Dawn of Small Worlds

Dwarf Planets, Asteroids, Comets

This book gives a detailed introduction to the thousands and thousands of smaller bodies in the solar system. Written for interested laymen, amateur astronomers and students it describes the nature and origin of asteroids, dwarf planets and comets, and gives detailed information about their role in the solar system.

The author nicely reviews the history of small-world-exploration and describes past, current and future space craft missions studying small worlds, and presents their results. Readers will learn that small solar system worlds have a dramatically different nature and appearance than the planets. Even though research activity on small worlds has increased in the recent past many of their properties are still in the dark and need further research.

The author Dr. Michael Moltenbrey is a computer scientist who based his thesis on simulations on high performance computers. As an active amateur astronomer and former President of his local club, he has been giving many lectures on astronomy to the public.