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Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH Pluto And Charon Ice Worlds On The Ragged Edge Of The Solar System by Alan Stern , Jacqueline Mitton
The exploration of the ninth planet, Pluto, its moon, Charon, and their relationship to the newly discovered Kuiper Belt, is a tale of perseverance, ingenuity and dedication on the part of the planetary scientists who have been lured by the fascination of these far flung miniature worlds. In "Pluto and Charon", Alan Stern and Jacqueline Mitton turn that story into an entertaining adventure, starting with the discovery of Pluto by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930. In a highly accessible narrative, they bring to life the many Plutophiles, who with skill and resourcefulness have pieced together over several decades an amazingly detailed picture of the nature of Pluto and Charon. The book also documents vividly the struggle by Plutophiles and the public to persuade NASA to fund a mission to Pluto, the only planet not yet explored from close proximity by a spacecraft. Hopes were alternately raised and dashed before eventual victory. At last, New Horizons (led by author Stern as Principal Investigator) is due to be launched in early 2006 on a 9 year journey to Pluto, Charon and beyond._x000D_For this second edition, Stern and Mitton have brought their 1998 book fully up to date, including the latest discoveries about Plutos ancient relationship with the members of the Kuiper Belt of icy bodies and dwarf planets beyond Neptune. They have also added a completely new chapter on the New Horizons mission._x000D_ _x000D_Preface to the Second Edition. Preface to the First Edition. Prologue: Encounter! 1. New Frontier. A Planet Hunt. "Young Man, I Am Afraid You Are Wasting Your Time." "Thats It!" But What to Call It? Pathways of the Gods. Empty of Empties. Its a Rogue! 2. First Facts. The Dark Ages. Shimmer, Little Planet. The Pulse of a Planets Brightness. A Cockeyed World. Reading the Rainbow. Plutos Own Signature. A Rose, By Any Other Name. Fellow Traveler. Harvest: 1978. 3. A Distant Dance. The Gift of a Swede. The Dance, Dissected. Searching for Shadows. Tally Ho Shadow! Glimpsing the Treasure Trove. When Seconds Equal Centimeters: Measuring Plutos Size. Bounty. He and She. The Face of Pluto. 4. The Importance of Snow. The Low Roads. A Clean Machine: The Road Less Trveled. The High Road, At Last. Mining the Occulation Data. Smoke? Or Mirrors? Taking Plutos Temperature. Something So Familiar. Hot Spots on a Cold World. The Fate of Plutos Atmosphere: Future Tense. 5. Building a Binary Planet. A Grand Design. Before. Building Planets from Plantetesimals. Winds of Change. Mother Violence. A Misfits Role. The Faint Smell of a Fish. Big Bangs. Lost Flock. 6. Ice Fields and Ice Dwarfs. Where Have All the Plutos Gone? The Edge. The Hunters. Enter Smiley. Plutos Kin. Meet the Plutinos. The Meaning of Missing Mass. Hindsight 20/20: Lo, the Misfit Fits. 7. Everest. Cradle Vista. An Ornament Against the Deep. On Being There. A Gathering, a Start. Manna, From Triton. First Ascent. Tick, Tick, Tick. Onward, Upward. Form and Function Combined. Some Trouble with the Ticket. Expresso. 8. New Horizons. A Final Faltering. We Are the Undead. A Reincarnation. The Undead Never Blink. New Horizons, Indeed. Light My Fire. 9. Where No One Has Gone Before. Then I Saw Her Face. Appendix: A Chronology of Major Events in the Exploration of Pluto. Notes. Index._x000D_