Duck Cluster
YZ
Voids 218, 228, 293 infrared astronomy 23 star maps 255, 261
Volans (constellation) Jupiter 125 viewing 271
name 275 on Mars 116, 119 William Herschel Telescope 16, 17, 189
star maps 253 molecular clouds 197 Wilson, Robert 25, 226, 227, 278, 289
Volcanoes Moon 99 WIMPs (weakly interacting massive
Earth 86, 87 tides 94 particles) 293 Years
Europa 126 Water Jar in Aquarius Big Bang 224, 225 Earths orbit 244
Io 127 star maps 254, 258 dark matter 230, 231 leap years 245
Mars 114, 116, 120 viewing 263 Winds Yohkoh satellite 157
Moon 97 Wavelengths 2021, 293 Earth 88, 89 Young, John 289
and origin of life 91 Doppler effect 163 Jupiter 124 Z bosons 224, 225
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The publisher would like to thank the following for University Archives: 287b; Hencoup Enterprises: 30t,
permission to use their photographs. EADS Astrium: 57; Emmanuel Davoust, Universit Paul
Sabatier, Observatoire Midi-Pyrenees, 14 Avenue Edouard 32br, 157tr, bl, 210cl, c, cr, 211bra, 236t, 247t, 287cl, 289cl,
Abbreviations: r = right, l = left, t = top, c = center, Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France: 221cb; ESA: 20ca (Integral); ESO 4br; Hale Observatory: 185c, crb, Noel Murto & Ian
b = bottom, a = above 30bl, 41bl, 44cl, 54-5c, 68bl, 69b, 110tr; Active Design- Cooper: 206t NRAO/AUI: 25br; Realm of the Nebula by
December 2002 73cl; Celestia 119cr; 132bl, 166tr; CNES: Edwin Hubble: 211tl, cla, cl, clb, bca, br; Royer: 207cb; Jim
44-5t, 45cl, r; CNES/CSG: 45br; D. Ducros 28br, 30cr Henderson: 264b; J.J. Hester & S.R. Kulkarni, California
AKG London: 9cb, 15tl, 281t, 282all, 288t; Alamy Images: (Integral), 42c, 64bl; DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum) 116br, Institute of Technology, Pasadena: 203cr; Hughes Space
Excitations 267cr; Bryan & Cherry Alexander: Ann 116t; NES/CSG: 44cr; B. Paris: 44b; VIRTIS/INAF-IASF/ and Communications Company: 40tr, bla, 41cl, 47tl, 48tr;
Hawthorne 149cl; Allthesky.com: Till Credner 167cr; Obs. de Paris-LESIA 110c; European Southern Hulton Getty: 281br, 283br, 285cr, 286b, 287t, 288bc,
Anglo Australian Observatory: 13tr, 174bl, 180br, 184bl, Observatory: 176-7t; Mary Evans Picture Library: 93cr, 289br;
br, 197tr, 198tr, 209tl, 215tr; David Malin 208bl, 210tr, 117br, 144tr, 149br, 155br, 207tr, 219tr, 280br, 283bc, 284tr;
217cla, 219br; Malin/Pasachoff/Caltech 1992: 201tl; Royal Eye Ubiquitous: 149bc; ICRR (Institute for Cosmic Ray Research) University of
Observatory Edinburgh 185tc, 196-7b, 214-5t; Associated Tokyo: 33tr Image Select: 79br;
Press: Mikhail Metzel 42bl; Astronomical Society of the Fermilab Visual Media Services/Apache Point
Pacific, San Francisco, CA: 210br; Aviation Picture Observatory: Dan Long 221bl; Vivien Fifield Picture Courtesy of JAXA: 67tl, 68ca, 68-69c; Mitsubishi Heavy
Library: 51bc; Library: 283t; Forward, Dr. Robert L., Hughes Aircraft Industries, Ltd 41tl;
Company/Art by Seichi Kiyohara: 74c, br;
Bell Laboratories: 25tr Philip Blanco (UCSC) & John D. Jewitt (University of Hawaii) & J. Luu (University of
Conway from observations made at the Very Large Galaxy Picture Library: 8br, 101tr, 102clb, b, 105br, 111tr, Leiden): 139bc; Ernest Orlando Lawrence, Berkeley
Array radio telescope (NRAO/AUI) New Mexico: 217cr; 115c, cl, 121tr, 123cr, 127cr, 144bl, 145,165br,173tr, c, cr, National Laboratory, California: 155tl; Lockheed Martin
