A Guided Tour of the Solar System
- Gives many comparisons between the planets and Earth, describing the Solar System using phenomena that the reader would be familiar with
- Provides a realistic description of scientific discovery, showing both the good and bad elements, from the viewpoint of a female scientist
- Gives simple non-mathematical descriptions and analogies to many physical ideas, and is therefore suitable for a broad general audience
Join Bonnie J. Buratti, a leading planetary astronomer, on this personal tour of NASA's latest discoveries. Moving through the Solar System from Mercury, Venus, Mars, past comets and asteroids and the moons of the giant planets, to Pluto, and on to exoplanets, she gives vivid descriptions of landforms that are similar to those found on Earth but that are more fantastic. Sulfur-rich volcanoes and lakes on Io, active gullies on Mars, huge ice plumes and tar-like deposits on the moons of Saturn, hydrocarbon rivers and lakes on Titan, and nitrogen glaciers on Pluto are just some of the marvels that await readers.
Discover what it is like to be involved in a major scientific enterprise, with all its pitfalls and excitement, from the perspective of a female scientist. This engaging account of modern space exploration is written for non-specialist readers, from students in high school to enthusiasts of all ages.
Table of Contents
- Mercury: the hottest little place
- Venus: an even hotter place
- Mars: the abode of life?
- Asteroids and comets: sweat the small stuff
- Galileo's treasures: worlds of fire and ice
- Enceladus: an active iceball in space
- Titan: an Earth in deep freeze?
- Iapetus and its friends: the weirdest 'planets' in the Solar System
- Pluto: the first view of the 'third zone'
- Earths above: the search for exoplanets and life in the universe
The author Bonnie J. Buratti is a Senior Research Scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. With expertise on icy moons, comets and asteroids, she holds degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Cornell University, New York. She is currently serving on the Cassini and New Horizons science teams, and is the US Project Scientist for Rosetta.
