Book Description

A timely and provocative account of one of the most thrilling topics in science today-the search for life on Mars--and how it may ultimately lead us to the origins of life in the universe.

Hidden beneath the sterile surface of Earth's neighboring planet may be the keys to unlocking the origins of life in the universe. An expert on extreme-life environments, Malcolm Walter argues that the best place to find evidence of life on Mars is out of reach of telescopes and space probes--it's in the rocks and subsurface water of the Red Planet. In this engaging and authoritative book, Walter unveils his dramatic plan-already adopted by NASA--for finding these elusive traces of life. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Not as easy as you might think
This book is a little like "Here be Dragons," (Koerner, LeVay, Oxford University Press, 2000) and "Rare Earth," (Ward, Brownlee, Copernicus, 2000) except that it is more focused and specific than the others. While Koerner, LeVay, Ward, and Brownlee consider the possibility that life exists outside the solar system, Walter limits the scope of his book to the question of whether microbes exist, or once existed, on Mars.

Life outside of earth has never been unambiguously observed and verified. Consequently, discussions about the possibility of life beyond earth inevitably begin with thoughts about how life originated here. There seems to be an emerging sense that life is the result of a universe that is naturally self-organizing (Stuart Kauffman is in this camp. See his book "At Home in the Universe, Oxford University Press, 1995). According to this point of view, life is all but certain to arise on any planet having the basic chemicals and physical conditions found on earth 4 billion years ago. Given this hypothesis - that life arises quickly and naturally in the proper environment - it's natural to ask if any other planets in the solar system have (or had) the necessary ingredients. If they did, we should look to see if life evolved there. Since there is growing evidence that Mars had a distant past with some of these conditions, it seems more and more important that we look for life on Mars. Finding evidence of life there would buttress the concept that life readily evolves given the proper environment. Obviously, if that's the case, it holds enormous consequences for modern science.

Walter has a nice chapter on the tree of life, and describes recent information showing that "all the lowest branches of the tree are occupied by hyperthermophiles." The discovery that life exists on earth under extreme conditions (like those of deep-sea thermal vents) has increased the hope among scientists that it might also have evolved and flourished on Mars many thousands of millions of years ago. He also shows how genetic transfer between species happens today, and was probably common among our earliest ancestors, so that the whole concept of a "tree of life" becomes somewhat tangled during the earliest stages of the evolution of life. Instead of a tree, the topology looks more like a web, with the roots of the tree (consisting of Bacteria, Eucarya, and Archaea) rising out of this web.

The expectation of finding evidence of life on Mars depends on the type of environment that Mars supported in the distant past, and the circumstances under which life arose on earth. It also depends on how easy it is to ascertain the evidence of fossilized ancient microbial life. It turns out that identifying evidence of microbes in very old rocks is a pretty hard thing to do. To illustrate this, Walter describes the difficulty of identifying stromatolites in ancient rocks. This was new information for me, and a real insight into the nuts and bolts of making these sorts of identifications. I'd thought that stromatolites were easy to identify, but in the very oldest rocks, they're not. When identifying stromatolites in rocks 3000 million years old, there can be (and often is) a great deal of controversy regarding the conclusion. Walter's point in making this so clear is that stromatolites are large colonies of microbes, yet even they are not unambiguously identified in the oldest rocks. The problem of identifying evidence for individual microbes in rocks 3000 to 3500 million years old is even tougher. The point being that even with Martian rocks in our hands, it's not going to be easy to affirmatively state whether there is evidence of ancient life on Mars.

To drill the point home, Walter points to the fact that we do have chunks of Martian rocks on hand, in the form of bits and pieces that have been blasted off the Martian surface by meteorite impacts. Walter describes in detail the scientific examination of some of these rocks, and one, in particular, identified as ALH84001. This meteorite made world news when a team of scientists reported finding evidence of ancient microbes buried inside it. Walter describes the initial reports, the objections, and the eventual state of limbo in which these conclusions came to rest. This helps set the tone for expectations regarding the difficulty against which such analysis will proceed even when we manage to return samples from the Martian surface using spacecraft.

In describing how scientists make conclusion about the presence of microbes in ancient rocks, Walter does a real service by illustrating the importance of convergent evidence. Identifying ancient microbes involves more than one type of observation. It involves many types of converging data, including visible observations of deposits in rocks, the types of rocks involved, and things like carbon isotope ratios (not to be confused with carbon 14, which decays far to quickly for analysis in 3000-million-year-old rocks). Along these lines, I noticed a recent article in Photonics Spectra (May 2001) describing the use of Raman imaging to identify microfossils - another tool, in the search for the ancient life on earth, and possibly on Mars.

The book ends with some very informative discussions about proposals for future landing sites on Mars, for sample analysis and/or return.

This is a very informative book, with useful insights into the way science works, complete with several pages of color plates, a useable index, and short list of further reading material. If you are interested in what NASA does, and how the scientific search for life on Mars is (and will be) carried out, I think you will like it. I certainly did.

Looking for life on Mars
Malcolm Walter has written a fascinating guide to where we should look for current or past life on Mars. As a non-scientist I was not quite sure what to expect in buying this book, but what I found was a thoughtful discussion of how one scientist would explore the red planet for signs of life. Walter gives a short, understandable review of the scientific discoveries to date from the past NASA missions as a prelude to what to expect in the future. However, his background is in palaeobiology on Earth, which I learned is the study of fossilied life. Having absolutely no knowledge of this field myself, I sometimes felt a little lost in his technical discussions and wasn't always sure that I wanted to know as much as he told me about microbe fossils on Earth. Nevertheless, the thrust of his arguments and points he made were all clear. The heart of his case is that there is a lot we can learn from palaeobiology on Earth that should inform how we search for life, which may very well only be fossilized former life, on Mars. The importance future extensive scientific exploration for signs of past or present life on Mars is also well made. Overall, this short book (170 pages including the index) is worth the the time, and for a layman the effort, for anyone who has even a passing interest in this subject. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Such an exquisitely rare event... such a great book
William Sheehan is one of very few authors whose books I purchase as soon as they're published. Though not an historian of astronomy by profession, he is among the elite few who have contributed significantly to popular writings in that genre in the last 15 years or so. In taking on the topic of the transits of Venus, Sheehan, joined in this endeavor by John Westfall, has produced a magnificent volume that any amateur historian of astronomy will surely want to read.