The Boeing Company: 43cr; Bridgeman Art Library: 175b, 177bl, 181bl, 182br, 197bc, 199br, bl, 209tr, 245tr, Corporation: 40bl; Lucent Technologies Inc, 600 Mountain
285bl; 247cl, cr, bl, br, 248t, cr, br, 249cl, cr, bl, 251tr, 253cl, cr, Avenue, Murray Hill, NJ 07974 235br; Lunar and
254bl, 255tc, tr, 256l, 257tc, tr, cr, 258l, 259t, 260l, 262bl, Planetary Institute, 3600 Bay Area Blvd, Houston, TX
Courtesy of Canon (UK) Ltd: 266c; Carnegie Institution 263tr, trb, 264cl, 265all, 267bl, 268tl, cl, bl, 269tr, tc, bc, bl, 77058-1113: 101cra, 103crb, 112tr;
of Washington, Observatories of the: 221fcra, 246br; 270br, 272bc, bl, 273cr, bra, 274cr, bl; David Graham 270bl;
Carnegie Observatories - Giant Magellan Telescope: Todd Palomar Sky Survey 164br; Alistair Simmons 264r; Paul McDonald Observatory: Marty Harris 14tc; Matra
Mason 17c, 17cl; CERN: 223cr; Bruce Coleman Ltd: 87bl; Stephens 100ca, 102clb, cb; Michael Strecker 261tr; Gemini Marconi Space: 56tl, 57cl; James Marks: 145cr; Robert
Colorific: 145bc, 151tr; Corbis UK Ltd: 17b, 47bc, 51tr, 8m Telescope Project: 14br; Genesis Space Photo Library: Morris: 266ftr, 267cl; Mullard Radio Astronomy
57br, 58bl, 60br, 61tl, cl, br, 63br, 75cb, 84-5b, 91tl, 98b, 41cr; CSG: 44tr; Getty Images: Science Faction Observatory, University of Cambridge: 163c;
139tr, 160b, 226t, 244bl; Compton Gamma Ray 19cla; Isabella Gioia, Institute for Astronomy, 2700
Observatory: 217bl; Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822: 230bc; NASA: 27ca, cb, 33bc, 37br, 39br, 42tr, 54cr&br, 59bca,
60tr, 61cr, 64cb, br, 64-65c, 65t,bc, 66c, 66-67c, 67bl, 67br,
DK Images: Paul Wilkinson 49cr; Dr. Thomas Dame, Robert Harding Picture Library: 87cra; Harvard- 68b, 69cr, 69t, 70b,71ca, 88tc, 99tr, 100cl, 101cra, crb, 102tr,
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics: 195cb; Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics: 218tr; Harvard 128tr, 141cl, 148br, 150cl, 159tr, 210b, 239fcr; Ames 179tr;
CXC/SAO 20cra (Chandra), 28c (Chandra); ESA, and M. Force Base, Cape Canaveral, FL 40tl; Photolibrary: Base, California, USA: 57t; Stanford University, Visual
Brown (California Institute of Technology) 143tr; ESA, and Mauritius 51ca; Photodisc/Dan Farrall 268c; Planet Earth Arts Service, California: 222cl, bl; Carole Stott:139cr 145tr;
Pictures: 94bl, cl, 151c; Planetary Visions: 100-101c, 102- Louis Strous, New Jersey Institute of Technology &
P. Kalas (University of California, Berkeley) 83tl (& tc); 103c; Popperfoto: 59bl; National Solar Observatory/Sacramento Peak: 155bl, blc;
ESA, and J. Parker (Southwest Research Institute), P. STScI: 8bl128-9bc, 172-3b, 177cr, 182bl, 224br; Association
Thomas (Cornell University), L. McFadden (University of ROSAT/Max-Planck-Institut fr Extraterrestrische of Universities for Research in Astronomy Inc 223tr; J
Maryland, College Park), and M. Mutchler and Z. Levay Physik (MPE): 29cr, bc, 214br; GRO/Comptel Mission Bahcall (Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton) 217tl;
(STScI) 143cr; ESA, N. Smith (University of California, 31tr; Levenson et al 188tr; S. L. Snowden 185cla, 214bc; Bruce Balick, University of Washington, Vincent Icke,
Berkeley), and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Royal Astronomical Society Library: 117tr, 165cr, Leiden University, Netherlands, Garrelt Mellema,
164c; ESA/H. Weaver (JHU/APL), A. Stern (SwRI), and the 173tl, 195tl, 201tr, 286t; Royal Greenwich Observatory, Stockholm University 182bl; W. Baum (U.WA) 220bc; K.
