Books

Meteor Showers and their Parent Comets

by Peter Jenniskens

A unique handbook for astronomers interested in observing meteor storms and outbursts. Spectacular displays of 'shooting stars' are created when the Earth's orbit crosses a meteoroid stream, as each meteoroid causes a bright light when it enters our atmosphere at high speed. Jenniskens, an active meteor storm chaser, explains how meteoroid streams originate from the decay of meteoroids, comets and asteroids, and how they cause meteor showers on Earth. He includes the findings of recent space missions to comets and asteroids, the risk of meteor impacts on Earth, and how meteor showers may have seeded the Earth with ingredients that made life possible. All known meteor showers are identified, accompanied by fascinating details on the most important showers and their parent comets. The book predicts when exceptional meteor showers will occur over the next 50 years, making it a valuable resource for both amateur and professional astronomers.
• Explains the cause and evolution of meteoroid streams
• Identifies about 250 known meteor showers and forecasts exceptional meteor showers in the coming decades
• Contains new insights into comet fragmentation as an important source of main meteor showers
• Details results from the Leonid Multi-Instrument Aircraft Campaign

• Hardcover: 802 pages
  
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (September 25, 2006)
  
• ISBN: 0521853494

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The Everything Da Vinci Book: Explore the life and times of the Ultimate Renaissance Man

by Cynthia Phillips and Shana Priwer

• Paperback: 304 pages
  
• Publisher: Adams Media Corporation (April 30, 2006)
  
• ISBN: 1598691015

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Extrasolar Planets : Saas Fee Advanced Course 31. Swiss Society for Astrophysics and Astronomy (Saas-Fee Advanced Courses)

by Tristan Guillot,  Patrick Cassen, Andreas Quirrenbach, Stephane Udry (Editor), Michel Mayor (Editor), Willy Benz (Editor), Didier Queloz (Editor)

Research on extrasolar planets is one of the most exciting fields of activity in astrophysics. In a decade only, a huge step forward has been made from the early speculations on the existence of planets orbiting "other stars" to the first discoveries and to the characterization of extrasolar planets. This breakthrough is the result of a growing interest of a large community of researchers as well as the development of a wide range of new observational techniques and facilities. Based on their lectures given at the 31st Saas-Fee Advanced Course, Andreas Quirrenbach, Tristan Guillot and Pat Cassen have written up up-to-date comprehensive lecture notes on the "Detection and Characterization of Extrasolar Planets", "Physics of Substellar Objects Interiors, Atmospheres, Evolution" and "Protostellar Disks and Planet Formation". This book will serve graduate students, lecturers and scientists entering the field of extrasolar planets as detailed and comprehensive introduction.

• Hardcover: 451 pages
  
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (June 2006)
  
• ISBN: 3540292160

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101 Things You Didn't Know About Einstein: Sex, Science, And the Secrets of the Universe

by Cynthia Phillips and Shana Priwer

Sure, you’ve heard of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. But do you really know what it means? And even if you do there’s a lot more to be learned about this eccentric genius. Did you know he worked to develop hearing aids? Or that a student actually spotted a mistake in one of his papers? And you’ll never guess what happed to Einstein’s brain after he died.
Inside these pages, you’ll learn about how and why:

• Einstein once drafted a letter to FDR about the use of nuclear fission in weapons of mass destruction.
• Einstein was offered the role of President of Israel not once, but twice—and humbly declined.
• Einstein’s first wife, Mileva, may have helped him with his most famous theories.
• Einstein’s theories have led to the development of the Global Positioning System (GPS).
  Filled with these and other interesting, intriguing anecdotes, 101 Things You Didn’t Know about Einstein takes a novel approach to the life and work of this fascinating modern-day icon. Read on, and your own theories about Einstein will never be the same!
• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Adams Media Corporation (November, 2005)
• ISBN: 1593373880

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101 Things You Didn't Know About Da Vinci: The Secrets Of The World's Most Eccentric And Innovative Genius Revealed!

by Cynthia Phillips and Shana Priwer

Everybody knows Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa, drew that famous guy inside a circle, and-oh yeah-has something to do with that code, too. But what about the man behind the myth? Although he's incredibly famous for his artistic achievements, most people don't know much about this genius's life. 101 Things You Didn't Know about Da Vinci takes a fun, fresh look at the master, from his less-than-illustrious origins as an illegitimate child, to his later years hobnobbing with popes, dukes, and kings.