As with all Sheehan efforts, Transits is meticulously researched and detailed, yet written in a lively and conversational tone that is a pleasure to read. Here will be found excellent scientific background: the nature of transits, the importance of transit observations in unlocking the value of the astronomical unit, etc. More importantly, to me, is the rich treatment of the history of transit observations. From Kepler's Rudolphine tables, where the first transits of Venus were accurately predicted, to the life and times of Jeremiah Horrocks, the short-lived English astronomer who first successfully observed one in 1639, to the massive international efforts of the 18th and 19th centuries, this work is filled with detail, photos, diagrams, and immensely satisfying story-telling. Here's an example of the detail and rich prose:

"The long wait for a transit of Venus finally ended at 3:06:22.3 PM Honolulu mean time, December 8 1874, when George Tupman became the first person in 105 years to see a transit of Venus. He had two advantages that gave him a head start: the Hawaiian stations were the closest in the world to the Delislean point of earliest ingress: and he was observing with a spectroscope that allowed him to spot Venus against the sun's inner atmosphere, the chromosphere, a full 39 seconds before it touched the visible solar limb."

Sheehan and Westfall's orientation is so decidedly historical that they make a surprising omission: There is no discussion of the reason for the curious spacing of Venus transits: a pair 8 years apart, followed by a gap of either 105 or 122 years, and then another pair 8 years apart. Perhaps this discussion, about which I think many readers would be curious, was omitted because it can be somewhat technical. More likely, they simply had to make some decisions on what to include and not include based on their particular slant.

At any rate, such an omission is more than balanced by what Sheehan and Westfall do include. I was overjoyed to read such exquisite detail about the observational and photographic instruments used to observe and measure the transits of 1874 and 1882. As far as I know, Sheehan and Westfall are the first authors to offer such thorough coverage in a popular work. There are also many photographs and drawings reproduced from this pair of transits, many more than I have ever seen in print before.

The much-anticipated Venus transit of June 2004 is fast approaching. Perhaps the rarity of this event makes it so compelling to me, as I'm sure it will to others as well. I can think of no better way to prepare than to purchase and read this excellent work. ... Read more

Book Description

In Impact, Gerrit L. Verschuur offers an eye-opening look at the catastrophic collisions of comets and asteroids with our planet. Perhaps more important, he paints an unsettling portrait of the possibility of new collisions with earth, exploring potential threats to our planet and describing what scientists are doing right now to prepare for this frightening possibility.

Every day something from space hits our planet, Verschuur reveals. In fact, about 10,000 tons of space debris fall to earth every year, mostly in meteoric form. But meteors are not the greatest threat to life on earth, the author points out. The major threats are asteroids and comets. The reader discovers that astronomers have located some 350 NEAs ("Near Earth Asteroids"), objects whose orbits cross the orbit of the earth. Comets, of course, are even more deadly. He discusses Comet Swift-Tuttle--"the most dangerous object in the solar system"--a comet far larger than the one that many scientists believe killed off the dinosaurs, due to pass through earth's orbit in the year 2126. In addition, the author describes the efforts of Spacewatch and other groups to locate NEAs, and evaluates the idea that comet and asteroid impacts have been an underrated factor in the evolution of life on earth.

Whether discussing monumental tsunamis or the innumerable comets in the solar system, Impact will enthrall anyone curious about outer space, remarkable natural phenomenon, or the future of the planet earth. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

The definitive book on impact hazards
The chance of Earth being struck by a large asteroid or comet is neither more nor less now than it has ever been. If nothing else, this book will bring out that fact. So for all the folks who want to believe in the magical or the preposterous, such as Nostradamus, Velikovsky, and other fantasy spinners, go elsewhere

If, however, you are a person who accepts things scientific, this is your book. Professsor Verschuur is an excellent, lucid, organized writer who does not waste the reader's time with forays into the specculative or ludicrous. Instead he forthrightly presents the overview of, and the detail behind, the genuine, if remote, danger that human society will receive heavy damage, if not outright destruction, from a large impact event. He accurately points out that the remoteness of this eventuality is offset by the magnitude of destruction that will occur if a large impact happens.

I have studied impact phenomena for some years, and this book is the most-fact-filled, well organized book of its genre. It is not only an excellent starting volume for a study of this branch of science, but is a good wake-up call for organizing attempts to meet the danger. The Professor does not patronize his reader, but neither does he presume a level of knowledge beyond the ken of the average well-informed adult.

I recommend the book very highly and would urge anyone interested in this topic to make it a priority purchase. It is the book by which all similar texts should be measured.

A thoughtful, useful compilation of known facts
This book really helps make a lot of things clear about comets and asteroids. I think some people might be turned off, or made suspicious, by the somewhat lurid cover, but please don't be among those people. The book is highly lucid, extremely intelligent, and absolutely terrifying.

Dr. Verschuur is a well-respected astronomer, and clearly one of the reasons that he is so highly respected, is his facility for communicating complex information in an understandable way. In this book, he carefully walks the reader through logically presented discussions of the dinosaur-killing asteroid; the tsunamis (huge ocean waves) that would result from an asteroid landing in the sea; the history of the way scientists have thought about the threat of asteroids; and the statistical likelihood that you or I will be slain by an errant asteroid (about 1 in 20,000, which is approximately the same as the chance of dying in a plane crash). While, admittedly, current efforts to prevent plane crashes are stepped up from the norm, doesn't it seem as though we should be taking vastly greater precautions to detect near-Earth asteroids which could destroy civilization???