HST Pluto Companion Search Team 143tl; European Space Cambridge: 18-19t, 189cr; Simon Tulloch 18bla; Royal Borne (STScI) 212cl; W.N. Colley and E. Turner (Princeton
Agency & NASA/E. Olszewski (University of Arizona) Observatory Edinburgh: 22br 280tr; David Malin, AAO University); J.A. Tyson (Bell Laboratories, Lucent
168tr; General Dynamics C4 Systems 30br; GSFC: 27br, bl; 15tr, 174-5t, 196-7t, 199c, 201cr, 280t; Technologies) 224t; H. Ford & L. Ferarese (JHU) 188b;
JHUAPL/SwRI 142b; Johns Hopkins University Applied Peter Garnavich, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for
Physics Laboratory/Arizona State University/Carnegie Sachsische Landesbibliothek, Dresden: 161tr; SaVi: Astrophysics, High-z Supernova Search Team 235t; J.
Institution of Washington 106c; JHUAPL/Carnegie Satellite Visualisation software created at the Hester & P. Scowen (Arizona State University) 186-7t,
Institution of Washington 80tr, 105tl, 107bc; JHUAPL/ Geometry Center, University of Minnesota (www.geom. 225bl; M. Longair (Cavendish Laboratory) 217clb; Brad
Southwest Research Institute 81tr; JPL 72cr, 84t, 85cb, 98t, umn.edu/locate/SaVi); Scaled Composites LLC: 71cr; Whitmore (STScI) 212-3c; R. Williams (STScI) 228-9c;
112bl, 120b 126tl (Ganymede), 127tr, 130br, bc, 137tl; JPL- Science Museum, London: 15br Science & Society Picture Tony Stone Images: 87tl; Sygma 56br; Grard Therin
Caltech 21c (Spitzer), 21fcl (Galex), 23cl, 23tl, 26bl, 27fcl, Library: 168bl, 284cl; (www.astrosurf.com/therin): 122c; TRH Pictures: 51cr,
118tr, 119cla, 119clb, 119tr, 144br; JPL-Caltech/Cornell 56bl, 57bl;
University 118-119b, 126cb; JPL-Caltech/University of Science Photo Library: 1, 4tl, 6b, 7r, 8t, 10-11, 12bl, 13br,
Arizona/Texas A&M University 116bl; JPL/DLR 126tl 22t, 23tr, tc, 27t, 29cl, 32-3t, 34-5, 38bl, r, 46bl, 47cl, 49tr, USGS: University of California/Lick Observatory: 9tl, 164tr,
(Callisto), 127tl; JPL/JHUAPL 133c; JPL/Northwestern 50br, cb, 50-1c, 52c, crb, bl, 53bl, br, 54cl, 55tl, crb, bc, 56cl, tl 183tr, 187tl, tlc, tlr; University of Florida, Department of
University 106bc, 107ca; JPL/Space Science Institute 131tl, tr, 58-9t, 59tc, br, 60tl, bl, bc, 61tr, c, 64fcl, 65br, 71tl, 75tl, Astronomy: 83ca; University of Oxford, Department of
132br, 132tr-133tl, 133cb, 133clb, 133tc, 150tr; JPL/USGS bl, br, 76-7, 84cr, 89c, 90cl, bc, 91tr, 92tl, 93tl, 95tr, 101tl, Physics: 231bl;
127clb, 132c; JSC: 86t, bca; JSC-ES&IA 66tr; JSC/Pat 104tr, 107tr, 108tl, b, 109tl, cla, br, 111tl, cla, cr, cra, 113t,
Rawlings: 73br; JWST 13c; Hubble Space Telescope: 228-9c; bc, 114bl, l117tl, 119tl120bl, 121tl, cr, br, 122t, 123tr, 124cl, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia: 75cra; WIYN
