Sky above, earth below: memoirs of an astronomer in the national parks

In Sky Above, Earth Below, Tyler Nordgren examines a range of astronomical topics and makes the connection between them and the landscapes, processes and cultures which one can see and experience within specific US National Parks. For each park and topic this story unfolds in three steps: what does the reader see for his or herself? What is the scientific cause or explanation of what the reader sees? And finally, what is the big picture about ourselves, our world, or our Universe, towards which understanding of this object or process leads? The author takes us the length and breadth of the US from the coast of Maineto the Rocky Mountains, from the Grand Canyon to Hawaii, exploring these natural links between the features of the parks and features of our Universe. As an example, one chapter will begin by explaining the causes of tides one sees while visiting the Atlantic Ocean along Maine’s Acadia National Park. Tides area direct visible example of how planetary bodies affect one another. The planet Jupiter, which one can see in the sky during specific times of the year, has a moon upon which it exerts such enormous tides that its frozen interior hasmelted resulting in a liquid ocean far larger and deeper than our own. While standing on our ocean’s shores, marvelling at the life we see in tidal pools, we are able to understand the causes of another planet’s ocean and wonder whatthe prospect of life may be beneath its waves. In another chapter, the authorexplores volcanism, one of the most spectacular geological activities that can shape a planet. Visitors to the caldera of Kilauea in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park will see an analogue to calderas on Jupiter’s moon, Io, the most volcanically active body in the Solar System. Astronomers using telescopes atop Mauna Kea, an extinct volcano right next to Kilauea, make regular observations of Io and thus attempt to understand its volcanic activity so as to better understand our own. The first book to make direct connections between astronomy and the landscapes, processes and cultures one experiences in the US National Parks Links the geological features readers can see in the National Parks tothe very latest NASA spacecraft discoveries on other planets and their moons Forms a connection between what the reader sees on the ground and in the sky (using photographs and sky charts) to the deeper scientific meaning behind these sights Takes the reader on journeys to other objects in the Solar System by leading them to places with similar features here on Earth Discusses the historical background to astronomical phenomena in addition to related geology and planetary science INDICE: Come see the Milky Way – Yosemite and the National Park System.- Eclipses and Science – Grand Tetons and Chaco Culture National Historic Park.- Exploring New Frontiers – Yellowstone National Park.- Tides and Our Cosmic Connection – Acadia National Park.- Pele’s Planet – Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.- Seasons of Fire – Great Smokey Mountains.- Red Rock Planet – Arches and Zion National Parks.- The Goldilocks Planet – Glacier National Park.- The Lives of the Stars – Chaco Culture National Historic Park.- Worlds Bountiful and Strange – Rocky Mountain National Park.- Creation Stories – Grand Canyon NationalPark.- Our Natural Heritage Above the Horizon.

• ISBN: 978-1-4419-1648-8
• Editorial: Springer
• Encuadernacion: Rústica
• Páginas: 200
• Fecha Publicación: 01/02/2010
• Nº Volúmenes: 1
• Idioma: Inglés