How Did We Find Out About Neptune (How Did We Find Out Series)
by Isaac Asimov
How did we find out: Isaac Asimov (36)
On This Page
Description
An account of astronomers' observations over the years leading to the discovery of Neptune's existence.Tags
Member Reviews
Another concise, clear, but not sufficiently mathematical science tale told by Asimov. High points covered are: Copernican view of solar system, discovery of Uranus by Herschel, use of mathematics to discover the likely location of Neptune, eventual discovery of Neptune, the moons, orbits, and rings of the gas giants, and the Voyager II probe. Cool characters are: Galileo (the moons of Jupiter), Christian Huygens (a moon of Saturn), Giovanni Domenico Cassini (planetary orbits), William Herschel (Georgium Sidus), John Couch Adams and John Joseph Leverrier (prediction of Neptune's orbit), Johann Gottfried Galle and Heinrich Ludwig d'Arrest (discovery of Neptune),
================================================================
2023: It is show more striking how half the moons of the outer planets were unknown until Voyager 2 passed the various planets in the 80s and was somehow able to observe these smaller moons. This basically doubled the number of these moons known to astronomers. show less
================================================================
2023: It is show more striking how half the moons of the outer planets were unknown until Voyager 2 passed the various planets in the 80s and was somehow able to observe these smaller moons. This basically doubled the number of these moons known to astronomers. show less
Members
- Recently Added By
Lists
Children's Books About Science and Math
461 works; 12 members
Books with Errata
2 works; 1 member
Author Information
2,399+ Works 292,951 Members
Isaac Asimov was born in Petrovichi, Russia, on January 2, 1920. His family emigrated to the United States in 1923 and settled in Brooklyn, New York, where they owned and operated a candy store. Asimov became a naturalized U.S. citizen at the age of eight. As a youngster he discovered his talent for writing, producing his first original fiction at show more the age of eleven. He went on to become one of the world's most prolific writers, publishing nearly 500 books in his lifetime. Asimov was not only a writer; he also was a biochemist and an educator. He studied chemistry at Columbia University, earning a B.S., M.A. and Ph.D. In 1951, Asimov accepted a position as an instructor of biochemistry at Boston University's School of Medicine even though he had no practical experience in the field. His exceptional intelligence enabled him to master new systems rapidly, and he soon became a successful and distinguished professor at Columbia and even co-authored a biochemistry textbook within a few years. Asimov won numerous awards and honors for his books and stories, and he is considered to be a leading writer of the Golden Age of science fiction. While he did not invent science fiction, he helped to legitimize it by adding the narrative structure that had been missing from the traditional science fiction books of the period. He also introduced several innovative concepts, including the thematic concern for technological progress and its impact on humanity. Asimov is probably best known for his Foundation series, which includes Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation. In 1966, this trilogy won the Hugo award for best all-time science fiction series. In 1983, Asimov wrote an additional Foundation novel, Foundation's Edge, which won the Hugo for best novel of that year. Asimov also wrote a series of robot books that included I, Robot, and eventually he tied the two series together. He won three additional Hugos, including one awarded posthumously for the best non-fiction book of 1995, I. Asimov. "Nightfall" was chosen the best science fiction story of all time by the Science Fiction Writers of America. In 1979, Asimov wrote his autobiography, In Memory Yet Green. He continued writing until just a few years before his death from heart and kidney failure on April 6, 1992. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Awards and Honors
Notable Lists
Series
Common Knowledge
- People/Characters
- Galileo Galilei; John Couch Adams; Christian Huygens; William Herschel; John Herschel; Urbain Jean Joseph Leverrier (show all 20); William Lassell; Joseph Jerome de Lalande; Pierre Charles Le Monnier; Johann Gottfried Galle; John Flamsteed; Johann Franz Encke; Heinrich Ludwig D'Arrest; Nicolaus Copernicus; James Challis; Giovanni Domenico Cassini; Alexis Bouvard; Johann Elert Bode; Dominique Francois Arago; George Biddell Airy
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 11
- Popularity
- 1,999,161
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (4.00)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 2