Erich Karkoschka/University of Arizona 19clb; Langley bl, 125tc, br, 130tr, 135cl, 138bl, 144-145tl,144bca, 140b, Observatory/Blair Savage, Chris Howk (University of
Research Center: 59cla; Lockheed Martin Corp. 70cr; 141cr, 149cr, 150b, 151tl, 152-3, 155c, 156-7cr, 157tl, 158tr, Wisconsin) N.A. Sharp (NOAO)/AURA/NSF: 211tr;
Marshall Space Flight Center 29ca; Marshall Space Flight c, 158-9c, 159c, 161t, c, 162-3t, 168cr, 172bl, 174br, 178tr,
Center (NASA-MSFC) 29cl; McREL 72t; NASA 70l; SOHO 179br, 181t, cb, 182-3t, 194tr, 195tr, 197tl, c, 200tl, 201bl, X-Ray Astronomy Group at the Department of Physics
(ESA & NASA) 27tr; WMAP Science Team 21cr, 24c, 202tr, 203bl, 204tr, 205tr, cla, clb, bc, 206bl, 206-7c, 207tl, & Astronomy, University of Leicester, UK: 189ca.
233br, 233crb; NASDA: 41tl, tc; National Radio 208tr, cl,b, 213cr, bca, 215br, 219tl, 227t, 230bla, 230-
Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, VA: 25tl; Natural 1tc, 231c, cr, crb, 237tc, 238br, 239tc, 240-1, 280tl, 284br, Additional photos by Andy Crawford, Steve Gorton, Glenn
History Museum Picture Library: 99cr, 148bl, 149t; 285tc, 287cr, 289t; Bigelow Aerospace 71b; California I. Huss, Colin Keates, and James Stevenson.
NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association for Research in Astronomy 134t; ESA 73cr; Dr
Administration): 52tr, 53cl, 53cra; NOAO: 229bl; Fred Espenak 2-3, 7; Mark Garlick 143cl; Jerry Lodriguss Jacket images:
Nobeyama Radio Observatory, National Astronomical 267crb, fcrb, tc, tl, tr; NASA 26cl (Swift), 30fcr (Swift), 66bl, Front: NASA: tl, ftr, J. Hester/Arizona State University tr
Observatory of Japan: 24bl; NSSDC (National Space 73bl, 126ca, 126tl (Europa), 126tl (Io), 127bc, 129clb; (orbiter); JPL-Caltech tr (star), Erich Karkoschka/
Science Data Center): 100bc, 102cla, 103tl, tr, ca, b, 104bl, NASA/ESA/STSCI/HIGH-Z Supernova Research Team University of Arizona tc; Science Photo Library: David
109clb, 112c, 113c, br; 219cb; Dr Seth Shostak 239bc; A. Simon-Miller/ GSFC/ Nunuk ftl
NASA/ESA/STScI 122b; Detlev Van Ravenswaay 71cb, Back & Spine all images: NASA
Orbital Sciences Corporation, Reston, VA: 40br, bra; 142t; Jason Ware 95cr; SETI Institute/Seth Shostak: 288cr;
SOHO/EIT (ESA & NASA): 159bc; Alex Lutkus 20cr;
PA News Photo Library: 281bl; EPA 239c; Patrick Air Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force
ILLUSTRATORS
David Ashby: 169c, 170bl, 172tr, 177br, 180bl, 183cl, 158tr, br, 159tl, 160cl, 161tl, 163br, 165ct, 166tr, l, b, 167l, James Marks: 89tl, 128cr, 129cl, 149r
