Tobias Chant Owen
Contributor
Website : In Memoriam: Toby Owen (NASA)
Professor of Astronomy, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu. Coauthor of The Planetary System; The Search for Life in the Universe; and numerous research articles.
Primary Contributions (4)
Charon, largest moon of the dwarf planet Pluto. It was discovered telescopically on June 22, 1978, by James W. Christy and Robert S. Harrington at the U.S. Naval Observatory station in Flagstaff, Arizona. Its diameter—1,208 km (751 miles)—is a little more than half that of Pluto, and its mass is…
READ MORE
Publications (3)
Planetary System, The (3rd Edition) (December 2002)
Co-authors David Morrison and Tobias Owen are leading researchers in planetary astronomy today, and The Planetary System, Third Edition reflects their expertise and excitement for the subject. Drawing on recent findings, this authoritative, up-to-date book gives a straightforward account of our solar system. Written in an informal style with minimal use of mathematics, this book is ideal for beginning non-science readers. Since publication of the previous edition, the pace of planetary...
READ MORE
The Search for Life in the Universe (Third Edition) (August 2001)
Long recognized as the Gold Standard text for astrobiology courses, The Search for Life in the Universe now appears in a completely revised and updated Third Edition. This book engages students in astronomy by presenting a great, unsolved mystery: How likely is life beyond earth, and how can we find it if it exists? The text covers the fundamentals of astronomy and astrophysics, including the discovery of more than 55 planets around other stars, and also provides an overview of biology, geology,...
READ MORE
The Planet Venus (The Planetary Exploration Series) (October 1998)
Shrouded by the thick clouds of a hot, dense atmosphere, the planet Venus - Earth's close neighbor in space - remained mysterious until recent decades. Today, with new data from sophisticated contemporary observatories and from Russian and American spacecraft, Venus has moved into sharper focus. This comprehensive book provides the most up-to-date and detailed analysis available of the nature of Venus. The authors, distinguished experts in planetary science from Russia and the United States, examine...
READ MORE