Essays About the Universe

Front Cover
Title Page
Contents (Part 1)
PART I
Introduction
The Starry Skies
A Heavenly Menagerie
Brightness and Names of Stars
Addresses of Stars in the Sky
Eyes, Ears and Hands of Astronomers
General Survey of an Observatory
Optical Telescopes-Astronomers' Eyes
Telescope's Auxiliaries
Spectroscopy and Spectra
Spectral Language
Astronomers' "Ears" - Radio Telescopes
Astronomers' "Fingers": Radar and Laseror. .. Is It Possible to Feel Planets and Illuminate the Moon?
The Hunt for High-EnergyCosmic Rays
Through Soviet Observatories
"Smart" Satellites
You Yourself Can Observeand Study the Universe
How Astronomical Discoveries Areand Aren't Done
The World of Solid Matter
1. The Main Members of the Solar System
Distant Worlds-Satellites of the Sun
Kepler's Laws
Orbital Elements
Space Near Our Home Planet
Planetary and Lunar Studies
The Old and New About Our Eternal Satellite
Lunokhods and First Astronautson the Moon
Two More Earth's Moons,but Made of Dust
The Moon's Twin-Mercury
Mysteries of Beautiful Venus
Mars from Far and Near
Once More About Life on Mars
Are the Martian Satellites Artificial?
Is There Life on Earth?
At the Far Reaches of the Solar System
The Ringed Planets
Are There Any Other Planetary Systems?
2. The Little Planets
The Planet Hunters
A Chain of Discoveries
The Farther into the Forest, the More Firewood There Is
Our Nearest Neighbours
Travels To and On Hermes
3. Visible Nothing
Heralds of Terror
Celestial Chameleons
Halley's Discovery
Short-Period Comets
Members of the Family or Aliens?
Discovery of Comets
Lost Comets
Visible Nothing
The Cause of Luminescence of Comets and Their Chemical Composition
What Occurs Within Comets
A Collision Between the Earth and a Comet
Where Were Comets Born? Are They Born Now?
4. Shooting Stars and Meteoric Storms
Shooting Stars and Stones from the Skies
Meteor Portraits and Passports
Meteor Storms and Streams
More About Meteors
A Census of Meteors
Meteoric Swarms
Cometary Dust
Meteors in the Atmosphere
New Techniques in Meteoric Studies
5. Heavenly Rocks and Dust
The Stones in Figures
Structure and Age of Meteorites
The Chemical Composition of Earth and Meteorites
In Search of Ancestry
Canyon Diablo
Other Meteorite Craters
The Tunguska Object
Sikhote-Alin Meteorite
Bombardments from the Heavens
Zodiacal Light and the Gas Tail of the Earth
Light and Dark Nebulae
Interstellar Wastes
Contents (Part 2)
PART 2
The World of Gas
1. The Sun- The Closestof the Stars
Introduction
The Sphere of Light
Even the Sun Is Not Without Spots
Observation of the Invisible and the Sun's Anatomy
The Envelopes of the Sun
The Highest Fountains in the Universe
The Solar Corona and Its Mysteries
How Three Astronomers Deceived Nature
Solar Chemistry
A History of Two Strangers
Active Regions, Chromospheric Flares, X-Ray and Radio Emission of the Sun
Magnetic Phenomena on the Sun
The Solar Wind and Polar Aurorae
2. The Stars Are Distant Suns
Comprehending the Incomprehensible
Stellar Luminosity
Spectra- Stellar Credentials
What Do Stars Consist of and Why Are Their Spectra Different?
Thermometers for Stars
Stellar Spectrum- Distance Indicator
Sounding Rod in the Depths of Space
Motion of Fixed Stars
"Traffic Control" for Stars
Where Are We Going?
Taking a Star's Measure
Star Pairs
"Devil" Stars
Portrait Gallery of Coloured Stars
Portraits of White Stars and Their Hi1itory
Anatomy of Stellar Atmospheres
Stars Are Like Tops
In the Neighbourhood of the Sun
Neighbours of the Sun
Distribution of Stellar Luminosities
Census of the Star Population on the-Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram
3. Stellar Pulsations and Explosions
Cepheids- the Lighthouses of the Universe
Other Physical Variable and Flare Stars
Swollen Atmospheres
Stars with Escaping Gas
Stars That Cast Off Their Envelopes
Supernova Explosions
Stellar Tops - Pulsars and Black Holes
4. The World of Star Clusters and Diffuse Gases
Open and Globular Star Clusters and Associations
Clearer About the Nebulous World
Nebular Gas
Luminescence and Nature of Gaseous Nebulae
Diffuse Gaseous Nebulae
Planetary Nebulae
Expansion of Planetary Nebulae
Evolution of Planetary Nebulae and Their Nuclei
Interstellar Gas
5. Islands of the Universe
Milestones and the Structure of Our Galaxy
Structure of Our Stellar Home
Galaxies- Islands of the Universe
More About Galaxies
Galactic Groups and Clusters
Your Address in the Infinite Universe
From Atomic Nucleus to Metagalaxy
Interaction of Galaxies
Radio Galaxies and Enigmatic Quasars
Explosions in Island Universes
Is There a Boundary of the World and What Is Beyond?
Is Any Communication Possible with Extraterrestrial Civilizations?
6. Birth, Life,and Death of Stars
How Old Are the Stars and the Milky Way?
Where Does Stellar Energy Come From?
Nuclei and Nuclear Reactions
"Feed Cycle" of Stars
Internal Structure of Stars
The Origin of Diffuse Matter
The Origins of Stars
The Life and Death of Stars
7. The History of the Earth and Planets
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