288-303 170tr, 176cl, 180-181, 184-185c, 195tr, 207tc, b, 212-213b,
213tr, 215bl, 216c, 217tr, cr, br, 218-219c, 220-221t, 220c, Coral Mula: 268br
Julian Baum: 82-83, 96-97tc, 105tl, 128bl, 130-131c, 132bl, 249ct, cb, 250tr, bc, br, 251tl, 252tl, 255tl, 257tl, 258tl, 260tl,
134c, 138b, 168 269cl John Plumer: 187br
Rick Blakely Art Studio: 36cr, cl, bl, 37cr, 39c, 56-57b, Roy Flooks: 74c, 242cl, 244-245c, 244cl, 245cr, 245bc Robin Scagell: 262-263cb, cr
62ct, 64cr, 65cr, 70bc, 72b, 74-75c, 242-243, 242br, 243tc,
244cl, 245cr, br, 270cr, 272cr, 273bc Martyn Foote: 14bc, 15cl, tr, 18bl, 19tr, cr, 20-21b, 21r, 22- Roger Stewart: 36-37c, 64-65c
23bc, 24t, 24-25cb, 26-27bc, 28c, bc, bl, 30bc, 181tr, 183br,
Peter Bull Studio: 12-13c, 14-15c, 15bl, bc, 17c, 18bc, 19bl, 184tr, 186bl, 187tr, cr, bl, 188bl, 208-209c, 211cr, 212tr, Wil Tirion: 252c, bc, 253cr, 254r, 255bl, 256r, 257bl, 258r,
20-21, 22-23, 23bc, 24-25, 25c, 26-27, 28tr, br, 29t, 30-31c, 219tc, 223tr, 225r, br, b, 228t, 230br, 231bc, tr, cr, 232t, c, l, 259bl, 260r, 261bl.
30br, 31b, 32bl, 33b, 46cr, 48br, c, bc, 49bl, br, 53c, 57bc, cl, bc, b, 233br, 234-235c, 237r, 238cl, r
60-61c, 71tl, 78-79c, 83cr, 85cr, c, 86bc, 94tr, br, 95tl, 95bl, With thanks for additional illustrations to Lynn Chadwick,
108tr, 109cr, 110bl, 111bl, 123c, 124bc, 126b, 131c, 133bc, Ray Grinaway: 91ct, cc,cb, 90c, 90-91c Luciano Corbella, Brian Delf, Mike Dunning, Martyn
135bc, 137cr, bl, 139bl, 140bc, 141cr, 142bc, 144c, bc, 145cr, Foote, and Mark Franklin
146c, 147t, b, 150c, 151c, 154c, l, br, 155tr, 156cl, 157tr, br, Aziz Khan: 194c, 198c, 199tl, 200c, 202c, 204c
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
For the original 1999 edition, Dorling Kindersley would like to thank:
Jack Challoner for additional editorial consultancy; Hilary Bird for compiling the index; Wil Tirion for assistance in preparing the star maps; Sarah Johnson for downloading web images; Jo
Earl for additional design assistance; Sally Hamilton, Lee Thompson, and Fergus Muir for additional picture research; and Mathew Birch, Andrew OBrien, and Almudina Diaz for additional
DTP assistance.
For the 2009 edition, Dorling Kindersley would like to thank:
Carole Stott and Dr Jon Woodcock FRAS for additional editorial consultancy; Ian Ridpath for providing information on when to find the planets; Hilary Bird for compiling the index; and Sue
Butterworth for proofreading.
Omissions Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders and we apologize in advance for any unintentional omissions. We would be pleased to insert the appropriate
acknowledgments in any subsequent edition of this publication.
