Introduction |
1 |
1 What Is the Shape of the Earth? |
2 |
2 What Is the Size of the Earth? |
6 |
3 If the Earth Is a Sphere, Why Don't We Slide Off? |
10 |
4 Does the Earth Move? |
11 |
5 When You Jump Up, Why Don't You Come Down in a Different Place? |
14 |
6 What Makes the Wind Blow? |
16 |
7 Why Is Summer Warmer than Winter? |
18 |
8 How Do We Measure Time? |
21 |
9 How Do We Measure Time Intervals Less than a Day Long? |
23 |
10 How Old Is the Earth? |
26 |
11 How Was the Age of the Earth Finally Determined? |
29 |
12 What Is Mass? |
31 |
13 What Is the Mass of the Earth? |
33 |
14 What Is Density? |
34 |
15 Is the Earth Hollow? |
35 |
16 What Is the Earth's Interior Really Like? |
37 |
17 Do the Continents Move? |
40 |
18 What Causes Earthquakes and Volcanoes? |
43 |
19 What Is Heat? |
48 |
20 What Is Temperature? |
48 |
21 How Do We Measure Temperature? |
50 |
22 What Is Energy? |
52 |
23 Is It Possible to Run Out of Energy? |
55 |
24 What Is the Internal Temperature of the Earth? |
56 |
25 Why Doesn't the Earth Cool Off? |
57 |
26 Does the Sky Turn in One Piece? |
59 |
27 Is the Earth the Center of the Universe? |
62 |
28 Once Again, Then, Is the Earth the Center of the Universe? |
64 |
29 Can Copernicus' View Be Improved? |
68 |
30 How Was the Earth Formed? |
70 |
31 Is the Earth a Magnet? |
74 |
32 Is the Earth a Perfect Sphere? |
76 |
33 Why Does the Moon Change Its Shape? |
79 |
34 Does the Earth Shine? |
81 |
35 Why Are There Eclipses of the Sun and the Moon? |
82 |
36 Does the Moon Turn? |
85 |
37 How Far Away Is the Moon? |
87 |
38 What Is the Mass of the Moon? |
89 |
39 What Are the Tides? |
92 |
40 How Do the Tides Affect the Earth? |
94 |
41 Is There Life on the Moon? |
95 |
42 What Caused the Craters on the Moon? |
98 |
43 How Was the Moon Formed? |
99 |
44 Can We Reach the Moon? |
103 |
45 What Are Meteorites? |
107 |
46 Might Meteorites Be Dangerous to Life and Property? |
109 |
47 What Are Asteroids? |
110 |
48 Are There Asteroids Only in the Asteroid Belt? |
112 |
49 What Are Comets? |
115 |
50 Why Do Comets Look Fuzzy? |
117 |
51 What Happens to Comets? |
119 |
52 Where Do Comets Come From? |
120 |
53 How Far Is the Sun? |
121 |
54 Is the Earth Large? |
123 |
55 Are There Planets the Ancients Didn't Know? |
125 |
56 In What Ways Are the Giant Planets Different? |
127 |
57 Is There Life on Venus? |
131 |
58 Is There Life on Mars? |
134 |
59 Is There Life in the Outer Solar System? |
137 |
60 What Does the Sun Look Like? |
141 |
61 What Is Sunlight? |
143 |
62 What Are Spectral Lines? |
145 |
63 What Is the Mass of the Sun? |
147 |
64 What Is the Sun Made Of? |
148 |
65 What Are the Planetary Bodies Made Of? |
149 |
66 How Hot Is the Sun? |
152 |
67 What Is the Solar Corona? |
154 |
68 What Are Solar Flares? |
156 |
69 Why Doesn't the Sun Cool Off? |
157 |
70 How Does Nuclear Energy Power the Sun? |
160 |
71 Are There Stars the Ancients Didn't Know? |
163 |
72 Are the Fixed Stars Really Fixed? |
164 |
73 Is There a Sphere of the Stars? |
166 |
74 What Are Stars? |
167 |
75 How Far Are the Stars, Actually? |
168 |
76 How Fast Does Light Travel? |
171 |
77 What Is a Light-Year? |
174 |
78 Is the Sun Moving? |
175 |
79 Are the Laws of Nature the Same Everywhere? |
176 |
80 What Are Variable Stars? |
179 |
81 How Do Stars Differ from One Another? |
180 |
82 What Happens When the Hydrogen Supply of a Star Runs Low? |
183 |
83 Will Our Sun Ever Become a Red Giant? |
185 |
84 Why Do Very Luminous Stars Still Exist? |
186 |
85 What Is a White Dwarf? |
187 |
86 What Is a Nova? |
191 |
87 What Is a Supernova? |
194 |
88 Is There Anything Useful About Supernovas? |
198 |
89 Is There Life on Planets Circling Other Stars? |
199 |
90 What Are Globular Clusters? |
203 |
91 What Are Nebulas? . |
204 |
92 What Is the Galaxy? |
205 |
93 Where Is the Center of the Galaxy? |
208 |
94 What Is the Doppler Effect? |
211 |
95 Is the Galaxy Rotating? |
214 |
96 Does Anything Reach Us from the Stars Besides Light? |
215 |
97 What Is the Electromagnetic Spectrum? |
219 |
98 How Did Radio Astronomy Develop? |
222 |
99 What Are Pulsars? |
224 |
100 What Are Black Holes? |
228 |
101 What Is in Interstellar Dust Clouds? |
230 |
102 What Is SETI? |
233 |
103 Is the Galaxy the Entire Universe? |
235 |
104 Are the Galaxies Moving? |
238 |
105 Is There a Center of the Universe? |
241 |
106 How Old Is the Universe? |
242 |
107 What Are Quasars? |
243 |
108 Can We See the Big Bang? |
246 |
109 How Did the Big Bang Arise? |
248 |
110 Will the Expansion of the Universe Continue Forever? |
249 |
111 Is There Matter in the Universe We Can't See? |
251 |
Index |
253 |