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Not just the "First Mission to the Last Planet" (no space probes have ever explored Pluto), but also the first mission to check out the mysterious Kuiper Belt, a region of space in our solar system that may harbor as many as 100,000 planetoids, perhaps 1,000 of them being as large as Pluto. And you grew up hearing we only had nine planets? Hah! Plus, the Kuiper Belt is thought to be the origin of many comets -- yet it was only discovered in the early 1990s -- in your lifetime! From This is True for 15 January 2006 Suggestions for further reading:
 By: Gregg Braden List Price: $24.95 Amazon Price: $9.99 Editorial Review:
In this fascinating book, Gregg Braden merges the modern discoveries of nature?s patterns (fractals) with the ancient view of a cyclic universe. The result is a powerful model of time?fractal time?and a realistic window into what we can expect for the mysterious year 2012 . . . and beyond. Applying fractal time to the history of the world and life, he proposes that everything from the war and peace between nations to the patterns of human relationships mirror the returning cycles of our past. As each cycle repeats, it carries a more powerful, amplified version of itself. The key: If you know where to look in the past, you know what to expect when the same conditions return in the present and future. For the first time in print, the Time Code Calculator gives us the tool to do just that! Through easy-to-understand science and step-by-step instructions, discover for yourself: · How the conditions for 2012 have occurred in the past, and what we can expect when they repeat! · The ?hot dates? that hold the greatest threats of war, and the greatest opportunities for peace! · How Earth?s location in space triggers cycles of spiritual growth for humans! · Your personal time codes for the key events of business, relationships, and change in your life! · How each cycle carries a window of opportunity?a choice point?that allows us to select a new outcome for the returning pattern! · What the 1999 ice cores from Antarctica reveal about past cycles of climate, global warming, Earth?s protective magnetic fields, and what these things mean for us today! In a powerful yet comprehensible style, Gregg gives us a way to make sense of the rapid, and often dramatic, change of today?s world. It is these understandings that guide us away from the destructive choices we?ve made in the past. They also show the way to the greatest possibilities of our lives. Gregg suggests that if we can see time from this perspective, the past reveals the great secret of our moment in history and what we can expect as we approach December 21, 2012!
 By: Jane O'connor List Price: $3.99 Amazon Price: $3.99 Editorial Review: Nancy absolutely adores stars. She loves how they sparkle in the sky, and she can even name the constellations. Nancy can hardly wait for her class visit to the planetarium! Young readers will delight in this newest addition to the Fancy Nancy I Can Read series, sharing in Nancy's anticipation and disappointment when the trip doesn't go as planned. But with her trademark panache, Nancy manages to make even this frustrating situation fun?and, of course, fancy.  By: Stephen Hawking List Price: $18.00 Amazon Price: $12.24 Editorial Review: A Brief History of Time, published in 1988, was a landmark volume in science writing and in world-wide acclaim and popularity, with more than 9 million copies in print globally. The original edition was on the cutting edge of what was then known about the origins and nature of the universe. But the ensuing years have seen extraordinary advances in the technology of observing both the micro- and the macrocosmic world--observations that have confirmed many of Hawking's theoretical predictions in the first edition of his book. Now a decade later, this edition updates the chapters throughout to document those advances, and also includes an entirely new chapter on Wormholes and Time Travel and a new introduction. It make vividly clear why A Brief History of Time has transformed our view of the universe.Stephen Hawking, one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists in history, wrote the modern classic A Brief History of Time to help nonscientists understand the questions being asked by scientists today: Where did the universe come from? How and why did it begin? Will it come to an end, and if so, how? Hawking attempts to reveal these questions (and where we're looking for answers) using a minimum of technical jargon. Among the topics gracefully covered are gravity, black holes, the Big Bang, the nature of time, and physicists' search for a grand unifying theory. This is deep science; these concepts are so vast (or so tiny) as to cause vertigo while reading, and one can't help but marvel at Hawking's ability to synthesize this difficult subject for people not used to thinking about things like alternate dimensions. The journey is certainly worth taking, for, as Hawking says, the reward of understanding the universe may be a glimpse of "the mind of God." --Therese Littleton  By: Brian Greene List Price: $16.95 Amazon Price: $9.99 Editorial Review: A new edition of the New York Times bestseller-now a three-part Nova special: a fascinating and thought-provoking journey through the mysteries of space, time, and matter.Now with a new preface (not in any other edition) that will review the enormous public reception of the relatively obscure string theory-made possible by this book and an increased number of adherents amongst physicists-The Elegant Universe "sets a standard that will be hard to beat" (New York Times Book Review). Brian Greene, one of