Earth & Space Science For Everybody
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
This is a new type of a book that brings its 1,400 pictures to Internet connected computers (or Digital Book Readers) in seconds by clicking on a link. The 1,400 ‘Quick Pick Links’ can be downloaded (free) in a few seconds from author’s website www.lakivioja.com
This book is a factual Science based up-to-date overview of this unique, well-balanced, highly livable planet Earth.
The book is almost like a Tour Guide through the entire universe. The book does not need annual new editions because many ‘Quick Pick Links’ update themselves daily with daily galleries, photos, explanations, bibliographies and references up to the date the link is clicked.
The book is written in 'plain English' to be easily read and understood by everybody. All astronomical numerical values are given in most suitable Metric and English Units, such as ground movements by millimeters and stellar distances by light-years.
The pages of this book have no pictures and no mathematical formulas.
Pictures
No pictures in the book? However, from the Internet at the author’s website www.lakivioja.com over 1,400 spectacular and up-to-date photos are only a mouse-click away on the computer monitor (or on a book reader). The carefully selected reputable Internet 'Quick Pick Links' offer more newest news and better up-to-date color photos than any book can have on its printed pages.
Units of Speed
For example, if a satellite's orbital velocity in its Earth orbit is given as 15,659 miles per hour = 4.35 miles per second = 25,200 km/h = 7 km/s, this book uses more easily understood smaller numerical values for the same item.
Units of Distances Some examples: Earth to Sun average distance may be given as 92,955,622 miles = 149,597,871 km, or in light-seconds: light from the Sun reaches Earth in 500 seconds = 8 minutes 20 seconds. For that distance, this book uses 500 light-seconds = 1 Astronomical Unit = 1 AU.
-- Similarly, Earth to Moon average distance is given as 1.2 light-seconds (ls) instead of 238,854 miles = 384,399 km.
-- Also, the mean distance of planet Mars from the Sun is simply 1.5 AU.
-- On the average, Pluto's is 39.5 AU from the Sun.
-- Nearest star Proxima Centauri is 4.2 ly away from us instead of 2,500,000,000 miles = 39,900.000.000 km.
-- The outer reaches of the known universe are 13.7 billion ly = 13,700,000,000 ly away (2011). What is beyond the 13.7 billion ly-distance in all directions, up, down, east or west is totally unknown.
For the same item, small numbers are easier to comprehend and keep in mind than large numbers.
Photos, Bibliographies and Expert Descriptions
The photos of the book are just a mouse click away from over the 1,400 'Quick Pick Links'. All links can be quickly downloaded as a Microsoft Word Document, or as an HTML Document from the author's website: www.lakivioja.com.
-- Keeping this small document on the desktop is recommended to quickly see the recommended photos, references, bibliographies and expert descriptions during, before, or after reading a paragraph.
-- Many ‘Quick Pick Links’ have daily Photo Galleries and Archives covering several years back.
-- In addition to the newest Internet photos, many links have descriptions written by Astronomy and Earth Science experts that complement the book's text and offer 'on the spot' Bibliographies, References and also checks to the book’s text.
-- Many 'Quick Pick Links' update themselves daily, or whenever new information becomes available. In this way, the book automatically keeps itself up-to-date ‘forever’ about this Earth and the Space around it.
-- Many of these Internet sites have the newest available information about the Earth and photographs from the largest ground based observatories and from orbiting telescopes and probes with many types of sensors.
-- It is obvious that no printed book can have as many up-to-date and as good color photos as the Internet has on its links listed in the 'Quick Pick Links'.
-- The ‘Quick Pick Links’ are reputable. All links have been selected by the author. All of them are in the Public Domain, so they are free to use by all.
In the Text of the Book
-- The book outlines Earth's constitution from its center core to the top of its atmosphere.
-- Daily news from the Internet about the Earth, the Sun, its asteroids, comets, meteor showers and occasionally news about its nine (eight in 2006) planets and their moons are available here better than in any other book printed on paper.
A good example of this is offered by NASA’s link about a new finding (2011) about the density of near Earth asteroids:
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap111001.html (Read the text under the photo.)
--Location and movements of the Milky Way Galaxy relative to other near-by and far-away galaxies up to the edges of the known universe are outlined. --The overview 3-dimensional model of the entire universe described in the book, puts the Milky Way galaxy and all other known and unknown galaxies 'into a bottle' so that the realities of the space around, above, and under us can better be visualized. The described miniature 3-D model ‘contains’ all the estimated 125 - 3,000 billion galaxies, and it is small enough to fit in many backyards. It has never before been published to the knowledge of the author.
