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The comet is coming
The Sun and the He1iosphere.A Royal Society Discussion. Pp. 122. The Royal Society, London. 1980. f Il.75 (UK) f 12.30 (overseas).
A most enjoyable meeting was organised in April 1979 at the Royal Society entitled ‘The Sun and the Heliosphere’. The first half of the proceedings is entitled ‘The Quiet Sun’, but is in practice devoted largely to the solar wind. Hundhausen and Holzer describe the escape of plasma from coronal holes and the threedimensional interplanetary structure organised by a warped magnetic neutral sheet. McWhirter discusses the energy budget in coronal holes and deduces that much more energy IS required than in quiet regions. Jordan reviews helium line emission and suggests why the intensities are anomalously high. Schwarz and Roxburgh summarise a host of microinstabilities and suggest that the solar wind is in a marginally stable state. while Wenzel describes the objectives of the Solar Polar Mission. The second part deals with ‘The Active Sun’. Svestka gives an important review of the link between active-region filaments and flares. Pick describes the radio emission from a flare’s impulsive phase. Golub presents evidence that most emerging flux appears as bright points. whose number reaches a maximum at sunspot minimum. MacQueen gives a clear review of the Skylab observations of coronal transients. Finally. Keppler and Quenby summarise the chemical composition and propagation of particles in interplanetary space. It is a pity that the lively discussion after each talk has been included in only two cases. Also. several talks are missing from the written
138
proceedings, such as an excellent discussion of magnetic heating by Meyer. Nevertheless, they represent an invaluable (and cheap) summary of the impact of current space observations on solar physics, which ‘I would strongly recommend. E. R. Priest The Comet is Coming 160. BBC Publications, f8.75.
by NigelCalder. London. 1980.
Pp.
‘The Comet is Coming’ by Nigel Calder is probably the first in a long series of books about Halley’s comet to be published before its next apparition in 1986. It will certainly not be the worst. Although rather superficial, which is to be expected of a book trying to cover such a vast subject in 160 pages of text, it is an extremely entertaining lecture. The reader will be amused by a number of humorous remarks: for example. the author is making fun of the scientists, and he may be right, when he says that one particular theory of comets ‘suffers from one overwhelming weakness: it is unfashionable’. Although the subject is treated rather lightly. the layman reading this book in the hope of learning something about Halley’s comet at a time where it starts to be fashionable to talk about it, will not be disappointed: this book does not contain any major error and the basic facts as well as many fantasies, are clearly and carefully presented. The illustrations are excellent, though I have a minor remark to make about the one shown on page 30: it is not a broadsheet, but rather the title page of a tractatus. In conclusion, this little book would be highly recommended to everybody asking questions about comets except for its rather high price. P. V&on
Bibliography on the Natural History of Newfoundland and Labrador byM. Laird. Pp. 378. Academic Press, London. 1980. f25.00($57.50).
