New Documents of Note for Dec. 9: The Airman, and NASA's Aura & Hubble Programs

This week's selection of recent and notable government publications received at the CU Boulder Libraries point us skyward, with publications from the Air Force and two of NASA's programs.

AIRMAN: AF HANDBOOK I
The item gathering the most interest around our offices this week is Airman, the handbook for Air Force personnel that reinforces its core values while informing servicemen and servicewomen with a short history of the branch. The small book offers pictures and descriptions of insignia, ranks, and occupational badges, and compact illustrations and descriptions of everything from Operations to Aircraft. Airman is, of course, available online, but the guide is irresistible when seen in person, as everyone who spies it quickly wants to flip through its pages. It's the perfect pocket guide for all things AF. The CU Libraries have copies of AIRMAN dating back to 1957.

OUR CHANGING ATMOSPHERE: Discoveries from EOS Aura
Two NASA pubs make our list this week. The first from NASA's Aura mission. Aura was launched in 2004 to serve a six-year mission to seek out new information on Earth's ozone, air quality and climate. Some of those results are summarized in Discoveries from EOS Aura (PDF), bringing additional evidence of the harmful and long-term aftereffects of human industry and pollution on the Earth's atmosphere. This is a slim but data-rich publication.

A "smog event" in China, captured by Aura.

HUBBLE 2009: Science Year in Review
Twenty years old and one of the best known projects in NASA history, The Hubble Space Telescope continues to provide astronomists, physicists, and mathematicians extraordinary data about Earth and the universe our planet resides in. The annual Science Year in Review publication is a stellar presentation -- literally! -- of some of the most interesting images and findings from the program. The 2009 edition is not available online, so check out our copy from Government Information, or settle for some of the equally engaging publications from previous years.

Galaxy NCG 4710, as photographed in 2009 by Hubble

Click here for a video highlighting some of Hubble's stunning imagery from its Wide Field and Planetary Camera.

As always, each of the above publications is available in the Government Information Library, on the third floor of Norlin Library.