
Wanderers in Space
Exploration and Discovery in the Solar System
Cambridge University Press
Published on 21. March 1991
Book
Hardback
334 pages
978-0-521-24976-8 (ISBN)
Description
How were the features on the Moon created?. What is the evidence for past or future life on Mars? What might cause the Earth to become as hot and steamy as Venus? . Why do some say that a colliding asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago? From the earliest of times the human race has pondered upon the nature of the Heavens. The moons and planets have changed from mere points of light to fascinating, diverse worlds. Spacecraft have visited all the planets known to ancient people. Human beings have visited the Moon, and robot spacecraft have landed on Venus and Mars. This book presents the result of this captivating voyage of discovery, recording more than two decades of extraordinary accomplishments. The voyage starts with the still, silent and lifeless Moon. Then on to the contrasting world of Mars with its towering volcanoes and deep canyons. The exploration continues across asteroid belts and icy comets to the outer planets where Voyager II revealed cyclonic storms, liquid hydrogen and helium rain and the beautiful pink and blue dynamic world of Neptune. This book includes numerous photos from spacecraft as well as a few works of modern art. They provide the best available metaphors and images of the previously invisible worlds.
Reviews / Votes
'As perhaps the best current articulation of humankind's ongoing exploration of alien worlds, it clearly stands a notch above many other such books published in recent years.' American Journal of PhysicsMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 268 mm
Width: 193 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
1014 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-521-24976-8 (9780521249768)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Content
List of figures; Preface 1. Worlds in motion; 2. The Moon: stepping stone to the planets; 3. Mercury: a battered world; 4. Venus: the veiled planet; 5. The restless Earth; 6. The red planet Mars; 7. Asteroids: meteors and meteorites; 8. Jupiter: a giant primitive world; 9. Saturn: lord of the rings; 10. Frozen worlds: Uranus, Neptune and Pluto; 11. Comets: icy wanderers.