Weird Astronomy

Weird Astronomy appeals to all who are interested in unusual celestial phenomena, whether they be amateur or professional astronomers or science buffs who just enjoy reading of odd coincidences, unexplained observations, and reports from space probes that "don’t quite fit." This book relates a variety of "unusual" astronomical observations – unusual in the sense of refusing to fit easily into accepted thinking, or unusual in the observation having been made under difficult or extreme circumstances. Although some of the topics covered are instances of "bad astronomy," most are not. Some of the observations recorded here have actually turned out to be important scientific breakthroughs. Included are some amusing anecdotes (such as the incident involving "potassium flares" in ordinary stars and the story of Abba 1, the solar system’s own flare star!), but the book’s purpose is not to ridicule those who report anomalous observations, nor is it to challenge scientific orthodoxy. It is more to demonstrate how what's "weird" often turns out to be far more significant than observations of what we expect to see.

In a series of fun and involving hands-on astronomy experiments, kids learn how distance from the sun affects atmospheric temperature, why the Earth is called the “Blue Planet,” why Jupiter’s ring shines, and how to reproduce Mars’ red soil and Jupiter’s stormy red spot. They will also determine why radio wave receivers are curved, how radio waves are sent around the Earth via satellite, how satellites enter into orbit, and how rockets achieve escape velocity. Featuring color illustrations and safe, simple step-by-step instructions, Janice VanCleave again shows just how much fun science can be.

In a series of fun and involving hands-on astronomy experiments, kids learn how distance from the sun affects atmospheric temperature, why the Earth is called the “Blue Planet,” why Jupiter’s ring shines, and how to reproduce Mars’ red soil and Jupiter’s stormy red spot. They will also determine why radio wave receivers are curved, how radio waves are sent around the Earth via satellite, how satellites enter into orbit, and how rockets achieve escape velocity. Featuring color illustrations and safe, simple step-by-step instructions, Janice VanCleave again shows just how much fun science can be.

In a series of fun and involving hands-on astronomy experiments, kids learn how the Sun's rays affect the visibility of Venus, determine the difference between local sun time and clock time, and observe and chart the phases of the Moon. They will also demonstrate why only one side of the Moon is visible from the Earth, make a model of the celestial sphere, and create a model of a multistage rocket. Featuring color illustrations and safe, simple step-by-step instructions, Janice VanCleave shows just how much fun science can be.

In a series of fun and involving hands-on astronomy experiments, kids learn how gravity affects the movement of celestial bodies, why and how a satellite stays in orbit, how the Earth is protected from solar winds, why the stars seem to move in circles in the night sky, and how to safely observe the image of the Sun. They will also determine and demonstrate why the Sun�s center is more dense than its outer edge, why charged particles are attracted near the Earth�s poles, and how planetariums produce images of the night sky. Featuring color illustrations and safe, simple step-by-step instructions, Janice VanCleave again shows just how much fun science can be.

After addressing strange cosmological hypotheses in Weird Universe, David Seargent tackles the no-less bizarre theories closer to home. Alternate views on the Solar System's formation, comet composition, and the evolution of life on Earth are only some of the topics he addresses in this new work. Although these ideas exist on the fringe of mainstream astronomy, they can still shed light on the origins of life and the evolution of the planets. Continuing the author's series of books popularizing strange astronomy facts and knowledge, Weird Astronomical Theories presents an approachable exploration of the still mysterious questions about the origin of comets, the pattern of mass extinctions on Earth, and more. The alternative theories discussed here do not come from untrained amateurs. The scientists whose work is covered includes the mid-20th century Russian S. K. Vsekhsvyatskii, cosmologist Max Tegmark, British astronomers Victor Clube and William Napier, and American Tom Van Flandern, a specialist in celestial mechanics who held a variety of unusual beliefs about the possibility of intelligent life having come from elsewhere. Despite being outliers, their work reveals how much astronomical understanding is still evolving. Unconventional approaches have also pushed our scientific understanding for the better, as with R.W. Mandl's approaching Einstein with regard to gravitational lensing. Even without full substantiation (and some theories are hardly credible), their hypotheses allow for a new perspective on how the Solar System became what it is today.

As new discoveries complicate the scientific picture of the universe, the evolving theories about the nature of space and time and the origins and fate of the universe threaten to become overwhelming. Enter David Seargent. Continuing the author's series of books popularizing strange astronomy facts and knowledge, Weird Universe explains the bizarre, complicated terrain of modern cosmology for lay readers. From exploring some of the strange consequences of the theories of special and general relativity, to probing time dilation and the twin and mother-and-baby “paradoxes” and the theory that the universe can be mathematically considered as a hologram, all of the latest findings and conjectures are clearly described in non-technical language. The development of quantum physics and the more recent developments of string and M-theory are looked at, in addition to several hypotheses that have not won wide acceptance from the scientific community, such as modified gravity. Enter the wonderfully weird world of these theories and gain a new appreciation for the latest findings in cosmological research.

“Weird Worlds” is the third book in David Seargent’s “Weird” series. This book assumes a basic level of astronomical understanding and concentrates on the “odd and interesting” aspects of planetary bodies, including asteroids and moons. From our viewpoint here on Earth, this work features the most unusual features of these worlds and the ways in which they appear “weird” to us. Within our own Solar System, odd facts such as the apparent reversal of the Sun in the skies of Mercury, CO2-driven fountains of dust on Mars, possible liquid water (and perhaps primitive life!) deep within the dwarf planet Ceres, and a variety of odd facts about the planetary moons are all discussed. A special chapter is devoted to Saturn’s giant moon Titan, and its methane-based weather system and “hydrological” cycle. This chapter also includes recent speculation on the possibility of methane-based organisms and the form that these might take, if they really do exist. Beyond our Solar System, the book looks at the range of worlds discovered and hypothesized. In “Weird Worlds,” the author discusses planets where temperatures are so high that it rains molten iron, and others so cold that liquid methane floods across plains of ice! Worlds are described where the lightest element acts like a metal and where winds blow at thousands of miles per hour – as well as possible planets whose orbits are essentially parabolic. In keeping with previous titles in David Seargent’s “Weird” series, “Weird Worlds” contains several projects that astronomers of all levels can undertake.