Jay M. Pasachoff (1943–2022)
Author of Stars and Planets
About the Author
Jay M. Pasachoff, Ph.D., received his Ph.D. in astronomy from Harvard University in 1969. Since 1972, he has been the director of the Hopkins Observatory at Williams College where he is now also the Field Memorial Professor of Astronomy. Known around the world as a premier astronomer and solar show more scientist -- he is the chair of the Working Group on Solar Eclipses of the International Astronomical Union -- Dr. Pasachoff's work in the field has been published extensively for both popular and academic audiences. He is the recipient of the 2003 Education Prize of the American Astronomical Society show less
Image credit: Jay M. Pasachoff [credit: Astronomical Society of the Pacific]
Works by Jay M. Pasachoff
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Pasachoff, Jay Myron
- Birthdate
- 1943-07-01
- Date of death
- 2022-11-20
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- United States of America
- Birthplace
- Manhattan, New York, USA
- Place of death
- Williamstown, Massachusetts, USA
- Cause of death
- cancer (lung)
- Education
- Harvard University (BA, MA, PhD)
Bronx High School of Science, New York, New York, USA - Occupations
- astronomer
college professor - Relationships
- Menzel, Donald H. (teacher)
Pasachoff, Naomi (spouse) - Organizations
- Williams College
- Awards and honors
- Education Prize of the American Astronomical Society (2003)
Janssen Medal (2012)
Richtmyer Memorial Award (2017)
Klumpke-Roberts Award (2019)
Members
Reviews
Lists
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 31
- Also by
- 2
- Members
- 2,553
- Popularity
- #10,058
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 15
- ISBNs
- 96
- Languages
- 3
The Nearest Star is a comprehensive look at our sun for the layman. The authors keep the math to a minimum and stress why studying our sun is important in learning about stars. Special consideration is given to the outer atmosphere of the sun, since it is the only place we can study a star's outer atmosphere. Although some book is easy to follow other parts, particularly the parts about the corona and neutrinos, tend to go deeper into science than the average reader may be ready for.
There is plenty of good information and interesting information about the sun that most people probably haven't heard before. The sun is so dense that it takes 100,000 years for a light to move from the core of the sun to the surface. Studying the sun presents some challenges. A reflector telescope can receive 50,000 watts per square meter. Even if the mirror absorbs (rather than perfectly reflecting) a few percent of this energy the heat will be enough distort the mirror. One way to solve this problem is the Vacuum Tower Solar Telescope. The entire telescope is a vacuum chamber floating in a bath of mercury to reduce vibrations. The latest satellite efforts to study the sun are also covered in detail along with the different methods of observation from visible light to x-rays.
The Nearest Star is a very comprehensive look at out sun although parts may be above the non-science minded. There is also a nice tie into the earth and the effect the sun and changes the sun has on our planet. Ice ages, different layers of the atmosphere, and the Van Allen Belts are covered. One of the most frightening aspects of the sun in ancient times, a solar eclipse, now turns out to be the best time to study the sun.
Reading this book is the most that I have learned about astronomy since college and maybe even more than I learned in six semester hours of astronomy classes. I grew up in the 1970s reading about all new discoveries from the probes we landed to Mars and the Voyagers that are long gone. I have always been science minded and for me to find something that I actually learn from with resorting to mind bending mathematics is a rare thing. The Nearest Star does an excellent job at presenting the latest scientific information in a manner that a non-scientist can understand.
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