National Geographic picture atlas of our universe

282 Pages·1980·40.58 MB·English

by  Roy A. Gallant

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National Geographic Picture Atlas of
A
Our Universe by Roy Gallant
TPuhbeliNsahteiodnbalyGeographic CMhealivirnmaMn.ofPtahyenBeoard EMdeiltvoirllEemeBreiltlusGrosvenor PNarteipoanraeldGbeyographic BookService
CharlesO. Hyman
Society RobertE. Doyle GilbertM. Grosvenor Director
President Editor Kenneth C. Danforth
Owen R. Anderson ManagingEditor
Secretary Anne Dirkes Kobor
IllustrationsEditor
Staffforthisbool< EMdairtgoraretSedeen MMaelrayniB.eDAincnkiCnosronner JEnoghrnavTi.ngDuanndnPrinting
David M. Seager SMh.irWlaesyhLb.uSrcnotStwain John D. Garst, Jr.
ArtDirector Research VCihragrilneiasLW..BBaezrary
ConstanceBrown Boltz EditorialContributionsby Gary M.Johnson - ,
AssociateArtDirector WendyW. Cortesi MarkSeidler
LindaB. Meyerriecks Suzanne P. Kane Alfred L. Zebarth
UseSwinson GeographicArt
PictureEditor
AnneWithers
Elizabeth L. Newhouse George I. Burneston III
ResearchEditor RobertC. Firestone index
RossS. Bennett ProductionManager ArtConsultationand
SDaevyimdouF.rRLo.bFiinsshobnein AKsasriestnanFt.PErdodwuacrtdiosnManager CRoonntriMbiultlieornsby
Jonathan B.Tourtellot Richard S.Wain Planetviewsandlandscapesby
Editor-Writers ProductionAssistant Ludek Pesek
PauletteL. Claus Planetmapsby
EditorialAssistant JayL. Inge
ScientificConsultants AMmaerrkicRa.nCMhuasreturamn-dHaIIyIden OHawrevanrdG-iSnmgietrhisocnhianCenter SGtoeddpahrednSPp.aMcaerFalnightCenter
Planetarium forAstrophysics
J. David Bohlin NoelW. Hinners PeterL. Munroe
NASA NationalAirandSpaceMuseum EducationalConsultant
GeoffreyA. Briggs HenningW. Leidecker
NASA Dept.ofPhysics, TheAmerican
'
University
Copyrightc;1980NationalGeographic Firstedition670,000copies.
Society,Washington,D.C.Allrights LibraryofCongressCIPdatapage276.
reserved.Reproductionsofthewholeor 338paintings,drawings,phonographs,
anypartofthecontentswithoutwritten andmaps.
permissionisprohibited.
Contents
foreword by Michael Collins 6
Sun Gods to Gamma Ravs
Beginnings
9
Our Solar System Home
The Sun & Planets
37
The StarWe Know Best The Sur. ^9
The Swittest Planet Mercury b9
(
A Veiled Planet VenuL
81
The PlanetWe Know Best Earth c?3
The Red Planet Mars
i;25
A PlanetThat NeverWas Asteroids & Meteors u«
King ofthe Planets Jupite- 1^53
The Planetwith Ears Saturn i;'3
A World on Its Side Uranu*' li]3
Lastof theGiants Neptune ^
1
A Double Planet';' Plutc V
1<;
Snowballs in Space The Comets 2C)3
To the Stars 8c Galaxies
Deep Space
215
The Future
&
Shuttles Starships
251
space Age Highlights 264 Observing the Universe 272
Glossary 270 Index 274
Measuring the Universe 271 lllustraTionsCredits 276
.
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caosutlhdesMeeo.oIn.keTpottNreyiilnAgramnsdtrIodnigd,gBeutzazsAfla-r sfauvrorroiutendceadndbiydaattehifcokrahtummosapnheerxep.loIrtaitsion.
dbruitn,coamnpdamree,dtthoatresaecehmiendgtahveernyealroensgttsrtiap,r disBteaynocnesdPsleuetmo,twoebheavtoeotomuadcmhitfotrhauts,thaet
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kilometers from Earth, while the nearest manyyearsago,expertsbelievedwewould
star, Proxima Centauri, is40 trillionkilo- never break the sound "barrier." Right
meters away! Now, back here on Earth now, Einstein's theories seem to deny us
with a better appreciation of distances, I thestars.Perhapssomedaywecandiscover
borrowtheeyesofastronomerstoshowme howtodisembodyhumansinoneplaceand
thoseplacesIwillnevervisit.Thisbeauti- recreate them elsewhere, to circumvent
fulbookwillhelpyoutodothat. Einstein's barrier, and to roam the Uni-
Throughout history, the genius of as- verse, seeking our peers or our superiors.
tronomers has been their ability to let The more we see of other planets, the
their minds roam to the far reaches ofthe better this one looks. When I traveled to
Universe while their bodies were trapped the Moon, it wasn't my proximity to that
on Earth. Kepler, tracing the planets in battered rockpile I remember so vividly,
theirorbits; Einstein, seeingthe Universe but rather what I saw when I looked back
emerge from his chalkboard-they have atmyfragilehome-a glistening, inviting
freed ourmindsifnotourbodies. beacon, delicate blue and white, a tiny
Andperhapsourbodieswillnotbefarbe- outpost suspended in the black infinity.
hind. Rocketshavepropelledastronautsto Earth is to be treasured and nurtured,
theMoonandfiredPioneerspacecraftcom- somethingpreciousthatmustendure.
pletely out ofthe Solar System. It is now Thenexttwodecadesshouldbethemost
technically possible for people to visi*^ productive years astronomers have ever
Mars, approximately nine months away. known.Withspacetelescopeswewillaccu-
The other planets are almost within our mulate more information about the Uni-
graspandthemoonsofJupiterandSaturn versethanwehavesincehumansbeganto
may be the unrealized gems of our Solar study the heavens. May we be intelligent
System.ThecamerasoftheVoyagerspace- enough to comprehend it and sensible
craft have transformed Jupiter's moons enoughtouse itto solve someofthepress-
frommere pinpointsoflight inatelescope ingproblemsofouruniquehome. \^
into intriguing, colorful spheres. lo. .
Europa ... Ganymede . . . Callisto. Even Michael Collins
mj^n
AspectacularnightlaunchofApollo 17crownsthp
seriesthatlanded 12U.S.astronautsontheMoon.