Space: A Visual Encyclopedia

258 Pages·2010·32.03 MB·English

by  DK Publishing

featuring the latest imagery from nasa
SPACE
a v i s u a l e n c y c l o p e d i a

Space:
A Visual
Encyclopedia
DK PUBLISHING
Contents
LONDON, NEW YORK,
MELBOURNE, MUNICH, and DELHI
Consultant Peter Bond INTRODUCTION 4
Project editor Wendy Horobin
Project designer Pamela Shiels OBSERVING THE UNIVERSE 6
Editors Fleur Star, Holly Beaumont,
Lee Wilson, and Susan Malyan What is space? 8
Designers Rachael Grady, Lauren Rosier, Our place in space 10
Gemma Fletcher, Karen Hood, Clare Marshall, A circle of stars 12
Mary Sandberg, and Sadie Thomas Early ideas 14
US editor Margaret Parrish Telescopes 16
Indexer Chris Bernstein Giant telescopes 18
Picture researchers Ria Jones, Harriet Mills, Seeing light 20
and Rebecca Sodergren Infrared astronomy 22
Production editor Sean Daly Messages from the stars 24
Jacket designer Natalie Godwin Invisible rays 26
Jacket editor Matilda Gollon Hubble Space Telescope 28
Publishing manager Bridget Giles Witches and giants 30
Art director Martin Wilson Observatories in space 32
Unusual observatories 34
Packaging services supplied by Bookwork
THE VIOLENT UNIVERSE 36
First published in the United States in 2010 by
DK Publishing What is the universe? 38
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014 Birth of the universe 40
100 billion galaxies 44
Copyright © 2010 Dorling Kindersley Limited Galaxy formation 46
A sombrero in space 48
10 11 12 13 14 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 The Milky Way 50
175938—05/10 The Magellanic Clouds 52
The Local Group 54
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American The heart of the Milky Way 56
Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be When galaxies collide… 58
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted Active galaxies 60
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, Dark matter 62
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior
written permission of the copyright owner. Published
in Great Britain by Dorling Kindersley Limited. LIFTOFF! 64
A catalog record for this book How rockets work 66
is available from the Library of Congress. 3, 2, 1… 68
The space shuttle 70
ISBN: 978-0-7566-6277-6 Launch centers 72
Launching Ariane 5 74
Color reproduction by Media Development Artificial satellites 76
and Printing Limited, United Kingdom Satellites in orbit 78
Printed and bound by Toppan, China Satellite shot 80
Space probes 82
Discover more at
Space debris 84
www.dk.com
Space nations 86 THE MOON 178
Super spacecraft 88
Earth’s companion 180
HUMANS IN SPACE 90 Eclipses 182
The lunar surface 184
Space pioneers 92 Destination Moon 186
Becoming an astronaut 94 Man on the Moon 188
Space walking 96 Splashdown! 190
Living in space 98 Return to the Moon 192
Animals in space 100
Extending the house 102 THE SUN 194
The first space stations 104
The International Space Station 106 The Sun 196
Science in space 108 Inside the Sun 198
Space tourism 110 The Sun’s atmosphere 200
Future flyers 112 Solar storms 202
Reaching for the stars 114 Amazing aurora 204
Solar cycle 206
SOLAR SYSTEM 116 Observing the Sun 208
Birth of the solar system 118 STARS AND STARGAZING 210
The Sun’s family 120
Mercury 122 What are stars? 212
Venus 124 Birth of a star 214
Views of Venus 126 A flash of brilliance 216
Mars 128 The death of a star 218
Missions to Mars 130 Interstellar space 220
Martian sand art 132 Multiple stars 222
Asteroids 134 Globular clusters 224
Jupiter 136 Other solar systems 226
Jupiter’s moons 138 Extreme stars 228
Voyager 1 & 2 140 Black holes 230
Saturn 142 Be a skygazer 232
Saturn’s moons 144 The night sky 234
Saturn by sunlight 146 The northern sky 236
Uranus 148 The southern sky 238
Neptune 150
Pluto and beyond 152 Space in time 240
Comets 154 Glossary 244
Comet missions 156 Index 248
Meteors 158 Acknowledgments 254
Meteorites 160
Life on other worlds 162
EARTH 164
The unique Earth 166
The perfect planet 168
Earth’s seasons 170
On the surface 172
Up in the sky 174
Life on Earth 176
Introduction
Only about 500 people have left Earth behind to explore
the wonders of outer space. Now you, too, can voyage
through space and time and enjoy an experience that is
out of this world.
As you turn the pages of this lavishly illustrated encyclopedia,
you will learn about how rockets and telescopes work, discover