The absolutely Unique Planet Earth in the Known Universe
This Earth is the only known livable planet, (or moon) anywhere in the Universe (2011). It truly is a unique 'Garden Spot' with its liquid water, breathable air, food to eat, reasonable temperatures, radiation and gravity.
There are no other known heavenly bodies anywhere where the birds sing and where one can smell roses.
This Earth is 'it'. Love it. Don't mess it up. Improve our Earth the little you can and keep it neat!
Formats
Hardcover
$35.38
E-Book
$9.99
Softcover
$25.38
Hardcover
$35.38
Book Details
Language :
English
Publication Date :
7/10/2009
Format :
Hardcover
Dimensions :
6x9
Page Count :
336
ISBN :
9781426998041
Format :
E-Book
Dimensions :
N/A
Page Count :
336
ISBN :
9781426998027
Format :
Softcover
Dimensions :
6x9
Page Count :
336
ISBN :
9781425119751
About the Book
This is a new kind of a book that has its over 1,400 photos/pictures/galleries/expert explanations available in a small download at the author’s website www.lakivioja.com as a Word or HTML Document, called ‘Quick Pick Links’ (free, of course). Many of these links update themselves daily keeping this book updated almost ‘forever’ with the newest news and photos.
Carefully selected ‘Quick Pick Links’ are reputable, such as US Government links of NASA, GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER, NIST, AGU, USGS, NOAA, NAOJ, USNO, HUBBLE, SPITZER, CHANDRA, STEREO, SOHO, ESA (European Space Agency), Japanese JAXA, many ground based and Earth Orbiting Telescopes and Space Probes. All links are in Public Domain
To comprehend this Sun-orbiting planet Earth and its place in the surrounding space requires some approximate knowledge of numerical values of sizes and distances
Radius of Earth = 6371 km = 3959 miles
Average acceleration of gravity at sea level is: 1 G =981 m/s/s = 981 Gal = 981,000 mGal = 32.2 ft/s/s. This means that the speed of a freely falling object increases every ‘falling second’ by 9.81 m/s, = 32.2 ft/s (ignoring air drag)
Sun’s gravity is 27.5 G, Moon’s gravity is 0.165 G
Average distance to Moon (LD = lunar distance) = 1.2 ls (light-seconds)
One light-second distance (ls) = 300,000 km = distance light travels in one second.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light-second
Distance to Sun = 500 ls =1 AU = Astronomical Unit = 149,598,000 km = 92,956,000 mi
Equatorial radius of Sun = 2.32 ls = 1.81 times the lunar distance
Distance from Sun to Pluto = 39.5 AU = 5.909,121,000 km = 3,671,750,000 mi = 19,700 ls
Sunlight reaches Pluto in 19,700 s = 5 h 28 min
Distance to nearest star: Proxima Centauri = 4.2 ly
Most naked-eye stars are within 2,000 ly distance
Diameter of the Milky Way Galaxy disk = 100,000 ly
Distance to Milky Way’s center from Sun and Earth= 28,000 ly
Distance to Andromeda, near galaxy similar to Milky Way = 2.5 million ly
Distance to most distant galaxies (2011) =13,700,000,000 ly
International System of Units is:
http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/
Page 13: No liquid water, food or breathable air has been found (2011) anywhere else in the universe but here on Earth
http://nineplanets.org/overview.html
Milky Way has billions of stars. Billions of other galaxies have billions & billions more
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_Way
Everything moves in space. Some galaxies are in groups, some are colliding and some are a millions of light-years away from their nearest neighbors
Page 53: The Mean Sea Level surface (= Geoid) undulates over/under the mathematical Rotation Earth Ellipsoid surface, usually less than 100 m = 300 ft. The following Internet link of the Geoid map has been ‘automatically’ updated for 2011 for all and for this book. Talk about a book staying up-to-date ‘all by itself’!
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/GOCE/SEMY0FOZVAG_1.html
Page 87: As was mentioned: Earth’s average gravity is = 1 G = 981 Gal, just right for human life. We cannot tolerate much stronger gravities for very long. For instance, 9 G (easily produced in centrifuges) is deadly for humans and animals in a short time
Three numerical Examples of gravity on Earth, Sun and Moon:
1. Earth: A pen is dropped from 1 m = 39.37 inch high table to the floor (in air) under the influence of one G gravity. The pen hits the floor 0.45 s later at speed of 10 MPH = 16 km/h, which brings a bone breaking deceleration for many people every day
2. Sun:The same pen is dropped under the influence of 27.5 G from a 1 m = 39 in distance to the ‘floor’ in a spinning centrifuge. The pen is ‘sucked’ to the centrifuge’s outer wall in 0.09 s, hitting the wall at a speed of 51 MPH = 82 km/h
3. Moon: The same pen is dropped from 1 m = 39 in high support to ‘ground’ under the Moon’s gravity of 0.165 G. The pen hits the ‘ground’ 1.1 s later at speed of 4 MPH = 6.5 km/h
Page 90: Some comets and asteroids have hyperbolic orbits. After swinging around the Sun, they will never return. Sometimes, they are called 'Bethlehem comets'. Asteroids approaching the Sun may develop tails
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap070122.html
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap061119.html
Page 94: An asteroid/comet as large as 50 m (150 ft) across collides with Earth once in about 600 years.