the world's leading string theorists, peels away the layers of mystery surrounding string theory to reveal a universe that consists of eleven dimensions, where the fabric of space tears and repairs itself, and all matter-from the smallest quarks to the most gargantuan supernovas-is generated by the vibrations of microscopically tiny loops of energy.Today physicists and mathematicians throughout the world are feverishly working on one of the most ambitious theories ever proposed: superstring theory. String theory, as it is often called, is the key to the Unified Field Theory that eluded Einstein for more than thirty years. Finally, the century-old antagonism between the large and the small-General Relativity and Quantum Theory-is resolved. String theory proclaims that all of the wondrous happenings in the universe, from the frantic dancing of subatomic quarks to the majestic swirling of heavenly galaxies, are reflections of one grand physical principle and manifestations of one single entity: microscopically tiny vibrating loops of energy, a billionth of a billionth the size of an atom. In this brilliantly articulated and refreshingly clear book, Greene relates the scientific story and the human struggle behind twentieth-century physics' search for a theory of everything.Through the masterful use of metaphor and analogy, The Elegant Universe makes some of the most sophisticated concepts ever contemplated viscerally accessible and thoroughly entertaining, bringing us closer than ever to understanding how the universe works."[A] delightful, lucid introduction to the greatest problem in all of physics, the quest to unify all the laws of nature. Greene does a masterful job in presenting complex materials in a lively, engaging manner. Highly recommended to anyone who has ever gazed at the heavens and wondered, as Einstein did, if God had a choice in making the universe."-Michio Kaku, author of Hyperspace and Visions"Everyone who is curious about the horizons of theoretical physics-past, present, and future-will enjoy this book."-Edward Witten, Institute for Advanced Study"[A] beautifully crafted account of string theory-a theory that appears to be a most promising waystation on the road to an ultimate theory of everything. His book gives a clear, simple, yet masterful account that makes a complex theory very accessible to nonscientists but is also a delightful; read for the professional."-David M. Lee, professor of physics, Cornell University"[A] tour-de-force of science writing. Perhaps more than any other popular-level account, this book peels away layers of detail and reveals the stunning essence of cutting-edge physics. With a rare blend of scientific integrity and literary flair, the author takes us on a whirlwind journey to the forefront of the search for the ultimate theory of the universe."-Shing-Tung Yau, Harvard University; Fields Medalist, winner of the National Medal of Science"Greene goes beyond Kaku's book [Beyond Einstein], exploring the ideas and recent developments with a depth and clarity I wouldn't have thought possible. Like Simon Singh in "Fermat's Enigma," he has a rare ability to explain even the most evanescent ideas in a way that gives at least the illusion of understanding....There is an ill-concealed skeleton in the closet of physics: "As they are currently formulated, general relativity and quantum mechanics cannot both be right." Each is exceedingly accurate in its field: general relativity explains the behavior of the universe at large scales, while quantum mechanics describes the behavior of subatomic particles. Yet the theories collide horribly under extreme conditions such as black holes or times close to the big bang. Brian Greene, a specialist in quantum field theory, believes that the two pillars of physics can be reconciled in superstring theory, a theory of everything. Superstring theory has been called "a part of 21st-century physics that fell by chance into the 20th century." In other words, it isn't all worked out yet. Despite the uncertainties--"string theorists work to find approximate solutions to approximate equations"--Greene gives a tour of string theory solid enough to satisfy the scientifically literate. Though Ed Witten of the Institute for Advanced Study is in many ways the human hero of The Elegant Universe, it is not a human-side-of-physics story. Greene's focus throughout is the science, and he gives the nonspecialist at least an illusion of understanding--or the sense of knowing what it is that you don't know. And that is traditionally the first step on the road to knowledge. --Mary Ellen Curtin  By: Tish Rabe List Price: $8.99 Amazon Price: $8.99 Editorial Review: Blast off for educational fun! Beginning readers and budding astronomers are launched via Seussian sorcery on a wild trip to visit the nine planets in our solar system along with the Cat in the Hat, Thing One, Thing Two, and Dick and Sally.The perfect first space book for those almost-readers, There's No Place Like Space takes us on a whirlwind tour of our solar system, with a few constellations thrown in for good measure. Cat in the Hat (along with beloved Thing One and Thing Two) straps on his space suit and rhymes his way among the nine planets, presenting important facts along the way. Where else could your preschooler learn phonics and astronomy at same time? "A planet can have satellites that surround it. Uranus has lots of these objects around it" is just one example. This is a fine addition to the library of any young stargazer--few books are written with this many facts furnished in such an easy-reading manner. (Preschool to early reader) --Jill Lightner |
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