Shoemaker by Levy: The Man Who Made an ImpactPrinceton University Press, 9.2.2021 - 319 sivua It was a lucky twist of fate when in the early1980s David Levy, a writer and amateur astronomer, joined up with the famous scientist Eugene Shoemaker and his wife, Carolyn, to search for comets from an observation post on Palomar Mountain in Southern California. Their collaboration would lead to the 1993 discovery of the most remarkable comet ever recorded, Shoemaker-Levy 9, with its several nuclei, five tails, and two sheets of debris spread out in its orbit plane. A year later, Levy would be by the Shoemakers' side again when their comet ended its four-billion-year-long journey through the solar system and collided with Jupiter in the most stunning astronomical display of the century. Not only did this collision revolutionize our understanding of the history of the solar system, but it also offered a spectacular confirmation of one scientist's life work. As a close friend and colleague of Shoemaker (who died in 1997 at the age of 69), Levy offers a uniquely insightful account of his life and the way it has shaped our thinking about the universe. |
Kirjan sisältä
Tulokset 1 - 5 kokonaismäärästä 36
... looked at the sky , then at each other . “ Let's do it ! ” Gene bellowed . We rushed up to the dome . Gene gave me the filmholder , which I locked into place in the belly of the eighteen - inch Schmidt camera . He read me two ...
... looked through the eyepiece to locate the star on which I would guide the eight - minute exposure and was really surprised to see a bright glow . I looked hard and found the guide star , barely visible amidst the glow . I looked up and ...
... looked really puzzled . “ How do I tell this nice man , ' she later admitted thinking , “ who has come all this way to be a part of the program , that his idea is just plain dumb ? ” Instead she said , “ But David , when we develop ...
... looked up from her eyepiece and noticed my wide grin . " David ! I think I've just been had ! " “ Twenty seconds ! ” We laughed about that one for years . It was the first of many moments of genuine laughter between us that helped make ...
... looked up from her scanning , saying plaintively , “ You know , I used to be a person who found comets . " “ Used to ... looked a bit like the fuzzy appearance of a distant galaxy . Was it floating ? She backed up , increased the ...
Sisältö
14 | |
1948 | 27 |
A Revolution in Earth | 44 |
Impact | 58 |
19531960 | 69 |
19661968 | 101 |
19681969 | 113 |
19691970 | 126 |
19801995 | 184 |
19841995 | 197 |
1993 | 213 |
1994 | 225 |
19951997 | 241 |
1997 | 251 |
Epilogue | 262 |
Notes | 269 |