Lives of the Planets A Natural History of the Solar System

by Corfield, Richard

• ISBN13: 9780465028511
• ISBN10: 0465028519
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-04-03
• Publisher: Basic Books

Summary

Lives of the Planetsdescribes a scientific field in the midst of a revolution. Planetary science has mainly been a descriptive science, but it is becoming increasingly experimental. The space probes that went up between the 1960s and 1990s were primarily generalists-they collected massive amounts of information so that scientists could learn what questions to pursue. But recent missions have become more focused: Scientists know better what information they want and how to collect it. Even now probes are on their way to Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Pluto, with Europa-one of Jupiter's moons-on the agenda. In a sweeping look into the manifold objects inhabiting the depths of space, Lives of the Planetsdelves into the mythology and the knowledge humanity has built over the ages. Placing our current understanding in historical context, Richard Corfield explores the seismic shifts in planetary astronomy and probes why we must change our perspective of our place in the universe. In our era of extraordinary discovery, this is the first comprehensive survey of this new understanding and the history of how we got here.

Author Biography

Richard Corfield is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Oxford, and the author of two widely acclaimed books, The Silent Landscape and Architects of Eternity. He lives in Oxfordshire, England.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
Ages of Dark and Light: The Sun	p. 1
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn: Mercury	p. 27
The Greenhouse in the Sky: Venus	p. 47
The Wizards of Earthsea: Earth and Moon	p. 77
The Martian Chronicles: Mars	p. 101
The Outward Urge: Asteroids	p. 135
The Eye of the Universe: Jupiter	p. 155
Ringing Infinity: Saturn	p. 185
The Harmonies of the Ice Giants: Uranus and Neptune	p. 211
Termination Shock: Pluto and the Kuiper Belt	p. 227
Acknowledgments	p. 251
Index	p. 253
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