Ronald J. Buta – författare

The Steven C. Minkin (Union Chapel) Paleozoic Footprint Site ranks among the most important fossil sites in the world today, and Footprints in Stone recounts the accidental revelation of its existence and detailed findings about its fossil record.Currently 2,500 miles from the equator and more than 250 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico, the Minkin site was a swampy tropical forest adjacent to a tidal flat during the Coal Age or Carboniferous Period more than 300 million years ago. That fecund strand of sand and mud at the ocean’s edge teemed with the earth’s earliest reptiles as well as amphibians, fish, horseshoe crabs, spiders, jumping insects, and other fascinating organisms. Unlike dinosaurs and other large animals whose sturdy bodies left hard fossil records, most of these small, soft-bodied creatures left no concrete remains. But they did leave something else. Preserved in the site’s coal beds along with insect wings and beautifully textured patterns of primeval plants are their footprints, fossilized animal tracks from which modern paleontologists can glean many valuable insights about their physical anatomies and behaviors.The paleontological examination of fossil tracks is now the cutting-edge of contemporary scholarship, and the Minkin site is the first and largest site of its kind in eastern North America. Discovered by a local high school science teacher, the site provides both professional and amateur paleontologists around the world with a wealth of fossil track samples along with an inspirational story for amateur explorers and collectors.Authoritative and extensively illustrated, Footprints in Stone brings together the contributions of many geologists and paleontologists who photographed, documented, and analyzed the Minkin site’s fossil trackways. An engrossing tale of its serendipitous discovery and a detailed study of its fossil records, Footprints in Stone is a landmark publication in the history of paleontology.

The Steven C. Minkin (Union Chapel) Paleozoic Footprint Site ranks among the most important fossil sites in the world today, and Footprints in Stone recounts the accidental revelation of its existence and detailed findings about its fossil record.   Currently 2,500 miles from the equator and more than 250 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico, the Minkin site was a swampy tropical forest adjacent to a tidal flat during the Coal Age or Carboniferous Period more than 300 million years ago. That fecund strand of sand and mud at the ocean’s edge teemed with the earth’s earliest reptiles as well as amphibians, fish, horseshoe crabs, spiders, jumping insects, and other fascinating organisms. Unlike dinosaurs and other large animals whose sturdy bodies left hard fossil records, most of these small, soft-bodied creatures left no concrete remains. But they did leave something else. Preserved in the site’s coal beds along with insect wings and beautifully textured patterns of primeval plants are their footprints, fossilized animal tracks from which modern paleontologists can glean many valuable insights about their physical anatomies and behaviors.   The paleontological examination of fossil tracks is now the cutting-edge of contemporary scholarship, and the Minkin site is the first and largest site of its kind in eastern North America. Discovered by a local high school science teacher, the site provides both professional and amateur paleontologists around the world with a wealth of fossil track samples along with an inspirational story for amateur explorers and collectors.   Authoritative and extensively illustrated, Footprints in Stone brings together the contributions of many geologists and paleontologists who photographed, documented, and analyzed the Minkin site’s fossil trackways. An engrossing tale of its serendipitous discovery and a detailed study of its fossil records, Footprints in Stone is a landmark publication in the history of paleontology.

This second volume of RC3 includes data for galaxies between Oh and 12h. For convenience, we repeat the explanation of the catalogue entries below. Details of the reduction procedures, and Notes, References, and Appendices are in Volume 1. 2. The Catalogue The data for each galaxy are found on four successive lines on a single page. The entries are as follows: Column 1: Positions Line 1: RA and DEC = right ascension and declination for the equinox 2000.0, precessed from the 1950.0 position in Column 1, Line 4, given to 0.1 second of time and 1 aresec when available, and to 0.1 minute of time and 1 arcmin otherwise (Section 3.l.a). Line 2: I and b = galactic longitude and latitude in the lAU 1958 system (Blaauw et al. 1960); both to 0?01. Line 3: SGL and SGB = supergaladie longitude and latitude in the RC2 system (Section 3.l.b), both to 0?01. Line 4: RA and DEC = right ascension and declination for the equinox 1950.0 (Sec- tion 3.l.a). Column 2: Names = commonly used designations for the galaxies (Section 3.2). Line 1: Names ( e.g., LMC, SMC) or NGC and IC designations. Line 2: UGC (Nilson 1973), ESO (Lauberts 1982), MCG (Vorontsov-Velyaminov et al.1962-1974), UGCA (Nilson 1974), and CGCG (Zwicky et al. 1961-1968) des- ignations, given in that order of preference. MCG designations not listed here are given in UGC and ESO.

h h This third volume of RC3 indudes data for galaxies between 12 and 24 . For convenience, we repeat the explanation of the catalogue entries below. Details of the reduction procedures, and Notes, References, and Appendices are in Volume 1. 2. The Catalogue The data for each galaxy are found on four successive lines on a single page. The entries are as follows: Column 1: Positions Line 1: RA and DEC = right ascension and dedination for the equinox 2000.0, precessed from the 1950.0 position in Column 1, Line 4, given to 0.1 second of time and 1 arcsec when available, and to 0.1 minute of time and 1 arcmin otherwise (Section 3.1.a). Line 2: land b = galactic longitude and latitude in the lAU 1958 system (Blaauw et al. 1960); both to O~O1. Line 3: SGL and SGB = supergalactic longitude and latitude in the RC2 system (Section 3.1.b), both to O~O1. Line 4: RA and DEC = right ascension and dedination for the equinox 1950.0 (Sec- tion 3.1.a). Column 2: Names = commonly used designations for the galaxies (Section 3.2). Line 1: Names (e.g., LMC, SMC) or NGC and IC designations. Line 2: UGC (Nilson 1973), ESO (Lauberts 1982), MCG (Vorontsov-Velyaminov et al.1962-1974), UGCA (Nilson 1974), and CGCG (Zwicky et al. 1961-1968) des- ignations, given in that order of preference. MCG designations not listed here are given in UGC and ESO.

"It is strongly biased towards the author's speciality of galaxy morphology, and particularly to bars and rings. To be fair, these are often given fairly short shrift in other textbooks, so this is a useful source of detail on such topics from an expert. In addition, references to original technical papers are given throughout which makes the book a handy introduction to the literature (which students may well find useful)."The Observatory MagazineThe main goal of the book is to introduce the reader to the world of spiral galaxies, how spirals were discovered, what they represent from a physical point of view, and what people have learned about the universe and the nature of galaxies in general from the study of spirals. Topics include early discoveries of nebulae, the island universe concept, the structure of spirals as seen both visually with telescopes and in images obtained with different filters, the role of spirals in the discovery of interstellar dust and dark matter, the different kinds of spiral galaxies and the importance of bars and rings, how different non-spiral galaxy types such as elliptical galaxies and S0 galaxies connect to spirals, and how spirals have contributed to our understanding of star formation and evolution, galaxy formation and evolution, the cosmological distance scale, and the universal expansion. The Milky Way as a spiral galaxy is also discussed.The book is profusely illustrated and not only a discourse on the spirals, but is also a personal reminiscence based on the author's studies of spiral galaxies over the past 45 years.