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The Neptune File; A Story of Astronomical Rivalry and the Pioneers of Planet Hunting
by Standage, Tom
- Used
- good
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Good/Good
- ISBN 10
- 0802713637
- ISBN 13
- 9780802713636
- Seller
-
melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Walker & Company, New York, 2000. First Edition. Hardcover. Good/Good. 445 g.; XIV, 242 pages, last two pages blank, preface by author, acknowledgements, notes, sources and index. Black coloured endpapers. The text is illustrated with contemporary black-and-white drawings, cartoons and illustrations, and the occasional line drawing. Green coloured boards with silver titles to the backstrip. A little rubbing to the head and to the heel of the backstrip and to the lower book corners. A few marks to the front fore edge of the book panel. Illustrated dustwrapper, being a metallic blue and black image of Neptune, with white titles to the front panel and white and black titles to the backstrip. A little rubbing and creasing to the top and bottom dustwrapper edges but the major fault is significant rubbing to the dustwrapper panels. A history of the discovery of the planet Neptune. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Please refer to accompanying picture (s). Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: Under 1 kilo. Category: History; Astronomy; 19th Century; ISBN: 0802713637. ISBN/EAN: 9780802713636. Inventory No: 0106645. . 9780802713636
Synopsis
A Story of Astronomical Rivalry and the Pioneers of Planet HuntingThe Neptune File is the first full account of the dramatic events surrounding the eighth planet’s discovery, and the story of two remarkable men who were able to “see” on paper what astronomers looking through telescopes for more than 200 years had never seen.On June 26, 1841, John couch Adams, a brilliant young mathematician at Cambridge University, chanced upon a report by England’s Astronomer Royal, George Airy, describing unsuccessful attempts to explain the mystifying orbital behavior of the planet Uranus, discovered 65 years earlier. Adams theorized that Uranus’s orbit was being affected by the gravitational pull of another, as-yet-unseen planet. Furthermore, he believed that he did not need to see the planet to know where it was. Four years later, his daring mathematical calculations pinpointed the planet’s location, but Airy failed to act on them—a controversial lapse that would have international repercussions.Soon after Adams’s “proof,” a rival French astronomer, Urbain Le Verrier, also calculated the planet’s position, and the race was on to actually view it. Found just where Adams and Le Verrier had predicted, the planet was named Neptune—and as the first celestial object located through calculation rather than observation, its discovery pioneered a new method for planet hunting.Drawing on long-lost documents in George Airy’s Neptune scrapbook, which resurfaced at an observatory in Chile in 1999. The Neptune File is a tale of heroes and cranks, amateur astronomers, and knighted celebrities. And the tale continues to unfold. Though 150 years would pass before another planet was “calculated,” since the 1995 discovery of a planet circling star 51 Pegasi dozens of planets have been detected in orbit around distant stars. Yet none of them has ever been seen. Their discovery—and the history of science—owes much to the two men who dared to first place celestial calculation before observation.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Syber's Books ABN 40533682787
(AU)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 0106645
- Title
- The Neptune File; A Story of Astronomical Rivalry and the Pioneers of Planet Hunting
- Author
- Standage, Tom
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Good
- Jacket Condition
- Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First Edition
- ISBN 10
- 0802713637
- ISBN 13
- 9780802713636
- Publisher
- Walker & Company
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 2000
- Keywords
- BZDB2 Neptune -- Discovery, Astronomy -- History History; Astronomy; 19th Century; Unbranded ISBN: 0802713637 EAN: 9780802713636 Standage, Tom The Neptune File; A Story of Astronomical Rivalry and the Pioneers of Planet Hunting
- Bookseller catalogs
- Astronomy; 19th Century;
Terms of Sale
Syber's Books ABN 40533682787
transaction in Australian $'s for checks and money orders.If the book is not as described, return within 14 days, for a refund of the cost of the book.
We are registered for GST and goods sold to an Australian delivery address will include GST. Our ABN 15 100 960 047
About the Seller
Syber's Books ABN 40533682787
Biblio member since 2005
melbourne, Victoria
About Syber's Books ABN 40533682787
General secondhand dealers, with 3 cats.We have two shops, 227 Glenferrie Rd Malvern 3144, Victoria 03 9530 2222 ( open 7 days Midday 'til 5.30 PM)And the other at 666 Glen Huntly Road Caulfield South 03 9523 666 open 11:00 am - 5.00 pm-ish the other 6 days. We seem to specialize in non mainstream stuff but read and stock Science-fiction, fantasy, detective fiction, history, biography and true crime, war, natural history. cooking, children's books and try to avoid current text books.We probably have the largest collection of Science Fiction, Penguins and general crime in Victoria in an open shop ( David has 8 bookcases 900mm x 2200mm of sf and f) ( Penny has 8 bookcases 1200mm x 2400 of sf and f )On shelf each shop has 30,000 plus books and we list over 30000 books online
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Fore Edge
- The portion of a book that is opposite the spine. That part of a book which faces the wall when shelved in a traditional...
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
- Heel
- The lower most portion of the spine when the book is standing vertically.
- G
- Good describes the average used and worn book that has all pages or leaves present. Any defects must be noted. (as defined by AB...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Rubbing
- Abrasion or wear to the surface. Usually used in reference to a book's boards or dust-jacket.
- Dustwrapper
- Also known as book jacket, dust cover, or dust wrapper, a dust jacket is a protective and decorative cover for a book that is...
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