Dr. Vershuur's account of this threat is very level-headed, and perceptively written. He asks why so many of us have trouble psychologically, conceptualizing the reality of this threat. He also deals, cautiously, with the possibility that ancient legends from around the world may actually tell of asteroid strikes in pre-historic times. This is brave of him to even mention this kind of thing, because it verges on speculation. Scientists are not in the business of irresponsible speculation, after all -- their business is science! They risk grave professional consequences, if they even attempt to discuss such issues. But Dr. Verschuur is very good about alerting the reader to the controversial nature of efforts to extract scientific meaning from the ore of myth. Anyway, he touches on the topic, and it is sometimes interestingly plausible, to my mind at least.

Probably the best thing about this book, is that it helps to alleviate the almost religious terror that the prospect of such collisions produce in most of us. Think of the movie "Armageddon." What a calm, objective, dispassionately conceived title for a movie -- NOT! That movie makes us think about asteroid strikes as a highly infrequent, totally overwhelming event that only Bruce Willis would be able to handle (ha ha). Dr. Verschuur's book, on the other hand, helps us to see that the Earth gets hit CONSTANTLY by asteroids, and it's just a question of understanding the frequency with which we get nailed by the bigger ones.

We learn here that, for example, the Earth gets hit by an asteroid large enough to disrupt a global civilization approximately once every 5,000 years. That's APPROXIMATELY. It can vary by thousands of years. This is just the statistical likelihood, averaged out over millions of years by analyzing the age of craters on Earth, nearby planets, and the moon. We learn that an asteroid with a diameter of 500 meters would probably destroy civilization, and that one that was over 1,000 meters would result in the death of virtually the entire world population of humans. For perspective, the one that finally killed the dinosaurs was about 10,000 meters across. Asteroids that big are rare -- but some are even bigger.

Most asteroids are not quite this threatening, but none are benign. Dr. Vershuur's book really helps us to understand things that more people should be thinking about. My only problem with this book is that I wish it included an appendix of ideas that people should try to implement, as precautionary measures. One example that IS included is the importance of giving money to the (very few) institutions that watch the skies. However, I would like to see a book like this also mention promoting educational initiatives that encourage highly localized electrical power generation options, such as wind energy, in case our global economy is suddenly obliterated. Most importantly, I wish there were a section stressing the importance of learning to grow FOOD in hydroponic, protected, indoor environments, so people would have renewable food supplies if a sudden winter, lasting for years, were brought on by all the dust an asteroid strike would throw up into the sky. No country on Earth has more than a few months of food stored up at any given time. If a major asteroid strike provoked a "nuclear winter" type of scenario, virtually everyone who survived would starve, without precautionary measures.

Still, basically this book is simply fantastic. Definitely two thumbs up.

Excellent review of the very real threat of impact
No writer out there does a better job of explaining science to the interested non-scientist than Verschuur. Impact! is a well-researched and beautifully-written book. It came out before all the Hollywood hype so it never made it to the best-seller list, but if you're interested in this subject, don't miss this one! Learn the truth behind the "Armageddon" and "Deep Impact" movies from a world-renowned expert. Astronomy has recently lost two of its most eloquent ambassadors to the non-scientific world - Carl Sagan and Gene Shoemaker. Verschuur could easily fill their shoes. If you like Impact!, try Verschuur's other books - "Hidden Attraction" and "The Invisible Universe Revealed." They're great!

Stolen works of Immanuel Velikovsky and then trashes him
This author has stolen the foundational idea of this book from the great scientist Dr. Immanuel Velikovsky who wrote the best seller "Worlds in Collision" in 1950. Then this author, Verschuur, trashes Velikovsky. Verschuur states hackneyed cliches about Velikovsky that were part of the most disgusting scientific blackballing in history. Verschuur does not address all of the overwhelming evidence that NASA has devoped over the last 40 years which were all anticipated by Velikovsky. What about the 900 degree surface temperature of Venus, or radio signals from Jupiter, or thick dust on the moon (remember the footprints of our astronauts?), or the scores of other discoveries all of which Velikovsky clearly anticipated and Verschuur ignores while promoting his own daffy theory. As an objective writer, Verschuur is a failure, and as an observer of alternative science he is lame. ... Read more

Book Description

This completely rewritten new edition begins with a historical perspective of the place of the solar system in the universe. Evidence from meteorites is used to describe how the planets were formed and the giant planets are considered in the light of the discovery of new extrasolar giants. Other chapters discuss satellites, comets, centaurs, asteroids and why Pluto is not a planet. Explanations on why Earth and Venus turned out so differently, and how Mars and Mercury are the survivors of many similar bodies, are also discussed. ... Read more

Book Description

From the casual conversation starter to the 24-hour cable channels and Web sites devoted exclusively to the subject, everyone talks about weather. There’s even weather in space—and it’s causing major upsets to our modern technological world.

Space weather is all around us. There are no nightly news reports on space weather (yet), but we’re rapidly developing the tools necessary to measure and observe trends in cosmic meteorology. New probes are going on-line that help us monitor the weather taking place miles above the Earth.

But why does space weather matter? It doesn’t affect whether we bring an umbrella to work or require us to monitor early school closings. It’s far, far away and of little concern to us . . . right? March 13, 1989. The Department of Defense tracking system that keeps tabs on 8,000 objects orbiting Earth suddenly loses track of 1,300 of them. In New Jersey, a $10 million transformer is burned up by a surge of extra current in the power lines. Shocks to a power station in Quebec leave 6 million people without electricity. New England power stations struggle to keep their power grid up. Listeners tuning in to their local stations in Minnesota hear the broadcasts of the California Highway Patrol. Residents of Florida, Mexico, and the Grand Cayman Islands see glowing curtains of light in the sky.

All of these bizarre, and seemingly unconnected, events were caused by a storm on the Sun and a fire in the sky. A series of solar flares and explosions had launched bolts of hot, electrified gas at the Earth and stirred up the second largest magnetic storm in recorded history. Before rockets and radio and the advent of other modern devices, we probably would never have noticed the effects of this space storm. But in today’s electrically powered, space-faring world, the greatest space storm of the twenty-second solar maximum rang like a wake-up call.