what it is like to work and live in space, and unravel the
mysteries of the final frontier. You’ll travel from our small,
blue planet to strange worlds with poisonous atmospheres,
hidden oceans, and huge volcanoes. Then head out into the
Milky Way to discover the multicolored clouds, stars, and
galaxies that lie scattered throughout the universe.
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u GENERAL ARTICLES focus on particular
topics of interest ( p. 72–73). Many have
fact boxes, timelines that chronicle key stages
in development, and picture features.
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powerful telescopes and full of amazing facts, this 12Do3r80eb iihmto ooufsr Msc.omarps leevteesr yo n e Ponheo boorbs iits emveurcyh 7 c lhooseurr ts o4 M0 marisn, ucotems.pleting uthoe rMbee i Oinn Ut dhNeee CTp hAfraIerNeizte uF—mR kOMnSoowTntn eM sa Mus cpoheu ronmft aathfirneo sMs.t—arstuiacnh asus rtfhaec ef rios stth sohuogwhnt 7(■■■■■1174 E°2ASDLLFa eeuvmi rann(ert−ihmfgglr1al aittd2eochhga5nte eeyoo t m) rtffode idy i2lm4seea5,ts2apy°a 0re C(n 20 2r) c2 6a4m8e8t.5 ui7 mlf re rhEeiosolal mui( ro6−tr hn,s1t8P h9dk0e5maL0 y tSA)kso mu Nn) E T P(■■■ER aNGSOrirtuzhaFme vI= ibcL t1eyoE) rm a o0tp f.ta3 hm8reios soounnrsf a 2ce T4 hbei lLlioown eyVltTi(lish4elka ha e2,ecl0 irl,r Mses5a0a sso 00t yasMelc0s drrtkat e.ammirimsar ji)in u nl o elseeofst rq nc biuagse a.nrlotuyowonrn. s s
encyclopedia is invaluable as a reference book for
u DETAILED PROFILES accompany features
researching projects or perfect for just dipping into. about our solar system ( p. 128–129).
These are packed with facts and figures about
the structure, composition, and features of
For anyone who has ever stared up at the night sky and each planet.
wondered what the universe is really like, this book is
an essential read. Giant telescopes Keck Telescopes Gemini Telescopes GIANT TELESCOPES
OBSERVING THE UNIVERSEThEphteoaqlveweues iecH pbropfeapueeleeldn s t t ewabelrlueieetsi shlcncto o oawppw 1eiet 6 phec vl faamteun r(si n5erbred uomd irq,l)s tuw .mu iAtipteishr tar toom es rct3,ihi r3rirnt ow fowtrhl soa( e1osgn 0fyt h i1mhte0 a w)0ls a a airfsmcgt r ce(opos3strm0s oa. v pnmEelddve) te ,moe ntdre o l lmasientrs og c1eroe9rp. 4e8s . ■■■Uwtoaceht v elmnSLAeaeroiltrnseztcoicice lgatsto o utoe2phidmpfso0he e pen s e0e rs wh1 sir.9Mm3 eaotTh,,a 6pa hrbut0rleehny0yde a e 2mf’d sutKK , iit(s0elr4sweairat,0no1cr,oi 4r0gHkngr 5 ea t3 tIawmisK3inIt ma)fm egtito ice( e1pikelrs0efft r istpmoecece)rcalor etltp sshs ceeoao ctfpo tenhsde . ■■■ThattostaiSSnhehooo r f sleuuSLA tueeepbeetto i ylhhtslzt eercooh ::icetn qcatcC8two ucetoiahe,ueida9arpfiontr an3 etnlr petno e0 tch h rs s odNs oPGif eNemiktaaro n eg o.(ocrriea2n hrtneheBamnth,ro7oshy -e:l ,2l.e:sm r1 c eii mC2MptntnTh3ta whhi,moeiaick8riol ereus2)eheet oentndr2eed r an .ns ltef e tiw2K vt das(6eth4econ hea,frr2ot, deoy 1oH(pm8 3ufap e mmwg ,sa h) )ar . it i. OBSERVING THE UNIVERSE
Peter Bond V(VerLyT L) aArgrrea Tyelescope LTealregsec oBpine o(cLuBlaTr) Hale Telescope
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ELaurrgoep Teaenle sEcxotpreem (Ee–lyE LT) Th(TMirtTy )Meter Telescope
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When you see this symbol in the book, turn u FACT FILES take an in-depth look at one
to the pages listed to find out more about a subject. topic, such as telescopes ( p. 18–19). They
detail all you need to know about the subject.
STARS AND STARGAZING VltsrcgsAioehtarge8 fo lohFl1ll3wleewta0L8cd-irs,tyn A 0 iMafehng0 lSaola,g0ori Hswg bs nho thu ao if atOmswtfc w beiteaetFhceury shoeie r sBifpt osntrliti.assoR’ nt oyTmn.ige IsfTho rL loasEreih Lmug roaeihetmIrf awdstt Aldp ha afsbNueg.rru ocrdesIpiCttmsn g a aet mhcEnr Mhtugtdahanilatk aaeel rnre isscsg u sthetih. ratff s Tr tr2tleoi aon0hscuropt0g,en kr 2liseudos ,eaa p ccrdtsta iahh me ituoefiess s uodt soeshtr tdftae ae ai b irn brom.no tyfTseou au tbl htghids ugeip2edslsh a 0a enetbc ,n ffie0eeftlbr,es0ly ooecu 0lmwftlf al i ai .sstr h ede STARS AND STARGAZING
May 20, 2002 September 2, 2002
October 28, 2002 December 17, 2002
216 MsltSithgaerohropr tuee ti rgtseuhh smp atttinhelblde f es,odp ruturh res2e aty 0dececila0onhr6uogs d aoo.fuf t ett hr et 2he1 7
u PHOTO SPREADS capture items of
special interest within each chapter, such
as exploding stars ( p. 216–217).
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OBSERVING

