Marcha Fox, author of the Star Trails Tetralogy, (Beyond the Hidden Sky; A Dark of Endless Days; A Psilent Place Below; and Refractions of Frozen Time) is a physicist with over two-decades experience working at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. She has skillfully integrated real as well as speculative science into this hard science fiction series to stimulate interest in STEM topics. Sociological and interpersonal situations are also presented in an entertaining way to which readers can relate. Included here are all the juicy details of interest to science aficionados, but would have slowed down the plot action. A glossary of terms is included as well as topical discussion guides and project ideas at the chapter level for those who want to get even more value from these stories, e.g., book club discussions, science teachers, and homeschoolers, who wish to take full advantage of the tetralogy's technical content. Dedicated fans will learn more about Cyraria, where much of the tetralogy's plot action occurs. This planet is unique due to its zero-degree inclination combined within a lemniscate (figure-8) orbit around a binary star system, which results in extreme seasonal weather with which the saga's characters must learn to survive. Besides explaining the reasons for its hostile climate, additional sections address Star Trails' alien races, in particular Cyraria's indigenous race, the bnolar, as well as its political structure.

Close families share everything. Including consequences. When one of the HIO’s premier terralogists refuses a job offer from a wannabe despot the chain of suspicious circumstances which quickly follow scatter his family across the galaxy. Torn apart by space and time, will each survive long enough to be united ever again? This Box Set contains the tetralogy's four volumes: Beyond the Hidden Sky (vol. 1); A Dark of Endless Days (vol. 2); A Psilent Place Below (vol. 3); and its conclusion, Refractions of Frozen Time (vol. 4). Also included is The Star Trails Compendium, which covers terms, definition, weather, political structure, and planetary description of the Cyrarian planetary system as well as a chapter by chapter discussion and lesson plan guide for parents and educators who may want to use the series for extra credit reading in STEM programs.

It is a pleasure to present this work, which has been well received in German-speaking countries through four editions, to the English-speaking reader. We feel that this is a unique publication in that it contains valuable material that cannot easily-if at all-be found elsewhere. We are grateful to the authors for reading through the English version of the text, and for responding promptly (for the most part) to our queries. Several authors have supplied us, on their own initiative or at our suggestion, with revised and updated manuscripts and with supplementary English references. We have striven to achieve a translation of Handbuch for Sternfreunde which accurately presents the qualitative and quantitative scientific principles con tained within each chapter while maintaining the flavor of the original Ger man text. Where appropriate, we have inserted footnotes to clarify material which may have a different meaning and/or application in English-speaking countries from that in Germany. When the first English edition of this work, Astronomy: A Handbook (translated by the late A. Beer), appeared in 1975, it contained 21 chapters. This new edition is over twice the length and contains 28 authored chap ters in three volumes. At Springer's request, we have devised a new title, Compendium of Practical Astronomy, to more accurately reflect the broad spectrum of topics and the vast body of information contained within these pages.

This short story is a prequel to Beyond the Hidden Sky (The Star Trails Tetralogy Volume 1) which features Thyron, a flora peda telepathis from the planet, Sapphira. His naterra, or home world, is populated by his species of telepathic walking plants as well as a race of cannibalistic pygmies who recognize their botanical intelligence as superior to their own and thus worship them as gods. The two diverse species have a synergistic relationship in which Thyron and others of his kind provide technical assistance to the natives in their interstellar forays for food in return for protection, albeit primitive. Encounters with humans generally don't end well. Face it, humans are omnivorous and plants a popular source of nourishment. Attempt this on Sapphira, however, and the food chain is likely to change rather abruptly. If you've read Beyond the Hidden Sky you've already met the Sapphirans as well as Thyron and experienced his botanical wisdom. This short story comprises the adventures that led to his appearance in The Star Trails Tetralogy.

May 30, 1978 starts out as a normal night at Hill AFB in Ogden, Utah--until a UFO requests permission to land. Its pilot changes its mind, but by then F-16s escort the rogue vehicle to the ground. A human girl in her early teens and a robot exit the craft, a strange botanical lifeform found onboard by a landing party. The vehicle, robot, and suspicious plant are impounded and transported to Area 51 where NASA astrobiologist, Gabriel Greenley, PhD, is called in to study the lifeform. Greenley's attempt to take a leaf sample results in a vehement telepathic objection from the specimen, indicating it's intelligent and potentially dangerous. He eventually gets his sample and makes a ground-breaking discovery he can never publish, due to his security oaths and research agreement. Eventually, he's confronted by an even worse ethical dilemma that forces him to make a treasonous and potentially deadly decision.

A series of technical papers were prepared by scientists of Air Force Cambridge Laborities during 1962 in the fields of geodesy and planetary geometry. These papers describe research activities in the areas of satellite geodesy (in particular Project ANNA), rocketflare triangulation, airborne gravimetry, absolute and relative gravity, laser geodesy, and selenodesy. Illustrations show recent geodetic instrumentation developments and technique configuration. (Author).

Moving to another planet is never easy. It's even harder when you never arrive.Laren Brightstar knew refusing to work for Augustus Troy would make him a target. Accepting the chief terralogist position on the other side of the galaxy seemed like the simplest solution. Getting there, however, isn't. Nothing is simple with a teenage daughter like Creena.She's intelligent.She's a rebel.And now she's missing. In deep space.Was it an accident? Or abduction?Either way, he has to find her. Before Troy does. And somehow he knows life will never be simple again.