This engaging volume is your ticket to all sorts of off-beat tidbits, including how and why:

• The Italian military swiped the bronze for one of Leonardo's sculptures.
• Catholic monks filed a lawsuit against Leonardo over the Virgin of the Rocks.
• Artistic rival Michelangelo once called Leonardo "that lyre-player from Milan."
• Leonardo concocted a scheme with Machiavelli to reroute the Arno River.
• Even Sigmund Freud got a piece of the action by deconstructing Da Vinci.

Full of the unexpected, this book takes you beyond the hearsay and hype, proving that when it comes to Leonardo Da Vinci, fact really is stranger than fiction!

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Adams Media Corporation (August, 2005)
• ISBN: 1593373465

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Infinite Worlds : An Illustrated Voyage to Planets beyond Our Sun

by Ray Villard and Lynette Cook
Afterword by Frank Drake

 Merely a decade ago there were no known planets orbiting sunlike stars outside our own solar system. In the past ten years, however, fast-paced developments in astronomy have revealed over 140 extrasolar planets--with more discoveries surely on the way. Though it will be years before we have direct images of these far-flung worlds, this lavishly illustrated book gives us an idea of what they might look like. A fascinating exploration of the cosmos written for a wide audience, Infinite Worlds brings together Lynette Cook's internationally renowned astronomical artwork, the latest and most dramatic images from the world's top observatories, and up-to-the-minute scientific findings on subjects ranging from the big bang and stellar evolution to a possible universe filled with countless planets and life forms.
The newly discovered planets are boggling astronomers' minds with their bizarre characteristics, including an unimagined diversity of sizes and orbits. In Lynette Cook's scientifically based illustrations--many newly created for this book--we glimpse the landscapes and atmospheres that might adorn these planets. Ray Villard's text elegantly describes the state of astronomy today, imagines where it will take us in the coming years, ponders the chances of success for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), and explores the survivability of life in an evolving and accelerating universe.

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press (April 1, 2005)
• ISBN: 0520237102

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Selected by NSTA/CBC to their list of Best Books.
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Are We Alone?
Scientists Search for Life in Space

by Gloria Skurzynski

In the jungle of Puerto Rico, next to a giant aluminum telescope bowl, we meet astronomers Peter Backus and Jill Tarter of the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) program. This research program is determined to find evidence of extraterrestrial life by searching for its radio signals. They hope to catch radio waves created by some kind of life far out in space. These scientists love their work: "Arriving in the control room, Jill puts on a tape of her favorite samba music by a group called Viva Brazil. Others in the room stay seated and propel themselves on their wheeled office chairs from workstation to workstation, but Jill usually gets up and sambas across the floor."

In this rare combination of engaging narrative and factual information, Gloria Skurzynski uses techniques she's developed as a fiction writer to energize her science writing. This book not only brings the reader into the world of extra-terrestrial science, but is also very much about the hopes and dreams of real people. She lends a strong personal voice to the narrative, drawing the reader deep into the world of extraterrestrial study. Humans have always been fascinated with extraterrestrial life, and the book traces that interest, including the origination of the term "flying saucer." Sloan also explains why scientists don't buy it. "There's been no hard evidence, not a single artifact left behind-a lost boot, or a shred of whatever material the UFO was made of, or even a flake of alien skin. "But not believing in flying saucers doesn't mean scientists don't believe in extraterrestrial life. They look for it using telescopes, space missions, and planet explorations. They study extremophiles, organisms that live in extreme environments on Earth, in the hopes that they will lead us to a better understanding of how life may exist in space. Really, what could be out there? This book visits scientists across the globe who are trying to find out, from Puerto Rico to California, from Socorro, New Mexico to Chile, Finland, Spain, and Hawaii. 

• Hardcover: 96 pages; Dimensions (in inches): 0.46 x 10.26 x 8.12
• Publisher: National Geographic; July 1, 2004
• ISBN: 079226567X

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The Everything Einstein Book: From Matter and Energy to Space and Time, All You Need to Understand the Man and His Theories

by Cynthia Phillips and Shana Priwer

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Adams Media Corporation (September, 2003)
• ISBN: 158062961X

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Biocosm

by James N. Gardner, Mark Burnett

Foreward by Seth Shostak

Is intelligent life merely a bit player in the enormous pageant of the cosmos? Or is it destined to become something vastly more important: the architect of the universe and of other universes to come?