304
(c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
CREDITS
CXC/SAO 20cra (Chandra), 28c (Chandra); ESA, and M. Force Base, Cape Canaveral, FL 40tl; Photolibrary: Base, California, USA: 57t; Stanford University, Visual
Brown (California Institute of Technology) 143tr; ESA, and Mauritius 51ca; Photodisc/Dan Farrall 268c; Planet Earth Arts Service, California: 222cl, bl; Carole Stott:139cr 145tr;
Pictures: 94bl, cl, 151c; Planetary Visions: 100-101c, 102- Louis Strous, New Jersey Institute of Technology &
P. Kalas (University of California, Berkeley) 83tl (& tc); 103c; Popperfoto: 59bl; National Solar Observatory/Sacramento Peak: 155bl, blc;
ESA, and J. Parker (Southwest Research Institute), P. STScI: 8bl128-9bc, 172-3b, 177cr, 182bl, 224br; Association
Thomas (Cornell University), L. McFadden (University of ROSAT/Max-Planck-Institut fr Extraterrestrische of Universities for Research in Astronomy Inc 223tr; J
Maryland, College Park), and M. Mutchler and Z. Levay Physik (MPE): 29cr, bc, 214br; GRO/Comptel Mission Bahcall (Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton) 217tl;
(STScI) 143cr; ESA, N. Smith (University of California, 31tr; Levenson et al 188tr; S. L. Snowden 185cla, 214bc; Bruce Balick, University of Washington, Vincent Icke,
Berkeley), and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Royal Astronomical Society Library: 117tr, 165cr, Leiden University, Netherlands, Garrelt Mellema,
164c; ESA/H. Weaver (JHU/APL), A. Stern (SwRI), and the 173tl, 195tl, 201tr, 286t; Royal Greenwich Observatory, Stockholm University 182bl; W. Baum (U.WA) 220bc; K.
HST Pluto Companion Search Team 143tl; European Space Cambridge: 18-19t, 189cr; Simon Tulloch 18bla; Royal Borne (STScI) 212cl; W.N. Colley and E. Turner (Princeton
Agency & NASA/E. Olszewski (University of Arizona) Observatory Edinburgh: 22br 280tr; David Malin, AAO University); J.A. Tyson (Bell Laboratories, Lucent
168tr; General Dynamics C4 Systems 30br; GSFC: 27br, bl; 15tr, 174-5t, 196-7t, 199c, 201cr, 280t; Technologies) 224t; H. Ford & L. Ferarese (JHU) 188b;
JHUAPL/SwRI 142b; Johns Hopkins University Applied Peter Garnavich, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for
Physics Laboratory/Arizona State University/Carnegie Sachsische Landesbibliothek, Dresden: 161tr; SaVi: Astrophysics, High-z Supernova Search Team 235t; J.
Institution of Washington 106c; JHUAPL/Carnegie Satellite Visualisation software created at the Hester & P. Scowen (Arizona State University) 186-7t,
Institution of Washington 80tr, 105tl, 107bc; JHUAPL/ Geometry Center, University of Minnesota (www.geom. 225bl; M. Longair (Cavendish Laboratory) 217clb; Brad
Southwest Research Institute 81tr; JPL 72cr, 84t, 85cb, 98t, umn.edu/locate/SaVi); Scaled Composites LLC: 71cr; Whitmore (STScI) 212-3c; R. Williams (STScI) 228-9c;
112bl, 120b 126tl (Ganymede), 127tr, 130br, bc, 137tl; JPL- Science Museum, London: 15br Science & Society Picture Tony Stone Images: 87tl; Sygma 56br; Grard Therin
Caltech 21c (Spitzer), 21fcl (Galex), 23cl, 23tl, 26bl, 27fcl, Library: 168bl, 284cl; (www.astrosurf.com/therin): 122c; TRH Pictures: 51cr,
118tr, 119cla, 119clb, 119tr, 144br; JPL-Caltech/Cornell 56bl, 57bl;
