Astronomen

WORK IS IN FRENCHThis book is a reproduction of a work published before 1920 and is part of a collection of books reprinted and edited by Hachette Livre, in the framework of a partnership with the National Library of France, providing the opportunity to access old and often rare books from the BnF's heritage funds. The works in this collection have been digitized by the BnF and are presented on Gallica, its digital library.By reviving these works through a collection of books reprinted on demand, we give everyone the opportunity to participate in the transmission of knowledge which is sometimes difficult to access.We have tried to reconcile the faithful reproduction of an old book from its digitalized version with the concern of an optimal reading comfort. We hope the works of this new collection will bring you complete satisfaction.French National Library Editions are authorized editions through Hachette France for works in the French National Library Catalog. For more information, visit www.hachettebnf.fr

A hilarious account of winning the nerd lottery—a funny, witty chronicle of a space enthusiast’s ninety days with the NASA control center during the Phoenix Mars Mission. In the summer of 2008, Andrew Kessler, the luckiest fanboy in fandom, lived his space dream, spending three months in NASA’s mission control with one hundred thirty of the world’s best planetary scientists and engineers as they explored the north pole of Mars. This story is a human drama about modern-day pioneers battling NASA politics, temperamental robots, and the bizarre world of daily life in mission control. The Phoenix Mars mission was the first man-made probe ever sent to the Martian arctic. The program’s goal was to find out how climate change can turn a warm, wet planet (read: Earth) into a cold, barren desert (read: Mars). Along the way, Phoenix discovered a giant frozen ocean trapped beneath the north pole of Mars, exotic food for aliens and liquid water, and laid the foundation for NASA’s current exploration of Mars using the Curiosity rover. This is not science fiction. It is fact. Not bad for a summer holiday. 

In a startling reinterpretation of the evidence, Stillman Drake advances the hypothesis that Galileo's trial and condemnation by the Inquisition was caused not by his defiance of the Church, but by the hostility of contemporary philosophers.Galileo's own beautifully lucid arguments are used to show how his scientific method was utterly divorced from the Aristotelian approach to physics in that it was based on a search not for causes but for laws. Galileo's method was of overwhelming significance for the development of modern physics, and led to a final parting of the ways between science and philosophy. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.