Universe: The Solar System

Robert M. Geller teaches and conducts research in astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he also obtained his Ph.D.

His doctoral research was in observational cosmology under Professor Robert Antonucci. Using data from the Hubble Space Telescope, he is currently involved in a search for bursts of light that are predicted to occur when a supermassive black hole consumes a star. His other project, in biomedicine,
explores the use of magnetotactic bacteria to enhance the effectiveness of radiation therapy in treating cancer. Dr. Geller also has a strong emphasis on education, and he received the Distinguished Teaching Award at UCSB in 2003.

His hobbies include rock climbing, and he built an unusual telescope with lenses made of water.

William J. Kaufman III was author of the first four editions of Universe.  Born in New York City on December 27, 1942, he often visited the magnificent Hayden Planetarium as he was growing up.  Dr. Kaufmann earned his bachelor's degree magna cum laude in physics from Adelphi University in 1963, a master's degree in physics from Rutgers in 1965, and a Ph.D. in astrophysics from Indiana University in 1968.  At 27 he became the youngest director of any major planetarium in the United States when he took the helm of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.  During his career he also held positions at San Diego State University, UCLA, Caltech, and the University of Illinois.  Throughout his professional life as a scientist and educator, Dr. Kaufmann worked to bridge the gap between the scientific community and the general public to help the public share in the advances of astronomy.  A prolific author, his many books include Black Holes and Warped Spacetime, Relativity and Cosmology, The Cosmic Frontiers of General Relativity, Exploration of the Solar System, Planets and Moons, Stars and Nebulas, Galaxies and Quasars, and Supercomputing and the Transformation of Science.  Dr. Kaufmann died in 1994.

I Introducing Astronomy
1 Astronomy and the Universe
Guest Essay Why Astronomy? Sandra M. Faber
2 Knowing the Heavens
Guest Essay Why Astrology Is Not Science James Randi
3 Eclipses and the Motion of the Moon
Guest Essay Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy Mark Hollabaugh
4 Gravitation and the Waltz of the Planets
5 The Nature of Light
6 Optics and Telescopes

II Planets and Moons
7 Comparative Planetology I: Our Solar System
8 Comparative Planetology II: The Origin of the Solar System
9 The Living Earth
10 Our Barren Moon
11 Mercury, Venus, and Mars: Earthlike yet Unique
Scientific American Article: Reading the Red Planet John P. Grotzinger and Ashwin Vasavada
12 Jupiter and Saturn: Lords of the Planets
13 Jupiter and Saturn’s Satellites of Fire and Ice
14 Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and the Kuiper Belt: Remote Worlds
15 Vagabonds of the Solar System
Guest Essay Pluto and the Kuiper Belt Scott Sheppard

III Stars and Stellar Evolution
16 Our Star, the Sun
27 The Search for Extraterrestrial Life
Guest Essay A Biologist’s View of Astrobiology Kevin W. Plaxco

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