Every amateur astronomer - and many non-astronomers - will be familiar with seeing a "star" that shows that characteristic steady slide across the starry background of the sky. Artificial satellites can be seen any night, and some as bright as the planets. But how many of us can identify which satellites or spent launch vehicle casing we are seeing? Artificial Satellites and How to Observe Them describes all the different satellites that can be observed without optical aid, including of course the International Space Station and the many spy satellites operated by different nations. Richard Schmude looks at them in detail and describes how they can be observed by amateurs, how to recognize them, and even how to predict their orbits. Artificial satellites have changed since the beginning of the millenium. Several additional countries have launched them. And amateur astronomers have utilized digital cameras in order to image satellites to a resolution of about three feet. This book describes how to recognize, observe, and image satellites. Examples of recent images and how they were made are given. It also offers up-to-date descriptions of the many satellites that are orbiting the Earth and other celestial bodies. Readers can learn how satellites impact our day-to-day lives. In short, Artificial Satellites and How to Observe Them is a detailed and up-to-date overview of artificial satellites and how to study them in the night sky.

Every amateur astronomer - and many non-astronomers - will be familiar with seeing a "star" that shows that characteristic steady slide across the starry background of the sky. Artificial satellites can be seen any night, and some as bright as the planets. But how many of us can identify which satellites or spent launch vehicle casing we are seeing? Artificial Satellites and How to Observe Them describes all the different satellites that can be observed without optical aid, including of course the International Space Station and the many spy satellites operated by different nations. Richard Schmude looks at them in detail and describes how they can be observed by amateurs, how to recognize them, and even how to predict their orbits. Artificial satellites have changed since the beginning of the millenium. Several additional countries have launched them. And amateur astronomers have utilized digital cameras in order to image satellites to a resolution of about three feet. This book describes how to recognize, observe, and image satellites. Examples of recent images and how they were made are given. It also offers up-to-date descriptions of the many satellites that are orbiting the Earth and other celestial bodies. Readers can learn how satellites impact our day-to-day lives. In short, Artificial Satellites and How to Observe Them is a detailed and up-to-date overview of artificial satellites and how to study them in the night sky.

In this, the first history of artificial satellites and their uses, Helen Gavaghan shows how the idea of putting an object in orbit around the earth changed from science fiction to indispensable technology in the twinkling of an eye. Focusing on three major areas of development - navigational satellites, communications, and weather observation and forecasting - Gavaghan tells the remarkable inside story of how obscure men and women, often laboring under strict secrecy, made satellite technology possible. "...a gripping read." -NEW SCIENTIST

The genesis of modern searches for observable meteoritic phenomena on the Moon is the paper by Lincoln La Paz in Popular Astronomy magazine in 1938. In it he argued that the absence of observed fashes of meteoritic impacts on the Moon might be interpreted to mean that these bodies are destroyed as luminous meteors in an extremely rarefed lunar atmosphere. The paper suggested the possibility of systematic searches for such possible lunar meteors. With these concepts in mind, I was surprised to note a transient moving bright speck on the Moon on July 10, 1941. It appeared to behave very much as a lunar meteor would – except that the poorly estimated duration would lead to a strongly hyperbolic heliocentric velocity. Thus, the idea of systematic searches for both p- sible lunar meteors and meteoritic impact fashes was born. It was appreciated that much time might need to be expended to achieve any positive results. Systematic searches were carried out by others and myself chiefy in the years 1945–1965 and became a regular program at the newly founded Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers, or ALPO.

This book introduces the latest achievements of Russian scientists regarding the theory and practice of situational control of the SEMS group. It also discusses the development of methods and algorithms for interaction of the SEMS group in situational control, based on the principles of security, flexibility, and adaptability in behavior, as well as parallelism in information processing, computing, and control. Recently, the task of ensuring the functioning of robots in the framework of collective cooperation has become relevant, and the use of the principles of situational management of the SEMS group makes it possible to ensure the efficiency, reliability and safety of real-time operation. The topics covered include, but are not limited to the following: Problems and principles of situation control Methods and algorithms of situational control Information and measuring support of situational control systems Simulation of situation control This book is intended for students, scientists, and engineers specializing in the fields of smart electromechanical systems and robotics.

Right now, above our heads—nearly imperceptible to us but hugely important to how we live—are thousands of man-made objects that we have sent into space. Ubiquitous but mysterious, satellites are the technological infrastructure of our globally connected world, helping us do everything from orient ourselves on a map to watch our favorite television shows. Yet we rarely ever think about them. In this book, Doug Millard pays overdue tribute to the stoic existence of the satellite, tracing its simultaneous pathways through the cold silence of space and the noisy turbulence of the past century. How satellites ever came to be is, in itself, a remarkable story. Telling an astonishing history of engineering experimentation and ingenuity, Millard shows how the Cold War space race made the earliest satellites—ones like Sputnik, Telstar, and Early Bird—household names. He describes how they evolved into cultural signifiers that represented not only our scientific capabilities but our capacity for imagination, our ability to broaden the scope of our vision to the farthest reaches. From there he follows the proliferation of satellites in the second half of the twentieth century, examining their many different forms, how they evolved, all the things they do, what they have enabled, and how they have influenced our popular culture. Ultimately, Millard asks what we can still expect, what sort of space age the satellite has initiated that is yet to be fully realized. Published in association with the Science Museum, London, this beautifully illustrated book will appeal to any fan of space exploration and technology.