And we are now in the midst of another solar maximum, the effects of which are expected to be felt all the way through the year 2004. Storms from the Sun explores the emerging physical science of space weather and traces its increasing impact on a society that relies on space-based technologies.

Authors Carlowicz and Lopez explain what space weather really means to us down here—and what it may mean for future explorations and colonization of distant worlds. By translating the findings of NASA and other top scientists into fascinating and accessible descriptions of the latest discoveries, we are privy to some of the most closely held secrets that the solar–terrestrial system has to offer. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A Great Book!
I previously reviewed this book in March 2003 and submitted to Midwest Book Review - see Quote:

The Midwest Book Review, March 2003
"...an electrifying challenge for the mind to decipher the seemingly unfathomable secrets of the sun."

And I meant every word I said. It is a great book and a lot of fun to read, and it isn't necessary to be a rocket scientist to understand the material. Homeschoolers will find this a wonderful addition to their educational reference library.

If you would like to read my full review, feel free to visit the March 2003 Midwest Book Review http://www.midwestbookreview.com/rbw/mar_03.htm

The space weather story
I recently read this book and found it very engaging and readable. I have been following the topic of space weather for a few years now and read other articles and books on the topic, but this one was the clearest and most memorable of them all.

It explains the technology, the science,and the politics of space weather and is filled with anecdotes. I enjoyed the color prints in it as well. For anyone who wants to learn about this cutting edge topic, this is the place to go. We are becoming more dependent on satellites and technology, but space weather can really mess things up. The book tells you why and how. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Unexpected, not perfect, but very welcomed
This book is very surprising: the large hardcover format makes you think that you are about to read a beautiful Mars book, full of pictures with limited scientific information... You couldn't be more wrong! What you have here is a highly technical, accurate and up-to-date scientific review of our present state of knowledge about the Red Planet.

The text and presentation is completely similar to the articles found in the scientific publications such as "Science": text split on two columns, black-and-white pictures, graphics and bibliography.

In order to get the most out of this book, you must already have some good knowledge of the planet and of geology, because the author does assume that you know a lot of things and will not bother explain the basics. From this point of view, this book is a welcomed surprise for the Mars enthusiasts like me, because it brings you one step (or more) further. For the beginners, you should avoid this book, and get instead the beautiful "Mars : Uncovering the Secrets of the Red Planet" (by P. Raeburn, National Geographic, ISBN 0792273737).

Now, for those really willing to learn about Mars with this book, let's get into the details.

As I said, you should know about Mars before reading this book. The best way to get there is to read the massive "Mars" (University of Arizona Press, ISBN 0816512574). This 1500-page Mars bible covers everything, but is in some way outdated (published in 1991, before Phobos 1 & 2, Pathfinder, and MGS). This is where the book by Cattermole becomes complementary, and could be considered as an update of the other one.

The large majority of the chapters are on Martian geology: plains, volcanism, craters, polar regions, fluvial activity, etc. Every aspect is covered in great details, including the latest results from MGS. But unless you are a trained geologist (like the author), you will probably be a little overwhelmed by the vocabulary. But even with a partial understanding of the science, the wealth of information is worth the effort. A piece of advice: get a map of Mars and keep it with you while reading.

Only a few chapters are about the atmospheric conditions, the satellites or even the possibility of life on the planet. This is not surprising since the bulk of our current knowledge is about geology, but may leave you disappointed. Especially the chapter on weather and climate: quite a lot is known about Martian weather, but this chapter is confusing and ambiguous, revealing that the author is not an expert in this field.

Regrettably, this book suffers from many errors, typographical or worse. I have spotted 2 figures where the curves are not even printed, leaving the arrows pointing nowhere (fig. 4.5 and fig. 13.2); fig. 3.7 is weirdly centred at 31.53°S 130.73°N; fig. 8.9 is centred at an impossible 241°N (!) and on p.89 we learn that Apollinaris Patera is lying at 96°S; fig. 9.8 lacks the "solid line" used in the explanation; on p.48, we learn that the upper limit for micrometeorites is 1 billion kg (which does not sound very microscopic)... The list could go on. This is unfortunate, because the scientific quality of this book is weakened by the fear of reading something erroneous because of poor proof-reading.

Despite the many errors, this book is an impressive summary of our current knowledge, and is worth reading. And with the arrival or Mars Odyssey, you will be well prepared.

Not for the Casual Reader
Dr. Peter Cattermole was a former lecture of Geology at the University of Sheffield and a former principle investigator for NASA's Planetary Geology and Geophysics Program. As one would expect from a person with this background, this book presents a geologist's view of the planet Mars. Unfortunately, if one is not a geologist or versed in the sciences, this book maybe difficult to follow. Even this reviewer, who is an amateur geologist and well versed in a variety of engineering and science disciplines, could only read a few chapters at time (sometimes only a paragraph) without having to put the book down and reflect on what I had learned.

Each chapter of the book covers a different aspect of Martian geology. For example, there are chapters on craters, dunes, polar regions, the weather and climate, plus many more. There are also sections on the two moons of Mars and a summary of the robotic exploration of the planet. While there were times when I I had to put this book down to digest all the information I had read, I can definitely say that I learned more than I ever have about the planet Mars.

While the text maybe difficult for some people to follow (including this reviewer at times), there are numerous high resolution black and white photographs as well as some nice color photograph maps which present the many varied geological terrains that exist on Mars. Many of the photographs I have never seen published before, especially those from the Viking orbiters.

The author does provide a detailed reference list of over two hundred separate sources, which will allow the reader to thoroughly a specific topic. I found it refreshing that the author chosen only a few of his own papers for reference material, which does not always happen.