University 118-119b, 126cb; JPL-Caltech/University of Science Photo Library: 1, 4tl, 6b, 7r, 8t, 10-11, 12bl, 13br,
Arizona/Texas A&M University 116bl; JPL/DLR 126tl 22t, 23tr, tc, 27t, 29cl, 32-3t, 34-5, 38bl, r, 46bl, 47cl, 49tr, USGS: University of California/Lick Observatory: 9tl, 164tr,
(Callisto), 127tl; JPL/JHUAPL 133c; JPL/Northwestern 50br, cb, 50-1c, 52c, crb, bl, 53bl, br, 54cl, 55tl, crb, bc, 56cl, tl 183tr, 187tl, tlc, tlr; University of Florida, Department of
University 106bc, 107ca; JPL/Space Science Institute 131tl, tr, 58-9t, 59tc, br, 60tl, bl, bc, 61tr, c, 64fcl, 65br, 71tl, 75tl, Astronomy: 83ca; University of Oxford, Department of
132br, 132tr-133tl, 133cb, 133clb, 133tc, 150tr; JPL/USGS bl, br, 76-7, 84cr, 89c, 90cl, bc, 91tr, 92tl, 93tl, 95tr, 101tl, Physics: 231bl;
127clb, 132c; JSC: 86t, bca; JSC-ES&IA 66tr; JSC/Pat 104tr, 107tr, 108tl, b, 109tl, cla, br, 111tl, cla, cr, cra, 113t,
Rawlings: 73br; JWST 13c; Hubble Space Telescope: 228-9c; bc, 114bl, l117tl, 119tl120bl, 121tl, cr, br, 122t, 123tr, 124cl, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia: 75cra; WIYN
Erich Karkoschka/University of Arizona 19clb; Langley bl, 125tc, br, 130tr, 135cl, 138bl, 144-145tl,144bca, 140b, Observatory/Blair Savage, Chris Howk (University of
Research Center: 59cla; Lockheed Martin Corp. 70cr; 141cr, 149cr, 150b, 151tl, 152-3, 155c, 156-7cr, 157tl, 158tr, Wisconsin) N.A. Sharp (NOAO)/AURA/NSF: 211tr;
Marshall Space Flight Center 29ca; Marshall Space Flight c, 158-9c, 159c, 161t, c, 162-3t, 168cr, 172bl, 174br, 178tr,
Center (NASA-MSFC) 29cl; McREL 72t; NASA 70l; SOHO 179br, 181t, cb, 182-3t, 194tr, 195tr, 197tl, c, 200tl, 201bl, X-Ray Astronomy Group at the Department of Physics
(ESA & NASA) 27tr; WMAP Science Team 21cr, 24c, 202tr, 203bl, 204tr, 205tr, cla, clb, bc, 206bl, 206-7c, 207tl, & Astronomy, University of Leicester, UK: 189ca.
233br, 233crb; NASDA: 41tl, tc; National Radio 208tr, cl,b, 213cr, bca, 215br, 219tl, 227t, 230bla, 230-
Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, VA: 25tl; Natural 1tc, 231c, cr, crb, 237tc, 238br, 239tc, 240-1, 280tl, 284br, Additional photos by Andy Crawford, Steve Gorton, Glenn
History Museum Picture Library: 99cr, 148bl, 149t; 285tc, 287cr, 289t; Bigelow Aerospace 71b; California I. Huss, Colin Keates, and James Stevenson.
NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association for Research in Astronomy 134t; ESA 73cr; Dr
Administration): 52tr, 53cl, 53cra; NOAO: 229bl; Fred Espenak 2-3, 7; Mark Garlick 143cl; Jerry Lodriguss Jacket images:
Nobeyama Radio Observatory, National Astronomical 267crb, fcrb, tc, tl, tr; NASA 26cl (Swift), 30fcr (Swift), 66bl, Front: NASA: tl, ftr, J. Hester/Arizona State University tr
Observatory of Japan: 24bl; NSSDC (National Space 73bl, 126ca, 126tl (Europa), 126tl (Io), 127bc, 129clb; (orbiter); JPL-Caltech tr (star), Erich Karkoschka/
Science Data Center): 100bc, 102cla, 103tl, tr, ca, b, 104bl, NASA/ESA/STSCI/HIGH-Z Supernova Research Team University of Arizona tc; Science Photo Library: David
109clb, 112c, 113c, br; 219cb; Dr Seth Shostak 239bc; A. Simon-Miller/ GSFC/ Nunuk ftl
NASA/ESA/STScI 122b; Detlev Van Ravenswaay 71cb, Back & Spine all images: NASA