Whatever motivation made the compiler ofthis bibliography embark on such a tremendous task, the results appear to be worth the effort. This massive group of references (4700+) should be of assistance to present and future workers in the natural history of Newfoundland and Labrador. In a lengthy introduction, the author outlines the interest of foreign powers, explorers, settlers, historians, etc. over many centuries in the natural history of the area, one of the first parts of the New World contacted by Europeans. References to early literature include many quotes in the old style of writing and spelling. This is very colourful and interesting, but sometimes not easily understandable. Many species, including some that are extinct, are discussed at length: e.g. the Great Auk, Labrador Duck, Giant Mink, Eskimo Curlew, Newfoundland Dog, etc. The main body of the book, the Bibliography, covers 338 pages. As the author readily admits-‘. completeness was unattainable as in most other bibliographies. .‘. However, within the range of this reviewer’s knowledge, most areas of natural history seem to be adequately covered. Probably any ‘expert’ could point to obvious omissions in his field but this should not detract from the usefulness of the work. Annotations to many references present helpful interpretive information. The book is sparsely illustrated with interesting reproductions of birds, fish, boats, maps,etc. from early literature. N.R. Brown
A most enjoyable meeting was organised in April 1979 at the Royal Society entitled ‘The Sun and the Heliosphere’. The first half of the proceedings is entitled ‘The Quiet Sun’, but is in practice devoted largely to the solar wind. Hundhausen and Holzer describe the escape of plasma from coronal holes and the threedimensional interplanetary structure organised by a warped magnetic neutral sheet. McWhirter discusses the energy budget in coronal holes and deduces that much more energy IS required than in quiet regions. Jordan reviews helium line emission and suggests why the intensities are anomalously high. Schwarz and Roxburgh summarise a host of microinstabilities and suggest that the solar wind is in a marginally stable state. while Wenzel describes the objectives of the Solar Polar Mission. The second part deals with ‘The Active Sun’. Svestka gives an important review of the link between active-region filaments and flares. Pick describes the radio emission from a flare’s impulsive phase. Golub presents evidence that most emerging flux appears as bright points. whose number reaches a maximum at sunspot minimum. MacQueen gives a clear review of the Skylab observations of coronal transients. Finally. Keppler and Quenby summarise the chemical composition and propagation of particles in interplanetary space. It is a pity that the lively discussion after each talk has been included in only two cases. Also. several talks are missing from the written
138
proceedings, such as an excellent discussion of magnetic heating by Meyer. Nevertheless, they represent an invaluable (and cheap) summary of the impact of current space observations on solar physics, which ‘I would strongly recommend. E. R. Priest The Comet is Coming 160. BBC Publications, f8.75.
by NigelCalder. London. 1980.
Pp.
‘The Comet is Coming’ by Nigel Calder is probably the first in a long series of books about Halley’s comet to be published before its next apparition in 1986. It will certainly not be the worst. Although rather superficial, which is to be expected of a book trying to cover such a vast subject in 160 pages of text, it is an extremely entertaining lecture. The reader will be amused by a number of humorous remarks: for example. the author is making fun of the scientists, and he may be right, when he says that one particular theory of comets ‘suffers from one overwhelming weakness: it is unfashionable’. Although the subject is treated rather lightly. the layman reading this book in the hope of learning something about Halley’s comet at a time where it starts to be fashionable to talk about it, will not be disappointed: this book does not contain any major error and the basic facts as well as many fantasies, are clearly and carefully presented. The illustrations are excellent, though I have a minor remark to make about the one shown on page 30: it is not a broadsheet, but rather the title page of a tractatus. In conclusion, this little book would be highly recommended to everybody asking questions about comets except for its rather high price. P. V&on
Bibliography on the Natural History of Newfoundland and Labrador byM. Laird. Pp. 378. Academic Press, London. 1980. f25.00($57.50).
Whatever motivation made the compiler ofthis bibliography embark on such a tremendous task, the results appear to be worth the effort. This massive group of references (4700+) should be of assistance to present and future workers in the natural history of Newfoundland and Labrador. In a lengthy introduction, the author outlines the interest of foreign powers, explorers, settlers, historians, etc. over many centuries in the natural history of the area, one of the first parts of the New World contacted by Europeans. References to early literature include many quotes in the old style of writing and spelling. This is very colourful and interesting, but sometimes not easily understandable. Many species, including some that are extinct, are discussed at length: e.g. the Great Auk, Labrador Duck, Giant Mink, Eskimo Curlew, Newfoundland Dog, etc. The main body of the book, the Bibliography, covers 338 pages. As the author readily admits-‘. completeness was unattainable as in most other bibliographies. .‘. However, within the range of this reviewer’s knowledge, most areas of natural history seem to be adequately covered. Probably any ‘expert’ could point to obvious omissions in his field but this should not detract from the usefulness of the work. Annotations to many references present helpful interpretive information. The book is sparsely illustrated with interesting reproductions of birds, fish, boats, maps,etc. from early literature. N.R. Brown