In summary, if you know geology, like high quality space photography, are out for a challenge, or want to learn a whole bunch about Mars, this book is for you ... Read more

Book Description

Anyone with a little extra cash and a plane ticket can take a “grand tour” of Europe. But a tour of the Solar System? Now that’s an experience deserving of the word grand. Introducing the new edition of the book praised as “spectacular” (London Times), “eye-boggling” (Future Life),“concise and informative . . . the colorful and imaginative paintings steal the show” (Chicago Tribune), with “page after page filled with new color paintings, each the well-controlled evocation of a spectacular scene” (Scientific American).Originally published in 1981 and revised in 1993, The Grand Tour, an astronomy classic with 196,000 copies in print, takes readers on an imaginative trip through every corner of the solar system, in much the same way as Cook’s once took travelers on a grand tour of the Continent.

Completely updated and revised and drawing on discoveries made by Voyager I and II, Magellan, Galileo, the Hubble Space Telescope, the Mars Global Surveyor Mission and other space initiatives, The Grand Tour is a dazzling journey that combines lush art and up-to-the-minute science. One hundred new paintings give travelers an unprecedented view of phenomena such as Saturn’s rings from Saturn itself; the rusty-red dune fields of Mars; the rugged surface of Mercury, saturated with impact craters; and the Kuiper Belt of planetesimals, the largest of which is Pluto—now considered a half-planet. From the vast reaches of Jupiter to tiny frozen Rhea, like a snowball orbiting around Saturn, it is a journey of astonishing proportions. ... Read more

Book Description

`his fifth edition of Catalogue of Meteorites will, like previous editions, be the essential reference volume for all those with an informed interest in meteorites.It is the definitive descriptive list of the British Natural History Museum, which maintains the offical world database of all known meteorite falls and finds.Coverage includes the 10,000 new specimens recovered since the publication of the fourth edition, including those from Antarctica.Plus, for the first time, a CD-ROM accompanies the book, which includes greatly expanded information and an important search facility. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Catalogue of Meteorites, Edited by Monica Grady
The Big Blue Book is back. This time around the cover has a close-up photo of olivine laths in a barred olivine chondrule, and at 689 pages, is bigger and better than ever. There is a listing of 22,507 authenticated meteorites up to December 1999 which also come on a CD-ROM.

The origins of the Catalogue go back to 1847 with a listing of the 62 meteorites of the British Museum. Subsequent periodic updates were issued and in 1923, George Prior, the Keeper of Minerals of the British Museum, issued the first worldwide Catalogue of Meteorites. The well-known 4th edition, edited by Graham, Bevan, and Hutchison was published in 1985.

The 5th edition not only has ten thousand more meteorites (including such recent discoveries as the Martian Los Angeles meteorite or a Saharan EL4-5 called Grein 002), but it also reflects the multitude of changes that have taken place in the field of meteoritics in the past 15 years. Type 3 chondrites now have petrologic subtypes (3.0 to 3.9), enstatite chondrites are now distinguished as EH or EL, there are new carbonaceous chondrite groups, CH, CK, and CR, as well as the new groupings of acapulcoites, brachinites, rumurutiites and winonaites. The SNCs are now described, perhaps with a bit of British understatement, "probably from Mars". There are also various stylistic changes like dropping the ordinary chondrite terms "bronzite", "hypersthene", and "amphoterite", replacing them simply with H, L, and LL. However, the overall format is the same as the 1985 edition and readers of the latter will be right at home with this one.

Another new feature to the 2000 edition is the listing of tables of Antarctic meteorites, meteorites from the Nullarbor region, Australia, meteorites from Roosevelt County, New Mexico, and over 1500 meteorites recovered from the Sahara Desert.

Even some of the citations have changed. For example, the TKW of Nakhla is now 10 kg, due to the research of Kevin Kichinka (Meteorite! Aug. '98) down from the original 40 kg and the infamous phrase, "one of the stones killed a dog", now reads, "one of the stones reputedly killed a dog". Divnoe has been upgraded to an "ungrouped achondrite", and although this reviewer thought it was actually a brachinite, Alan Rubin informs me that Monica is correct. Gao and Guenie have now been amalgamated into the one fall denoted Gao-Guenie. The recently found Nadiabondi individuals have maintained their status under that name even though there was some speculation they might be associated with the Gao-Guenie fall. Apparently not.

The inclusion of a CD-ROM makes this edition of the CM so much more useful than previous editions and more in keeping with modern databases. Once it is installed on your computer you do not have to put the disk in again as it resident on your harddrive ready to use. You can search for a single entry, or use the data fields to do more complex searches, like finding all CM2 carbonaceous chondrites from Australia (Adelaide, Lookout Hill, Murchison). Filling in the search form is easy and you do not need a manual to run it. You do have to remember to select "valid" from one of the drop down lists as otherwise you get doubtful returns as well. The search speed probably depends on the speed of your computer: my 600 MHz Gateway took about 10 seconds for multiple searches, but was virtually instantaneous if searching for a particular meteorite. The CD-ROM also has more analytical data and more complete reference citations for the researcher than the book itself.

Of course in any work of this great magnitude, there are a few misprints/glitches, but I won't dwell on these. There are some people who would go to a concert by Heifetz and listen only for the wrong notes (if any!)

It is entirely fitting that there are meteorites named Grady (p.220). This book represents a prodigious amount of human endeavor, and the meteorite community owes Monica Grady an enormous debt of gratitude. If you are a serious amateur or a professional, you will want to have this book.

