Skip to content
Cart 
Register Sign in
Register Sign in Wishlist
Academic

Unlocking potential with the best learning and research solutions
Look Inside COMETS!

COMETS!
Visitors from Deep Space

$21.99 (G)

textbook
David H. Levy
View all contributors
  • Date Published: September 2013
  • availability: In stock
  • format: Paperback
  • isbn: 9781107622777

$ 21.99 (G)
Paperback

Add to cart Add to wishlist

Other available formats:
eBook

Looking for an examination copy?

If you are interested in the title for your course we can consider offering an examination copy. To register your interest please contact collegesales@cambridge.org providing details of the course you are teaching.

Description
Product filter button
Description
Contents
Resources
Courses
About the Authors

  • Join David J. Eicher in this fast-paced and entertaining journey through the history, present, and future of these important yet mysterious cosmic bodies. From ancient times, humans have been fascinated by “broom stars” and “blazing scimitars” lighting up the sky and moving against the fixed background of stars. The Great Comets of our time still receive in-depth attention – ISON, Hale-Bopp, Hyakutake, West, and others – while recent spacecraft encounters offer amazing insight into the earliest days of the solar system. In this guide you will discover the cutting-edge science of what comets are, how they behave, where they reside, how groups of comets are related, and much more. The author carefully explores the ideas relating comets and life on Earth – and the danger posed by impacts. He finishes with practical, how-to techniques, tips, and tricks of how to successfully observe comets and even to capture your own images of them.

    • The definitive word on comets from a well-known amateur astronomer, on the eve of Comet ISON, which may be the brightest and most spectacular comet in Earth's skies for many decades
    • The author covers all aspects of comets - history, science, observation, dynamics of cometary orbits and families, the relationships of comets to asteroids, and the connections between comets to water and life on Earth
    • Contains an extensive summary of outstanding comets of the past, both recent (such as Hale-Bopp, Hyakutake, West, and Ikeya-Seki) and those of historic importance (Caesar's Comet, the Great Comet of 1577, the Great Comet of 1811, Halley's Comet, and more)
    Read more

    Reviews & endorsements

    "David J. Eicher has written a wonderful, up-to-date book on the history and science of comets. The book is written in a more conversational style, with occasional humor thrown in, and is not too technical. The result is a very enjoyable read for everyone."
    Gary W. Kronk, author of the 'Cometography: A Catalog of Comets' series

    "Eicher’s book brings the magical world of comets to life. It is not an arcane mathematical textbook but a celebration of these slowly wandering objects."
    David H. Levy, author and discoverer of 22 comets, from the Foreword

    "… this title is very much an accessible offering for new astronomy hobbyists and general readers … highly recommended …"
    Jeffrey Beall, University of Colorado, Denver, Library Journal, September 2013

    "The author is enthusiastic and knowledgeable, capable of conveying his enthusiasm intelligently. He doesn’t overwhelm the reader with complex mathematics but explains the science quite clearly."
    Rosie Cawkwell, Rosie Writes

    "Eicher … has a way with words. Clarity, joy, inquisitiveness, and knowledge grace every page. It is clear that he is a great comet fan and we are very fortunate that he has taken the time to share his enthusiasm with us."
    The Observatory

    See more reviews

    Customer reviews

    Not yet reviewed

    Be the first to review

    Review was not posted due to profanity

    ×

    , create a review

    (If you're not , sign out)

    Please enter the right captcha value
    Please enter a star rating.
    Your review must be a minimum of 12 words.

    How do you rate this item?

    ×

    Product details

    • Date Published: September 2013
    • format: Paperback
    • isbn: 9781107622777
    • length: 230 pages
    • dimensions: 253 x 178 x 17 mm
    • weight: 0.47kg
    • contains: 68 b/w illus. 16 colour illus.
    • availability: In stock

  • Table of Contents

    Foreword David H. Levy
    Preface
    Acknowledgments
    1. Strange lights in the sky
    2. Great comets of the past
    3. What are comets?
    4. Comets of the modern era
    5. Comets in human culture
    6. Where comets live
    7. The expanding science of comets
    8. Observing comets
    9. Imaging comets
    Glossary
    Bibliography
    Index.

    Look Inside

  • Author

    David J. Eicher, Astronomy magazine
    David J. Eicher is Editor-in-Chief of Astronomy magazine, the world's largest publication on the subject. He is president of the Astronomy Foundation, the telescope industry's first-ever trade association. He is author of seventeen books on science and history, and at age fifteen founded a magazine on observing galaxies, clusters, and nebulae, Deep Sky Monthly. An avid observer of astronomical objects for more than thirty-five years, he was honored in 1990 by the International Astronomical Union with the naming of minor planet 3617 Eicher.

    Foreword

    David H. Levy, Jarnac Observatory, Arizona
    David H. Levy is President of the National Sharing the Sky Foundation, and is one of the most successful comet discoverers in history. He has discovered twenty-two comets (eight of them using his own backyard telescopes) and was co-discoverer of Shoemaker-Levy 9, the comet that collided with Jupiter in 1994 producing the most spectacular explosions ever witnessed in the Solar System. Asteroid 3673 (Levy) was named in his honor. He has written several books, is a contributing editor and monthly columnist for Astronomy, and was the former Science Editor for Parade magazine. In 1998 he won an Emmy as part of the writing team for the Discovery Channel documentary 'Three Minutes to Impact'.

    Contributors

    David H. Levy

Browse by related subject

Sorry, this resource is locked

Please register or sign in to request access. If you are having problems accessing these resources please email lecturers@cambridge.org

Register Sign in
Please note that this file is password protected. You will be asked to input your password on the next screen.

» Proceed

You are now leaving the Cambridge University Press website. Your eBook purchase and download will be completed by our partner www.ebooks.com. Please see the permission section of the www.ebooks.com catalogue page for details of the print & copy limits on our eBooks.

Continue ×

Continue ×

Continue ×
warning icon

Turn stock notifications on?

You must be signed in to your Cambridge account to turn product stock notifications on or off.

Sign in Create a Cambridge account arrow icon
×

Save 20% off on your next online purchase with Cambridge Alerts

Receive email alerts on new books, offers and news...

Subscribe

Find content that relates to you

Join us online

This site uses cookies to improve your experience. Read more Close

Are you sure you want to delete your account?

This cannot be undone.

Cancel

Thank you for your feedback which will help us improve our service.

If you requested a response, we will make sure to get back to you shortly.

×
Please fill in the required fields in your feedback submission.
×