Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto and How to Observe Them

Description

This book tells the story of two giants and a dwarf. The giants, Uranus and Neptune, are mostly huge balls of gas, and they make their home in the remotest reaches of the Solar System. The dwarf, Pluto, which can usually be found even farther out than the two giants, was always small, but up until a short while ago, it enjoyed the same status as the other planets, a full-fledged member of the Solar System. Today, Pluto has been re-classified as a "dwarf planet." In this clear and succinct overview of the current research on these remote Solar System objects, Richard Schmude, Jr., tells us what facts we do know about these faraway entities, what we are seeking to know, and also how to observe them for yourself, using commercially available telescopes. He also explains why Pluto was re-classified and what it means, exactly, to be a dwarf planet. Intrigued by these objects since boyhood, Schmude has compiled a loving tribute to them, if not making them warm and fuzzy, at least making them seem less remote and bringing them into our current frame of reference, giving them personality and revealing their worth in our understanding of the structure and nature of the Solar System in which we live. Front Matter....Pages i-xi The Uranus System....Pages 1-59 The Neptune System....Pages 61-107 Pluto and Its Moons....Pages 109-125 Observing Uranus and Neptune with Binoculars and Small Telescopes....Pages 127-147 Observing with Medium-Sized Telescopes....Pages 149-181 Observing with Large Telescopes....Pages 183-211 Back Matter....Pages 213-230