New fifth edition
The enclosed CD-ROM is for PC only. With a MAC version, my rating would be five stars. ... Read more

Amazon.com

"For our generation and many that will follow, Mars is the New World," writes Zubrin. This book went to press serendipitously, just as NASA was making its startling if heavily-qualified announcement that simple life may have once existed on the fourth rock from the sun. Zubrin doesn't spend an enormous amount of time arguing why Mars exploration is desirable -- we all want astronauts to go there, don't we? -- but rather devotes the bulk of this book explaining how it can happen on a sensible, bare-bones budget of $20-30 billion and a "travel light and live off the land" philosophy. ... Read more

Reviews (66)

Mixed Feelings
This book is one of the few books that I have read on the subject of Mars exploration that has been written by an expert in the field. It is therefore well informed and Highly Interesting. Robert Zubrin put forward a convincing plan to bring man to the red planet. Unfortunately in the second part of the book the author goes a bit beyond his field. The economic arguments for colonizing mars are at time doubtful and naive. The plan to terraform Mars appears to be more science fiction than science. Finally the philosophical reason for the colonization are a matter of opinion that might not be shared by all. Over all the book is interesting, but one feels that the author should have more to the subject he knows well and not venture out to much into speculation, which blunt the overall effect of the book

The Red Planet minus Van Damme
Kiddies, put your sci fi books away. This is not your parent's Mars.

In this deep and enthralling book, Robert Zubrin lays out, point by point, his method of madness for traversing the intergalactic distances and heading to Mars. Using his Mars Direct plan, we seen a plausible situation in which we could take Mars within the next decade, and begin pushing our boundaries to the so called "final frontier."

Not only does he provide the means on a very achievable time table, he also makes arguments against the so called "dragons" on the way to Mars, namely the threats of solar radiation and other such impacts. Yet, the effect of these are so negligible on the overall mission, Zubrin has us believe that yes, Mars is attainable in our generation.

After we get there, however, Zubrin takes another ambitious step towards the future: terraforming. He sees Mars as an ecological playground. one that we can change and make habitable for the expansion of earth.

All in all, this book is the Mars Bible for the era. It shows us the most sound way to get across the vast distance, stay on the surface, and return safely, while maximizing our scientific payout for the mission. Hopefully, one day we can realize Robert Zubrin's dream and land on Mars within the next decade.

Too self-congratulatory
Zubrin is a bit too self-congratulatory. The time he takes in each chapter to pat himself on the back drags down an otherwise interesting, if unrealistic, study of human space travel to Mars. All his assumptions leave little to no margin of error. Recent events have shown that accidents do happen to either expensive and/or tragic results. We're not yet to the point emotionally, economically or politically where we can be as cavalier as Zubrin's plan requires.

On writing style, Zubrin manages to take an interesting subject and turn it into something dry and tedious to read. The pieces where he actually sticks to the science of Mars and of space travel, it's a quick and interesting read with informative graphics but these bits are hidden amongst long passages of minutiae relevant only to Zubrin.

Excellent Read
I have always had a fascination with astronomy. After reading this book, that fascination turned almost into an obsession with Mars. Zubrin lays out a plan that seems perfect to land the first man on Mars. This book is an interesting read, even for the non-scientist types, as Zubrin finds a healthy balance. Very interesting book and very intellect man. Not to be missed by anyone interested in space.

A Variety of Mars Data in One Place
Dr. Zubrin did a great job of bringing a lot of research about a variety of Mars related subjects into one place.

His writing style is not sterile like a textbook might be, or how you would expect a 'rocket scientist' to write. Instead, he is able to present his ideas with facts, figures and calculations instead of glorious ideas of how to settle the stars. At times, the book even made me chuckle.

I have read other books on this subject, and have seen documentaries regarding Mars exploration and Dr. Zubrin is arguably at the forefront of the effort to settle Mars.

The book completely opened my eyes as to how easy (relatively speaking) it would be to actually settle Mars.

HIGHLY recommended for anyone interested in the subject! ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Is the Moon a Harsh Mistress?
What is it about the Moon that captures the fancy of humankind? A silvery disk hanging in the night sky, it conjures up images of romance and magic. It has been counted upon to foreshadow important events, both of good and ill, and its phases for eons served humanity as its most accurate measure of time. With the invention of the telescope at the turn of the seventeenth century-coinciding with the rise of the scientific revolution-the Moon took on new meaning as a tangible place with mountains and valleys and craters that could be named and geological features and events that could be studied.

Geologist Scott L. Montgomery has produced a richly detailed analysis of how the Moon has been visualized in Western culture through the ages, revealing the faces it has presented to philosophers, writers, artists, and scientists for nearly three millennia. To do this, he has drawn on a wide array of sources that illustrate the changing concept of nature and the significance of heavenly bodies from classical antiquity to the dawn of modern science.

Montgomery especially focuses on the seventeenth century, when the Moon was first mapped and its features named. He explores in depth the literary works of Francis Godwin's "Man in the Moone" and Cyrano de Bergerac's "L'autre monde." But he also carries the story to the present, showing how humanity has over time elevated the Moon to a sublime level.

As Montgomery concluded, humans have always assigned a close approximation of the Earth to lunar ideas. When we ultimately colonize the Moon the irony is that we will be setting up shop on a world steeped in a deep human tradition of imagination and history. This is a superb work that explains far more effectively than other works on the subject, the lure of the Moon for humanity.

A masterpiece of historical and scientific contemplation
An immensely beautiful book.Awing in its sensitivity, delicacy, and completeness of language - "sculptured in the heavens," one thinks as one looks up.On every page, in every paragraph, there is caring for - more than caring, a love affair with - its subject.

But I can add little beyond admiration to Eileen Berton's fine little sketch of it below.

The moon, and much more
This book is remarkable for its breadth and depth, and for its fluid and totally enjoyable narrative. Montgomery brings a scholarly, well-organized, imaginatively catholic mind to his study of the moon. His enthusiasm forhis subject is contagious. He discusses the early cartography so importantto popular conceptions of the moon, the moon's complex and changingrelationship to Christianity and Judaism, philosophy,mathematics,literature, and art. Importantly, he provides an orderly andvery interesting history of Western conceptions of "the first modernplanet." The Arab contribution to astronomy is detailed. Therelationship of mathematics to astronomy is also explored, fluidly andappropriately for the lay person. Galileo, Copernicus, and scores oflesser-known astronomers and scientists come to life in this book."The Britsh Contribution," a chapter on sixteenth century lunarpioneers Dr. Wm. Gilbert Thomas Harriot, is particularly well-told.Montgomery also analyzes cartographic evidence - and provides commentary.This book combines scholarship with a fine and elegant narrative, and Iwould recommend it to anyone with an interest in this subject, whichbecomes downright thrilling in this book.

