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. |
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... stars on this film . I don't know what field this is ! ” Gene was already guiding on a star at the telescope . “ Henry ” —he quickly handed over the guide paddle— “ take over . ” After he rushed downstairs it took a him a few minutes to ...
... star images . That process would leave maybe four or five minutes during which we'd just have time to talk . I might ask Gene a question about impacts , or a past experience somewhere , and he would answer , always being sure that his ...
... star ” the telescope was following , Carolyn was watching the clock to tell me when to end the exposure . We were feeling good since we had just discovered a new asteroid ( to be called 1989 VA ) moving rapidly through the Pleiades ...
... stars could be seen through the gathering clouds , I remembered the rude surprise we had received the evening before : we had to stop observing because our film had gone bad . Someone had opened our box of carefully prepared emulsion ...
... star at all , ” he said , “ then we'll go somewhere else . ” “ No , ” I answered , “ the star is faint , but I can follow it . We can stay here . I'm ready to go ! " Gene then waited until the clock's second hand was about to reach a ...
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 |