From prehistoric times, mankind has looked up at the night sky, and puzzled at the changing positions of the stars. How far away they are is a question that has confounded scientists for centuries. Over the last few hundred years, many scientific careers - and considerable resources - have been devoted to measuring their positions and motions with ever increasing accuracy. And in the last two decades of the 20th century, the European Space Agency developed and launched the Hipparcos satellite, around which this account ...
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From prehistoric times, mankind has looked up at the night sky, and puzzled at the changing positions of the stars. How far away they are is a question that has confounded scientists for centuries. Over the last few hundred years, many scientific careers - and considerable resources - have been devoted to measuring their positions and motions with ever increasing accuracy. And in the last two decades of the 20th century, the European Space Agency developed and launched the Hipparcos satellite, around which this account revolves, to carry out these exacting measurements from space. What has prompted these remarkable developments? Why have governments been persuaded to fund them? What are scientists learning from astronomy's equivalent of the Human Genome Project? This book traces the subject's history, explains why such enormous efforts are considered worthwhile, and interweaves these with a first-hand insight into the Hipparcos project, and how big science is conducted at an international level. The involvement of amateur astronomers, and the Hipparcos contributions to climate research, 'death stars' passing close to the Sun, and the search for extra-solar planets and even intelligent life itself, are some of the surprising facets of this unusual space mission.
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Add this copy of The Making of History's Greatest Star Map (Astronomers' to cart. $18.22, very good condition, Sold by More Than Words rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Waltham, MA, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by Springer.
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Add this copy of The Making of History's Greatest Star Map to cart. $23.34, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2012 by Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg GmbH & Co. K.
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2012, Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg GmbH & Co. K
Add this copy of The Making of History's Greatest Star Map (Astronomers' to cart. $25.00, like new condition, Sold by Sequitur Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Boonsboro, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by Springer.
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Like New. Size: 4x0x7; Hardcover and dust jacket. Good binding and cover. Clean, unmarked pages. Over the years, many scientific careers-and considerable resources-have been devoted to measuring their positions and motions with ever increasing accuracy. This book traces the subject's history, explains why the enormous efforts are considered worthwhile, and offers an insight into the Hipparcos project.
Add this copy of The Making of History's Greatest Star Map to cart. $33.50, like new condition, Sold by BingoBooks2 rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Vancouver, WA, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by Springer.