James Gardner carefully reviews all the best ideas on how to understand the cosmos’s apparent biological imperative and then puts forth a new, and strikingly dramatic, suggestion of his own, one that makes use of the exciting field of complexity science: the “Selfish Biocosm” hypothesis.

Ever since Newton, scientists have tried to understand existence by discovering its underlying rules. The result has been a massive edifice of natural law, and biology has been seen as a consequence of the universe’s construction, rather than an instigator.

Only on Earth’s surface, where life has molded the seas, the continents, and even the atmosphere, is biology thought to have had an important role in shaping physical conditions –- the so-called Gaia hypothesis. But Gardner had taken Gaia to its further conceivable magnitude: extending the role and influence of life to the stars and beyond.

There is little doubt that his ideas will change yours.

• Paperback: 344 pages;
• Publisher: Inner Ocean Publishing;(August 2003)
• ISBN: 1930722222
  
  Biocosm is available at Amazon.com.

Cosmic Company: The Search for Life in the Universe

by Seth Shostak, Alex Barnett

In their newly-released book, authors Seth Shostak and Alex Barnett ponder the possibility of alien life, and the consequences of receiving a signal from the cosmos. They explain why scientists think sentient life might exist on other worlds, how we could discover it, and what it might be like. Entertaining and informative, this hard cover book is lavishly illustrated.

• Hardcover: 162 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; (November 2003)
• ISBN: 0521822335

Cosmic Company: The Search for Life in the Universe is available at Amazon.com

Life in the Universe (textbook)

by Jeffrey Bennett, Seth Shostak, Bruce Jakosky

Courses on the exciting subject of astrobiology are sprouting up on college campuses like forest mushrooms. This new textbook, co-authored by SETI Institute astronomer Seth Shostak, provides a comprehensive treatment of the subject, including the fundamentals of biology, the search for life in the solar system, and SETI. Although intended for classroom use, this imposing, richly illustrated tome is a great read and a handy reference for all those interested in the possible existence of, and search for, life beyond Earth.

• Paperback: 346 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Publishing; 1st edition July 29, 2002
• ISBN: 0805385770

Life in the Universe (textbook) is available at Amazon.com

Looking for Life in the Universe

by Ellen Jackson

In Looking for Life in the Universe, Author Ellen Jackson and photographer Nic Bishop introduce readers to Dr. Jill Tarter, the Institutes Director of SETI Research, and her thrilling, rigorous, and awe-inspiring work in the field.

Here is how the publishers describe this award-winning childrens book: Human beings have always looked at the heavens and asked: Are we alone? Is there life elsewhere in the universe? What is that life like? Unfortunately, people can't actually travel to other solar systems. Even the closest stars are too far away to visit. Today, astrophysicists such as Jill Tarter are looking for other ways to search for extraterrestrial life. Jill is the director of Project Phoenix at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California. SETI stands for "Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence." Twice a year, Jill and her team travel to the mountains of Puerto Rico where they use the world's largest radio telescope to examine nearby stars. They search the sky, listening for radio signals that, if found and verified, would provide strong evidence that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe.

Winner of the 2002 National Science Teachers Association Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children Award!

• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co.; September 30, 2002
• ISBN: 0618128948

Looking for Life in the Universe is available at Amazon.com

The Everything Astronomy Book

by Cynthia Phillips and Shana Priwer

"The universe is yours to grasp!" promises the back cover of this clear and comprehensive guide to astronomy for a general audience. Written by SETI Institute scientist, Cynthia Phillips and co-author Shana Priwer, the book is packed with useful diagrams, photos, tips for backyard stargazers, and fascinating history. The Everything Astronomy Book is a perfect introduction to the night sky for a beginner as well as a handy reference for the book-shelf of anyone captivated by the cosmos.

• Paperback: 289 pages
• Publisher: Adams Media Corporation; September 2002
• ISBN: 1580627234

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SETI 2020: A Roadmap for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence

Edited by Ron Ekers, Kent Cullers, John Billingham, and Louis Scheffer

Foreward by Philip Morrison

The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence is on the brink of a renaissance. Four decades after the first modern experiment seeking signals from other civilizations, a slew of new technologies and fresh ideas are promising to rapidly expand the search.

Recognizing these opportunities, the SETI Institute carefully assembled a tiger team of top astronomers, SETI researchers, engineers, and technology gurus from the Silicon Valley to peer into the future and judge the path ahead. Their three-year effort is distilled in a remarkable new book: SETI 2020. It is a prescient and comprehensive study of how SETI scientists should direct their efforts between now and the year 2020.