THE UNIVERSE
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We live on one tiny planet
in the vast universe. Finding
out what else is “out there”
has been one of our biggest
challenges, and it started
with people simply staring
at the sky.
What is space?
FACT FILE
■ In the US, anyone who flies above an
altitude of 60 miles (100 km) in a rocket or
spacecraft gets a special badge called
We live on a small, blue planet called Earth.
“astronaut wings.”
E
RS ■ Our most common name for people who It has a surface of liquid water and rock and
E travel into space is “astronauts,” meaning
V
NI star travelers. The Russians call them is surrounded by a blanket of air called the
U “cosmonauts,” meaning travelers through
E atmosphere. Space begins at the top of the
H the universe, and the Chinese name is
T “taikonauts,” from their word for space. atmosphere. It is an unimaginably vast,
G
N ■ A person who stepped out into space
I without a protective suit would quickly die. silent, and largely empty place, but it has
V
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He or she would be unable to breathe, but
E many amazing properties.
S would still have around 10 seconds to
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O reach safety before losing consciousness.
, OUTER SPACE Even in places far from
stars and planets, space contains scattered
… particles of dust or a few hydrogen atoms.
E
C
A
P THE EDGE OF SPACE
S
Earth’s atmosphere does not end
R
E suddenly—it gets gradually thinner
T
U and thinner as you travel up from the
O
ground. Most experts agree that outer
space starts at a height of 60 miles
(100 km). Yet even above this height,
there is a layer of very thin air called
the exosphere. Hydrogen and other
light gases are slowly escaping into
space from this outermost part
of Earth’s atmosphere.
s
Blacker than black le
i
m
In photos taken from space, our planet is

surrounded by blackness. This shows how 0
0
empty outer space is. Planets like Earth shine 0
6, , EXOSPHERE This top layer of the
because they reflect light from the Sun. Stars
atmosphere extends up to 6,000 miles
shine because they produce huge amounts of
(10,000 km) above Earth.
energy by burning fuel. Most of space looks
black because there is nothing there to
produce or reflect light.
s
le , THE ATMOSPHERE protects
i
m Earth’s surface from harmful radiation
0 and the full heat of the Sun. At night,
6 it stops heat from escaping into space.
8