The Cambridge Photographic Atlas of the Planets

Fülszöveg

This new photographic atlas of our planetary system contains the latest official maps of the planets and their natural satellites as well as over 200 photographs, more than half of which are in colour. The exploration of the Solar System in our time will stand for ever as a great intellectual advance. Now, for the first time, it is possible to assemble in a single book maps of numerous worlds that have been explored by spacecraft. To complement the maps a careful selection has been made from the hundreds of thousands of archival pictures held by NASA. This collection of photographs has been chosen to illustrate particular features, and many of them have not been previously published in books.
The scene is set by an introductory chapter which describes some current ideas on how the Solar System came into being, and discusses the various processes that have modified the interiors, surfaces and atmospheres of the planets over geological time. Each of the following chapters is... Tovább

Fülszöveg

This new photographic atlas of our planetary system contains the latest official maps of the planets and their natural satellites as well as over 200 photographs, more than half of which are in colour. The exploration of the Solar System in our time will stand for ever as a great intellectual advance. Now, for the first time, it is possible to assemble in a single book maps of numerous worlds that have been explored by spacecraft. To complement the maps a careful selection has been made from the hundreds of thousands of archival pictures held by NASA. This collection of photographs has been chosen to illustrate particular features, and many of them have not been previously published in books.
The scene is set by an introductory chapter which describes some current ideas on how the Solar System came into being, and discusses the various processes that have modified the interiors, surfaces and atmospheres of the planets over geological time. Each of the following chapters is devoted to one of the planets, summarising what has been learned about that planet, and explaining in nontechnical terms the features that can be seen in the many breathtaking photographs that are presented. The chapters are set out with the text in a block first, followed by the figures, each of which is accompanied by a long caption describing its essential points. This approach means that the reader can either use the text to obtain a detailed account of the planet, or can browse through the figures and captions, which tell the same story but in less detail. In every case where it is possible, up-to-date maps of the planet or satellite are given in the figures.
Geoffrey Briggs and Fredric Taylor are both professional planetary scientists. Their clear and authoritative summary of what has been learned from our photographic exploration of space will be appreciated by anyone with a modest familiarity with science. The paucity of new planetary missions will also mean that this Arias will be a standard guide for many years. Vissza