The moon, and much more
This book is remarkable for its breadth and depth, and for its fluid and totally enjoyable narrative. Montgomery brings a scholarly, well-organized, imaginatively catholic mind to his study of the moon, as mapped, observed,and imagined by Western minds. His enthusiasm for his subject iscontagious. He discusses the early cartography so important to popularconceptions of the moon, the moon's complex and changing relationship toChristianity and Judaism, philosophy, mathematics, literature, and art.Importantly, he provides an orderly and very interesting history of Westernconceptions of "the first modern planet." The Arab contributionto astronomy is detailed. The relationship of mathematics to astronomy isalso explored, fluidly and appropriately for the lay person. Galileo,Copernicus, and scores of lesser-known astronomers and scientists come tolife in this book. "The British Contribution," a chapter onsixteenth century lunar pioneers Dr. Wm. Gilbert and Thomas Harriot, isexcellent. Montgomery also analyzes cartographic evidence - and providescommentary. This book combines scholarship with a fine and elegantnarrative, the bibliography is terrific, and I would recommend it to anyonewith an interest in this subject, which becomes downright thrilling in thisbook. ... Read more

Book Description

Imagine what an extra-terrestrial Weather Channel would be like, with a professional space weatherman as your forecaster, and you get rather close to the astounding aspects of nature described in John Freeman's Storms in Space. Known only to a handful of space scientists, yet capable of disrupting technical systems as extensive as communication satellites and electric power gridsStorms in Space is the first book to unveil the unseen elements of outer space.Opening with a series of vignettes (describing how the Northern and Southern lights [the aurora] are a visible manifestation of space storms, or how satellites serve as weather stations in space), Freeman provides visual analogies to help illustrate the effects of a storm in space on people. These vignettes explore the chain of events that lead to the storm and to connect the facets of the storm with the scenes in the vignettes. Freeman details the state of the art in forecasting space storms, the models that are used, and the prospects for their future improvement.He also describes the hazards of space storms for human technological systems including human space flight.Storms in Space provides both a new understanding and appreciation of how seemingly insignificant disturbances out there can have major effects right here. John W. Freeman is Professor Emeritus and Research Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Rice University.Over the past 35 years he has directed a number of satellite instrumentation projects, including the Apollo 12, 14, and 15 projects for which he was awarded the NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement (1973).He has also served as Editor-in-Chief of Space Power.Freeman is currently working to develop a model that will forecast the intensity of the Van Allen Radiation Belts and helping to build a National Space Weather Service. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Storms in Space
I'm frequently quoted in this book, so have an interest in it
having been well done. John has done a fine job in giving explanations
that will appeal to readers from outside our community
and that should serve as a model for writers in
our field. He conveys technical information easily and makes
it interesting -- but I'm an easy sell. I have found about
6 mistakes in the text, but they are mostly trivial. ... Read more

Book Description

The Encyclopedia of the Solar System provides a series of comprehensive and authoritative articles written by more than 50 eminent planetary and space scientists.Each chapter is self-contained yet linked by cross-references to other related chapters.This beautifully designed book is a must for the library of professional astronomers and amateur star-gazers alike, in fact for anyone who wishes to understand the nature of our solar system.

* Cross-referenced throughout for easy comprehension
* Superbly illustrated with over 700 photos, drawings, and diagrams, including 36 color plates
* Provides 40 thematically organized chapters by more than 50 eminent contributors
* Convenient glossaries of technical terms introduce each chapter
* Foreword written by astronaut Sally Ride
* Special web site for the Encyclopedia at www.academicpress.com/solar includes author-recommended web resources for additional information, images, and research developments related to each chapter of this volume ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Superb, but...
This is the best work I've read on the solar system, period. The text is wonderful but I dearly wish the author had included the American measuring system along with the metric one. I'm one of those old fogies who has to cogitate in the extreme in order to convert kilometers into miles. Oh, well.

Seriously, this book is a "must-have" for astronomy aficionados and for those who merely wish to brush up on their knowledge of our solar neighborhood.

I also wish the book had a sewn binding. Otherwise, it is a really great read and a "keeper".

An excellent layman's reference to solar system astronomy
Don't buy this book thinking it will be an entertaining reference for your twelve-year-old nephew who enjoys astronomy. This hefty tome is more akin to a college-level textbook than an encyclopedia. If you want to get a detailed, but not overly technical, overview of modern solar system science, this is the book for you.

A legacy!
Following a thematic progression, ranging outward from the Sun to other planetary systems, the Encyclopedia of the Solar System details the dynamics of motions and rotations, solar wind, planetary, geologic, and atmospheric conditions, as well as other processes in the formation of planets, satellites and the smaller bodies of our planetary environment. The Encyclopedia covers the latest observations employing planetary radar, radio, infrared, and ultraviolet wavelengths.

Features convenient glossaries of technical terms, over 700 illustrations, numerous color plates, extensive cross-referencing throughout, further readings, useful appendices, and a comprehensive 4,500 entry index. Readers and web denizens like me will particularly appreciate the convenience of using the accompanying website (academicpress.com/solar) to link to related on-line resources.

Keep watching the sky!

This is the best!!!!!!!!!
If you are interested in the solar system in which you live in, this book is a must. It is very informative and complex, yet simple enough for the high school student. The absolute best book about our solar system. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Pleasantly informal and substantial
This is an excellent book on the outer solar system. This book is written for laypeople who want more than a short introduction to the subject matter. The writing style is informal but very informative.

There are chapters on the discovery of Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, the related discovery of the first asteroids, the grand tour of the Voyagers, the three planets themselves, the search for a tenth planet, and more.