Orbital Sciences Corporation, Reston, VA: 40br, bra; 142t; Jason Ware 95cr; SETI Institute/Seth Shostak: 288cr;
SOHO/EIT (ESA & NASA): 159bc; Alex Lutkus 20cr;
PA News Photo Library: 281bl; EPA 239c; Patrick Air Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force
ILLUSTRATORS
David Ashby: 169c, 170bl, 172tr, 177br, 180bl, 183cl, 158tr, br, 159tl, 160cl, 161tl, 163br, 165ct, 166tr, l, b, 167l, James Marks: 89tl, 128cr, 129cl, 149r
288-303 170tr, 176cl, 180-181, 184-185c, 195tr, 207tc, b, 212-213b,
213tr, 215bl, 216c, 217tr, cr, br, 218-219c, 220-221t, 220c, Coral Mula: 268br
Julian Baum: 82-83, 96-97tc, 105tl, 128bl, 130-131c, 132bl, 249ct, cb, 250tr, bc, br, 251tl, 252tl, 255tl, 257tl, 258tl, 260tl,
134c, 138b, 168 269cl John Plumer: 187br
Rick Blakely Art Studio: 36cr, cl, bl, 37cr, 39c, 56-57b, Roy Flooks: 74c, 242cl, 244-245c, 244cl, 245cr, 245bc Robin Scagell: 262-263cb, cr
62ct, 64cr, 65cr, 70bc, 72b, 74-75c, 242-243, 242br, 243tc,
244cl, 245cr, br, 270cr, 272cr, 273bc Martyn Foote: 14bc, 15cl, tr, 18bl, 19tr, cr, 20-21b, 21r, 22- Roger Stewart: 36-37c, 64-65c
23bc, 24t, 24-25cb, 26-27bc, 28c, bc, bl, 30bc, 181tr, 183br,
Peter Bull Studio: 12-13c, 14-15c, 15bl, bc, 17c, 18bc, 19bl, 184tr, 186bl, 187tr, cr, bl, 188bl, 208-209c, 211cr, 212tr, Wil Tirion: 252c, bc, 253cr, 254r, 255bl, 256r, 257bl, 258r,
20-21, 22-23, 23bc, 24-25, 25c, 26-27, 28tr, br, 29t, 30-31c, 219tc, 223tr, 225r, br, b, 228t, 230br, 231bc, tr, cr, 232t, c, l, 259bl, 260r, 261bl.
30br, 31b, 32bl, 33b, 46cr, 48br, c, bc, 49bl, br, 53c, 57bc, cl, bc, b, 233br, 234-235c, 237r, 238cl, r
60-61c, 71tl, 78-79c, 83cr, 85cr, c, 86bc, 94tr, br, 95tl, 95bl, With thanks for additional illustrations to Lynn Chadwick,
108tr, 109cr, 110bl, 111bl, 123c, 124bc, 126b, 131c, 133bc, Ray Grinaway: 91ct, cc,cb, 90c, 90-91c Luciano Corbella, Brian Delf, Mike Dunning, Martyn
135bc, 137cr, bl, 139bl, 140bc, 141cr, 142bc, 144c, bc, 145cr, Foote, and Mark Franklin
146c, 147t, b, 150c, 151c, 154c, l, br, 155tr, 156cl, 157tr, br, Aziz Khan: 194c, 198c, 199tl, 200c, 202c, 204c
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
For the original 1999 edition, Dorling Kindersley would like to thank:
Jack Challoner for additional editorial consultancy; Hilary Bird for compiling the index; Wil Tirion for assistance in preparing the star maps; Sarah Johnson for downloading web images; Jo
Earl for additional design assistance; Sally Hamilton, Lee Thompson, and Fergus Muir for additional picture research; and Mathew Birch, Andrew OBrien, and Almudina Diaz for additional
DTP assistance.
For the 2009 edition, Dorling Kindersley would like to thank:
Carole Stott and Dr Jon Woodcock FRAS for additional editorial consultancy; Ian Ridpath for providing information on when to find the planets; Hilary Bird for compiling the index; and Sue
Butterworth for proofreading.
Omissions Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders and we apologize in advance for any unintentional omissions. We would be pleased to insert the appropriate
acknowledgments in any subsequent edition of this publication.
304
(c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley, Inc. All Rights Reserved.