title: Nearest Star: The Surprising Science of Our Sun
author: Leon Golub
description: Taking advantage of the increased attention as the sun reaches the peak of its 11-year sunspot cycle, Harvard-Smithsonian astrophysicist Golub and Williams College astronomy professor Pasachoff deliver a clear, detailed and broadly informative overview of the scientific study of our "nearest star" and its effects on our planet. Other recent books cover some of the same territory in more detail (the energy production and internal structure of the sun and other stars in Stardust by John and Mary Gribbin and The Magic Furnace by Marcus Chown; the vulnerability of modern technology to intense solar activity in The 23rd Cycle by Sten Odenwald), but this book shines in its discussion of the properties of the sun's turbulent outer layers (chromosphere, photosphere and corona). It provides space- and astronomy-loving readers in-depth information about the many challenging projects that produced or are producing that knowledge, about advanced projects on the drawing board or in conceptual stages and about Web sites where readers can find more details and up-to-date developments. On the human level, the authors describe practical techniques to enhance the thrill of observing a total solar eclipse. The book ends with a discussion of the interaction between solar and terrestrial phenomena, comparing human contributions to climate change to the climatic influence of solar variation. Amateur astronomers will learn much from Golub and Pasachoff's study. Illus.
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  # Perry Rhodan
  
  
  ## The Third Power #8
  
  
  # The Galactic Riddle
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
    
  
  
  
  
  
  —————————————————
  
  
  ## The Galactic Riddle
  
  
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  1/ THE MYSTERIOUS PLANET
  
  
  
  
  
  The sun was a tiny speck of light, almost lost in the multitude of stars. It
  was exactly 27 light-years away.
  
  
  
  
  
  Sol was replaced now by a mighty glowing ball of incandescence. The blue-white
  rays of this unbelievable fire-giant scorched the surface of its inner
  planets. But the star Vega had enough planets to afford such a waste. The life
  zone of the system reached from the 7th to the 11th planet. A huge sphere of
  dull metal moved away from the new sun, beyond the orbit of the 9th planet,
  approaching the 10th world of Vega.
  
  
  
  
  
  The movements of the spacesphere revealed unmistakably that it was a mechanism
  manoeuvred by intelligent beings. At first glance, however, one could have
  mistaken the great globe for an artificial satellite, perp