SETI 2020 maps out future strategies by taking a fresh look at the challenge of finding evidence for extraterrestrial technologies, and then proposing how best to meet it. Within the pages of this volume, you'll find the compelling arguments for building new radio telescopes as large arrays of relatively small antennas - a scheme that is now being implemented in the Allen Telescope Array. There is a thorough discussion of new types of telescopes that can survey the entire sky at once. Of particular interest is the book's extensive treatment of optical SETI - the search for signals beamed our way using high-powered, pulsed lasers or their equivalent.

SETI 2020 is a work that's interesting for both the layman and the scientifically sophisticated. It is the definitive publication in this fascinating field, one that will give readers both big picture ideas and specific, technical detail. It's an indispensable resource for all those interested in the exciting new efforts to detect other intelligence in the cosmos.

• Paperback: 551 pages, with illustrations
• Publisher: SETI Institute
• ISBN: 0966633539

SETI 2020: A Roadmap for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence is available at Amazon.com

Project Cyclops: A Design Study for a System of Detecting Exraterrestrial Intelligence

This is a reprint of the classic, 1971 summer study directed by Bernard Oliver and John Billingham. It provides technical detail on both the astronomical and signal processing sides of SETI. Reverently (and accurately) described as the "bible of SETI."

• Paperback: 244 pages
• Publisher: Standford/NASA/Ames Research Center; 2nd Printing 1996
• ISBN: 0965070700

Sharing the Universe

by Seth Shostak

Foreward by Frank Drake

Where are the extraterrestrials likely to be hanging out? What will they look like and be like? What is their interest in us, and how can we find them? The SETI Institute's own Seth Shostak tells all in this witty and informative new book. Publishers Weekly says: "The book is rich in considered, engaging science... Sections on possible alien behavior, on motives for contact and means of contact... are compelling as they reveal as much about us as about anyone who may pop across for a visit."

• Paperback: 206 pages
• Publisher: Berkeley Hills Books; January 1998
• ISBN: 0965377431

Sharing the Universe is available at Amazon.com

Social Implications of the Detection of an Extraterrestrial Civilization

Edited by John Billingham, Roger Heyns, et al.

What happens if SETI succeeds? Several dozen experts from the fields of sociology, technology, and education consider the social consequences of finding a signal. Based on workshops held in 1991 and 1992, this is the definitive opus on the likely impact of an extraterrestrial signal. Don't believe all you see on TV, nor what you read in the chat groups: here is reasoned prognostication on what could be the biggest event in human history.

• Paperback
• Publisher: SETI Press; July 1999
• ISBN: 0966633504

Social Implications of the Detection of an Extraterrestrial Civilization is available at Amazon.com

Modern English Misusage

by Bernard M. Oliver

Watch your grammar! There are few skills more important than being able to write and speak with clarity and precision. SETI pioneer Barney Oliver was a stickler for using the right word in the right way, and proved it by writing a witty and useful book that is a first-rate splint for fractured English.

Modern English Misusage is available at Amazon.com

Leonid Meteor Storm Research

by P. Jenniskens, F. Rietmeijer, N. Brosch, M. Fonda (eds.)

* first results 1999 Leonid Multi-Instrument Aircraft Campaign
* first results USAF Leonid global monitoring program
* morphology and composition of cometary dust
* meteors as vehicles for delivery of oganic matter to early Earth
* impact of meteoroids on the Earth's upper atmosphere
* meteoric debris and interplanetary dust particles
* meteoric plasma and aerothermochemistry
* predictions for future Leonid storm encounters

Limited offering by participating researchers.

• Paperback: 606 pages/42 manuscripts
• Publisher: Kluwer Academic Publishers; January 15, 2001
• ISBN: 0792367383
  

Circumstellar Habitable Zones

Edited by Laurance R. Doyle

Introduction by Carl Sagan

36 articles by 62 experts in the fields of astrophysics, planetary science, and exobiology. Carl Sagan introduces this landmark book on "cosmoecology"-the ecology of the Universe-what enables planet formation, stability, and habitability?

1000 bibliographic references 30 BW photos 150 charts/illustrations $75.00 Retail ($67.50 if you mention SETI)+ S/H ($5 to US dest.)

1000 bibliographic references
30 BW photos
150 charts/illustrations

$75.00 Retail ($67.50 if you mention SETI)+ S/H ($5 to US dest.)

• Paperback
• Publisher: Travis House Pubns; March 1996
• ISBN: 0965089606

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