Measure Solar System Objects and Their Movements for Yourself!

By: John D. Clark

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Paperback | 26 March 2009

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Paperback
192 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
22.86 x 15.24 x 0.64

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Instead of taking somebody's word for it about the basic size and distance statistics for the solar system, this book shows amateur astronomers how to measure these things for themselves. This is an enriching experience for any amateur astronomer - to understand and personally measure some fundamental astronomical quantities and distances.

A basic knowledge of geometry is required, but it is amazing how simple the geometry can be. Readers are led through the geometry as gently as possible - and in a light-hearted way - presuming that most non-academics will have half-forgotten most of their mathematics.

The practical astronomical equipment recommended is no more than a typical commercially-made amateur telescope and a camera of some sort - these days a webcam works very well. Apart from that all the reader will need is access to a computer, the know-how to download free software, and an enthusiasm to expand his knowledge of the basis of scientific astronomy.

Industry Reviews

From the reviews: "This delightful book ... is really a breath of fresh air in popular science publishing, taking us back to astronomical basics and starting from the beginning. With the help of very clear diagrams and graphics, the text takes you through fully-worked examples, asking questions about sizes, distances and motions within the Solar System. It then sets about, always with simple, readily available and inexpensive equipment, to show you how to answer those questions for yourself. ... Overall, this is a very worthwhile text ... ." (John Rowlands, Astronomy Now, January, 2010)

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Preface	p. v
Acknowledgments	p. ix
About the Author	p. xv
How Do We Know That Venus Orbits the Sun?	p. 1
Circular Motion	p. 4
Newton's Law of Gravity	p. 9
Application to Circular Orbits	p. 9
Back to Venus and the Earth	p. 10
How to Predict the Greatest Western Elongation Date	p. 11
Checking the Date of Greatest Western Elongation	p. 14
Alternative Hypothesis: Venus Orbits Earth	p. 16
When Can You Try This for Yourself?	p. 19
Conclusion	p. 19
How Big is the Earth?	p. 21
Ways to Measure the Earth's Size	p. 21
What Johnny Did Next	p. 22
Conclusion	p. 27
How Far Away and How Big is the Moon?	p. 29
First Attempt	p. 29
Advanced Topic: A Sphere Attracts Like a Point Mass	p. 37
Second Experiment	p. 41
Discussion of Quality of Results	p. 51
Jupiter's Moons: Where You Can Watch Gravity Do Its Thing	p. 57
Why the Jovian System is a Good 'Gravity Laboratory'	p. 57
My Equipment	p. 58
Observing in the Rain (Well, Almost)	p. 58
Measuring Angular Separations on Photos	p. 61
Making Sense of the Moon's Positions	p. 66
Other Jupiter Projects You Could Try	p. 78
Conclusion	p. 80
Sunrise, Sunset	p. 81
A Mars Day for Work, Rest and Play	p. 82
The Celestial Sphere	p. 87
Let Now the Sun Go Down along Its Path	p. 90
Conclusion	p. 96
Getting Further from the Sun: How do you Ride an Epicycle?	p. 97
Photography	p. 98
Astrometry: Getting Data from Photographs	p. 101
Epicycles	p. 120
Conclusion	p. 125
Size Matters	p. 127
Appendixes
Geometrical Appendix: Geometry for Those Who Have Forgotten	p. 133
Basic Trigonometry	p. 133
What Happens if A is bigger than 90°?	p. 135
Angular Units	p. 135
Coordinate Systems	p. 137
Proof of Coordinate Transform Formulae	p. 143
Vectors: A Way of Simplifying Geometry	p. 144
Statistical Appendix	p. 151
Probability	p. 152
A Measurement that Fluctuates	p. 153
All Distributions Tend Toward a Normal Distribution	p. 160
What Happens When I Can only Make One Measurement per Observation of a Moving Body?	p. 164
References	p. 169
Index	p. 171
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Measure Solar System Objects and Their Movements for Yourself!

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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