This book was written in 1988, while Voyager 2 was en route to Neptune. A later paperback edition revises the hardcover's speculation with a description of the actual Neptune encounter.

The author also remembers the human touch. There is ample discussion of planet discoverers William Herschel, John Adams, Urban Le Verrier, and Clyde Tombaugh. We also learn about the memorable people they worked with (and sometimes against!)

The author likes to use sidebars, which are quite interesting and keep the main text from getting bogged down. The sidebar items include Herschel's astronomer sister, the discovery of the Grand Tour concept, the discovery of Pluto's moon Charon (written by discoverer James Christy), Galileo's unsuspecting observation of Neptune in 1613, the (not yet launched) Galileo and Cassini missions, and more. Tombaugh himself also tells of some of his experiences.

Ironically, one sidebar supports Pluto's status as a planet, but allows that if a second asteroid belt is discovered it might make sense to redesignate Pluto as an asteriod. Guess what happened a few years later...

Perhaps Littmann will revise the book again to include the discovery of the Kuiper Belt, the discoveries by the Hubble telescope, the latest speculation about Planet X, and more.

Highly recommended. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Good Book for Astronomers, OK for Space Enthusiasts
Patrick Moore is a prolific author of many books about space, astronomy and the solar system. In this book he covers the both the telescopic and robotic observation of the planet Mars. I feel that if astronomy is of interest to you, you will like this book, but if you are looking for information on the robotic exploration of Mars, you will only find a brief summary here.

The first half of the book is devoted to the historical telescopic observations of Mars over and presents numerous hand drawn pictures made over the centuries including some of the many Martian "channels" pictures. Patrick Moore also includes one of his own drawings. After this section, the remainder of the book focuses on the Russian and American efforts to explore the red planet and its satellites, and concludes with the possible manned exploration in 20-30 years. Included in the second half of the book are: Mariners 4, 6, 7, 9, the Viking probes, Mars Pathfinder, Mars Global Surveyor and the numerous Russian Mars Series probes.

One thing I found extremely interesting about this book is that Patrick Moore knew the first man to achieve powered flight (Orville Wright), the first man in space (Yuri Gargarin) and the first man on the moon. He may have even met the first person to walk on Mars. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Amateur astronomers will enjoy Atlas of Venus, themost up-to-date book available on the geography and geology of Earth'snon-identical twin planet. This colorful compendium of maps andpictures draws heavily from the Magellan spacecraft's radar imaging,some of it published here for the first time. As the authors point out, wehave learned more about Venus in the last few decades--perhaps even inthe last few years--than throughout the whole of human history. It'shardly the tropical paradise of 1950s science fiction, but a harsh worldthat may never witness human exploration due to the severity of itsenvironment. In a way, its truly alien qualities make Venus all the moreenticing. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

An excellent treatise
I found this book very useful in work I was doing on axis shifts,
especially the diagrams and data concerning sea level rises/falls
associated with the magnitude of the shifts. I think the layout
of the book could have been better, but I was impressed with
the author's knowledge of what is still a contentious subject.

pretty good
I thought this book was very educationa ... Read more

Book Description

Almost thirty years after the Apollo missions, "Tranquillity Base", "Hadley Rille", or "Taurus-Littrow" are names still resonant with the enormous achievements represented by the lunar landings. But how did these places get their names? Who named Copernicus crater? Where did all those names on lunar maps come from, and what stimulated their selection? Ewen Whitaker traces the origins and evolution of the present-day systems for naming lunar features such as craters, mountains, valleys and dark spots. The connections between the prehistoric and historic names, and today's gazetteer are clearly described. Beautiful lunar maps spanning four centuries of progress wonderfully illustrate the unfolding of our ability to map the Moon. Rare, early photographs add to the sense of history. Comprehensive appendices and the bibliography make this delightful book a work of lasting reference and scholarship. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Good for pictures and background information.
I bought this book for 8 dollars, knowing exactly what I would get in it. Great pictures (even though some are a bit archaic, but that's okay because they're full color and full page photos of some of the most wonderful things man has ever seen) and additional background information covering the pictures. There really isn't much else to describe in the book. If you want to know about our Solar System and see some wonderful pictures, this is the book for you. It has a nice introduction as well, part of it telling a proposed (and very plausible) way of our Solar System forming. The only thing I did not like about this book is the fact that the authors kept repeatedly saying that Pluto is not a real planet. I wish they would've just left it to accepted ideals of the time and leave it be. But other than that, this book contains great imagery and information on our space backyard.

Classic Space Age Photographs of our Solar System
In this book, the authors present many of the classic photographs of the sun, planets, their moons, asteroids and comets taken during the space age by various space exploration vehicles. Accompanying each photograph is a detailed description of what was discovered and why is important. While many of the these photographs are well over thirty years old, they have been digitally enhanced, but still show the graininess associated with the early planetary space probes.

In general, I found most of the photographs contained in the both to be a good representation of the bodies found in our solar system; however, there are several missing photographs which could have made this book a lot better. For example, there are no photographs of Mercury's Caloris Basin, Neptune's moon Triton, or any of the major geological features of Mars. On the other hand, there seems to be an over abundance of pictures of Saturn and its moons which could have been left out if space was a problem.

If you are looking for a good book that summarizes the solar system in pictures, this book would good addition to your collection. If you are looking for new photographs or new information about solar system research you will not find it in this book.

Empire of the Sun : Planets and Moons of the Solar System
Excellent pictures and a good reference book to add to your collection.

Empire of the Sun: Planets and Moons of the Solar System
Because it had a great review in Scientific American, I bought this book from Amazon. After inspection of the photography, I immediately returned the book. Compared to what we are used to see today in National Geographic, Scientific American and other magazines, the selection of space photographs is pedestrian at best. The book feels cheap, for example, the 360 degree Mars panorama taken by the sojourner, instead reproduced as a fold out, is crammed on a single page as a long and 1-2 inch (! ) slim band. In addition, the photographic print quality throughout the book feels like "sixties". ... Read more