A MEETING WITH THE UNIVERSE

Table Of Contents

Chapter 1 THE CLIMB INTO SPACE The Quest for Answers The Unfolding Universe

Chapter 2 THE NEW WORLDS A New Solar System The Terrestrial Planets     The Moon, Mercury, Mars, Venus The Gas Giants     Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptun, Pluto Minor Objects in the Solar System The Planetary Connections

Chapter 3 THE SUN AND EARTH IN SPACE The Sun and Us The Nature of the Sun The Sun in Space: Magnetic Fields and the Solar Wind The Magnetosphere: Our Shield in Space The Sun-Weather Connection Where Do We Go from Here?

Chapter 4 BEYOND THE SOLAR SYSTEM New Windows in the Sky The Scale of the Universe The New Astronomy Life-Styles of the Stars The End of Stars: Death and Transfiguration "Empty" Space: The Birthplace of Stars The Galaxies: Islands of Stars Quasars and the X-Ray Background The Edge of the Universe What's Coming

Chapter 5 THE HUMAN ELEMENT Our New Domain Weightlessness Ionizing Radiation Conclusion: We Can Go On

Chapter 6 LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE A Universe of Life Life in the Solar System The Chemicals of Life The View from Earth Things to Come

Chapter 7 THE LONG CLIMB AHEAD The View from the High Ground The Worlds that Wait The Sun, the Earth, and "In Between" The Violence Around Us Return of the Humans ... ... And Others? Space Science on the Ground The View Ahead

APPENDIX Lunar Exploration Planetary Exploration Solar-Terrestrial Physics Astrophysics Biomedical Research Exobiology