70 percent of them fall in the ocean, 30 % fall on land
http://www.barringercrater.com/
Page 113: Moon’s surface is as dangerous place for visiting astronauts as an open rifle firing range here on Earth. See link:
http://jakemendelssohn.name/footprints.htm
The dust/sand/gravel meteorite pieces hit the Moon faster than 10 km/s = 6.2 miles/second. (Muzzle velocities of bullets from military rifles are about one km/s = 0.62 mi/s). Note the ‘peppered ground’ around the footprint!
Pages 222-223: Different gravity values at the sports events have significant effects on the World, Olympic and National Athletic Records
For instance, the same javelin throw, at the same topographical elevation as in Columbus, Ohio, would have been 11 cm = 4.33 in longer than Jan Zelesky’s 1996 World Record throw of 98.48 m = 323.09 ft in Jena, Germany. Trajectories, lengths of jumps and throws under different gravity conditions are easy to compute. Gravities are also easy to measure
Page 254-256: Tidal forces (2/3 by the Moon 1/3 by the Sun) produce the ocean water tides (averages are up to 1 m = 3 ft in the open oceans) and solid Earth-Tides twice every day. They heave continents and the sea floors up and down up to 40 cm/day = 16 in/day
http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/8r.html If this link does not open, COPY and PASTE it into a new browser window!
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap051113.html
Pages 304-315: Isostasy = Archimedes’ Flotation Principle for internal parts of the Earth, dealing with lighter Earth layers floating upon heavier layers. In the next link read about snow/ice accumulation of 75 m = 250 ft during 50 years, or 1.5 m = 5 ft/y year near one location of parked airplanes in Greenland
http://p38assn.org/glacier-girl.htm
About the Author
Lasse A. Kivioja was born in Finland and immigrated to the United States in 1955. During his studies for his Master of Science degree in Physics at The University at Helsinki he worked part-time at the Finnish Geodetic Institute. Specializing in Earth’s gravity, he was an instructor and received his Ph.D. degree from the Department of Geodetic Science at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio while working there at The Mapping and Charting Laboratory. He is a Professor Emeritus from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, where he lectured and conducted research in Geodetic Sciences for 26.5 years and published several refereed articles including:
In Bulletin Geodesique, he published a new exact non-iterative mathematical method for computing astro-latitudes and astro-longitudes for Astrolabe observations.
In Bulletin Geodesique and in Surveying and Mapping he published a method for computing coordinates and azimuths for any 'way-points' and any 'end-points' in GPS positioning, solving the two Main Problems of Geometric Geodesy (Direct and Inverse Problems) by very precise computer integration using the original differential formulas for all geodetic line elements on the surface of any Earth Ellipsoid besting all older methods. Famous mathematicians spent some time solving these two elliptical integration problems. Among them are: Clairaut 1713-1765, Lagrange 1736-1813, Laplace 1749-1827, Legendre 1752-1833, Gauss 1777-1855, Bessel 1784-1846, Jordan 1838-1922 and Helmert 1843-1917. None of these famous men had electronic calculators.
Published in Bulletin Geodesique studies of world sea-level variations influenced by the melting of land-supported ice masses.
Consultant at National Geodetic Survey, Fredericksburg, Virginia. Developed and published in Surveying and Mapping methods of improving observational accuracies of first order theodolites. Made an autocollimation addition to a first order theodolite to account for its axis wobbles.
Consultant at Argonne National Laboratories in Argonne, Illinois. Developed and published a new method suitable for leveling the 1104-meter long ring with about 200 supports to a few micron (0.001 millimeter) accuracies in the Advanced Photon Source.
Consultant at USAF Geodetic Survey Squadron, Cheyenne, Wyoming. Developed and published an improved method for astronomical azimuth observations In Bulletin Geodesique increasing achievable accuracies in the use of theodolites and leveling instruments using Mercury Leveling with autocollimation methods. Many first order theodolites were calibrated to account for small inherent systematic errors.
He is a Life Fellow in AAGS (The American Association for Geodetic Surveying).
He has a US Patent on Mercury Leveling Instruments.