Provides information about the planets in the solar system, listing facts about planet sizes, names, orbits, moons, and composition, and discussing how the planets are observed and studied.
The present well-established study of planets orbiting stars other than our Sun, the exoplanets, was reviewed by the author in his earlier book Wandering Stars. This new and exciting field of study has expanded quickly, particularly due to technological advances in both Earth-based telescopes and, more recently, in the application of automatic space vehicles. Well over 300 exoplanets have now been catalogued, each of mass comparable to or greater than those of the major planets of the Solar System.
The Earth and the Moon, Revised Edition (The Solar System)
Earth belongs to a group of small, inner solar-system planets, including Mercury, Venus, and Mars, which all consist of a mantle made of silica-based minerals above an iron-rich core and crusts that show evidence of meteorite bombardment and volcanic lava flow. Beyond these basic similarities, and despite their similar formation processes in the inner solar system, these four planets are strangely different from one another.
Eyewitness Universe is DK's classic look at black holes, galaxies, and other amazing features of the universe.
Discusses the history of astronomy, including the discovery of the planets, sun, stars,and distant galaxies, and details human exploration of the universe.
Meteorites and Their Parent Planets provides an engrossing overview of a highly interdisciplinary field--the study of extraterrestrial materials. The second edition of this successful book has been thoroughly revised, and describes the nature of meteorites, where they come from, and how they get to Earth. Meteorites offer important insights into processes in stars and in interstellar regions, the birth of our solar system, the formation and evolution of planets and smaller bodies, and the origin of life.
