rdf-syntax-grammar
mods:
  schema location: http://www.loc.gov/mods/v3 http://www.loc.gov/standards/mods/v3/mods-3-2.xsd
  title info:
    title: Celestial Shadows
    sub title: Eclipses, Transits, and Occultations
  name:
    name part: Westfall, John.
    role:
      role term: creator
    role:
      role term: author.
  name:
    name part: Sheehan, William.
    role:
      role term: author.
  name:
    name part: SpringerLink (Online service)
  type of resource: text
  origin info:
    place:
      place term: xxu
    date issued: 2015
    issuance: monographic
  language:
    language term: eng
  physical description:
    form: electronic
    form: electronic resource
    reformatting quality: access
    form: remote
    extent: XXIV, 713 p. 239 illus., 11 illus. in color. online resource.
  abstract: Much of what is known about the universe comes from the study of celestial shadows—eclipses, transits, and occultations. The most dramatic are total eclipses of the Sun, which constitute one of the most dramatic and awe-inspiring events of nature. Though once a source of consternation or dread, solar eclipses now lead thousands of amateur astronomers and eclipse-chasers to travel to remote points on the globe to savor their beauty and the adrenaline-rush of experiencing totality, and were long the only source of information about the hauntingly beautiful chromosphere and corona of the Sun. Long before Columbus, the curved shadow of the Earth on the Moon during a lunar eclipse revealed that we inhabit a round world. The rare and wonderful transits of Venus, which occur as it passes between the Earth and the Sun, inspired eighteenth century expeditions to measure the distance from the Earth to the Sun, while the recent transits of 2004 and 2012 were the most widely observed ever--and still produced results of great scientific value. Eclipses, transits and occultations involving the planets, their satellites, asteroids and stars have helped astronomers to work out the dimensions and shapes of celestial objects—even, in some cases, hitherto unsuspected rings or atmospheres—and now transits have become leading tools for discovering and analyzing planets orbiting other stars. This book is a richly illustrated account of these dramatic and instructive astronomica l phenomena. Westfall and Sheehan have produced a comprehensive study that includes historical details about past observations of celestial shadows, what we have learned from them, and how present-day observers—casual or serious—can get the most out of their own observations. .
  table of contents: Preface -- Part I. The Diversity of Eclipse Events -- Eclipse Phenomena -- The Waltz of the Planets -- The Performers -- Part II. A Transit Chronicle -- The Beginnings -- Scaling the Heavens -- A Century of Progress and Disappointment - and Completion -- Our Own Venus Transit - The June Flowers of 2004 -- Part III. 2012 - Our Last Chance for a Venus Transit -- The 2012 Event -- Observing the 2012 Transit -- Mercury also Transits the Sun -- Transits Galore -- The Splendor of a Solar Eclipse -- The Beauty of a Lunar Eclipse -- Planetary Satellites -- Occultations - When Blocking the View is Helpful -- Appendices -- References -- Index. .
  note: by John Westfall, William Sheehan.
  subject:
    topic: Physics
  subject:
    topic: Planetology
  subject:
    topic: Astronomy
  subject:
    topic: Astrophysics
  subject:
    topic: Cosmology
  subject:
    topic: Physics
  subject:
    topic: Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
  subject:
    topic: Popular Science in Astronomy
  subject:
    topic: Planetology
  classification: QB1-991
  classification: QB460-466
  classification: QB980-991
  classification: 520
  related item:
    title info:
      title: Springer eBooks
  related item:
    title info:
      title: Astrophysics and Space Science Library, 410
  identifier: 9781493915354
  identifier: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1535-4
  record info:
    record creation date: 141119
    record change date: 20151204141739.0
    record identifier: 978-1-4939-1535-4