Overview

"Every minute several huge ""snowballs"" break up as they approach the Earth and deposit a large cloud of water vapor in Earth's upper atmosphere. That's the startling finding of world-renowned physicist Louis A. Frank after an examination of the images relayed from the Dynamics Explorer 1 spacecraft. His conclusion, based on data acquired at the limits of detection, created a storm of controversy among scientists. This is the story that was told in The Big Splash, published in 1990. But the story does not end there. Less than a decade later, Frank's discovery of these previously undetected small comets was confirmed when images were received from cameras aboard a different spacecraft named Polar. The news of this ""vindication"" of Frank's provocative theory in 1997 made the front pages of several large metropolitan newspapers, including The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Washington Post. Cosmic Rain, a greatly expanded edition of The Big Splash, tells this never-before-told follow-up, in Frank's own words, of the confirmation of the existence of small comets and the harsh criticism he faced from colleagues for upsetting so many scientific applecarts in the process."

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9781949501193

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Reviews

Cosmic Rain...is a fascinating scientific detective story. At the same time, as Frank recognized, it is an important case study in the history of science, illuminating most particularly the circumstances of scientific breakthroughs that are surprising and unforeseen. Frank's experiences illustrate several general points about the manner in which science receives-or rather, resists-startling novelty. Furthermore, this book is a very detailed first-hand description of scientific activity, warts and all, that should enable non-scientists to begin to recognize that scientific activity is very much like other human activities: influenced by human behavior and human psychology, not only by the objective technical considerations. - Henry Bauer, Journal of Scientific Exploration Reading Cosmic Rain leaves no reader doubting Frank's small comets are infalling, all ten million of them annually. It's an extraordinary discovery- and that is why it is controversial...His discovery of the small comets is a scientific triumph...The day is coming when everyone will remember what he accomplished. - William Abbott, The Life and Times of Prof. L. Frank, William's Newsletter What reviewers said about The Big Splash, the first edition of this book... A savage tale of how science works. - Dennis Overbye, The New York Times Book Review A provocative work in a hotly contested area. - Jack W. Weigel, Library Journal Well worth reading...Offers unique insights into the way a theory is developed and the way the scientific community handles unorthodox ideas. - Richard Morris, San Francisco Chronicle A fascinating book. An exciting story. May be a classic. - Arthur C. Clarke, author of 2001: A Space Odyssey

What reviewers said about The Big Splash, the first edition of this book... A savage tale of how science works. - Dennis Overbye, The New York Times Book Review A provocative work in a hotly contested area. - Jack W. Weigel, Library Journal Well worth reading...Offers unique insights into the way a theory is developed and the way the scientific community handles unorthodox ideas. - Richard Morris, San Francisco Chronicle A fascinating book. An exciting story. May be a classic. - Arthur C. Clarke, author of 2001: A Space Odyssey

Cosmic Rain...is a fascinating scientific detective story. At the same time, as Frank recognized, it is an important case study in the history of science, illuminating most particularly the circumstances of scientific breakthroughs that are surprising and unforeseen. Frank's experiences illustrate several general points about the manner in which science receives-or rather, resists-startling novelty. Furthermore, this book is a very detailed first-hand description of scientific activity, warts and all, that should enable non-scientists to begin to recognize that scientific activity is very much like other human activities: influenced by human behavior and human psychology, not only by the objective technical considerations. - Henry Bauer, Journal of Scientific Exploration Reading Cosmic Rain leaves no reader doubting Frank's small comets are infalling, all ten million of them annually. It's an extraordinary discovery- and that is why it is controversial...His discovery of the small comets is a scientific triumph...The day is coming when everyone will remember what he accomplished. - William Abbott, The Life and Times of Prof. L. Frank, Abbott's Almanac What reviewers said about The Big Splash, the first edition of this book... A savage tale of how science works. - Dennis Overbye, The New York Times Book Review A provocative work in a hotly contested area. - Jack W. Weigel, Library Journal Well worth reading...Offers unique insights into the way a theory is developed and the way the scientific community handles unorthodox ideas. - Richard Morris, San Francisco Chronicle A fascinating book. An exciting story. May be a classic. - Arthur C. Clarke, author of 2001: A Space Odyssey

Cosmic Rain...is a fascinating scientific detective story... it is an important case study in the history of science, illuminating most particularly the circumstances of scientific breakthroughs that are surprising and unforeseen. Frank's experiences illustrate several general points about the manner in which science receives-or rather, resists-startling novelty. Furthermore, this book is a very detailed first-hand description of scientific activity, warts and all, that should enable non-scientists to begin to recognize that scientific activity is very much like other human activities: influenced by human behavior and human psychology, not only by the objective technical considerations. - Henry Bauer, Journal of Scientific Exploration Reading Cosmic Rain leaves no reader doubting Frank's small comets are infalling, all ten million of them annually. It's an extraordinary discovery- and that is why it is controversial...His discovery of the small comets is a scientific triumph...The day is coming when everyone will remember what he accomplished. - William Abbott, The Life and Times of Prof. L. Frank, Abbott's Almanac What reviewers said about The Big Splash, the first edition of this book... A savage tale of how science works. - Dennis Overbye, The New York Times Book Review A provocative work in a hotly contested area. - Jack W. Weigel, Library Journal Well worth reading...Offers unique insights into the way a theory is developed and the way the scientific community handles unorthodox ideas. - Richard Morris, San Francisco Chronicle A fascinating book. An exciting story. May be a classic. - Arthur C. Clarke, author of 2001: A Space Odyssey

Author Information

"Louis A. Frank (1938-2014) A native of Chicago, Frank's first professional research activities began in 1958 when he assisted James Van Allen in the calibration of the first U.S. lunar probes, Pioneers 3 and 4, as an undergraduate student at the University of Iowa. Later, Frank was the principal investigator for the auroral imaging instruments for the Dynamics Explorer Mission, the plasma instrumentation for the Galileo Mission to Jupiter, the U.S. plasma instrumentation for the Japanese Geotail spacecraft, and the camera for visible wavelengths for the Polar spacecraft of the International Solar Terrestrial Physics (ISTP) Program. His scientific accomplishments were many: he discovered the theta aurora, the remarkable configuration of auroral and polar cap luminosities that looks like the Greek letter theta hovering above the polar cap; he made the first measurements of the plasma ring around Jupiter and Saturn; and he was the first to measure solar-wind plasma funneling directly into the Earth's polar atmosphere, as well as the belt of ions around the Earth known as the ""ring current."" Frank was a Fellow of the American Physical Society, a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, and the recipient of the National Space Act Award."

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