Moons & Planets

by William K. Hartmann

Fully updated by William Hartmann, this text retains a comparative approach to the principles of planetology, including organization by physical topic rather than by planet. This unique approach promotes an understanding of the unifying principles and processes that cause similarities and differences among the moon and planets. This edition features finding and photos from Mars Pathfinder, Global Surveyor, Hubble, and photos of Jupiter's atmosphere from the Galileo probe, new data on Pluto and other small bodies, and more! The text's unique math boxes give you the flexibility to teach planetary science at a descriptive level or at a moderately advanced level involving algebra and elementary calculus.

Genres: Astronomy, Space, Science

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1983

Reviews

[Kristine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a space radiation physicist taking a planetary geology course for professional development, and I picked up the 4th Edition (1999) of this book as a supplementary reference for the course. I ended up reading it cover-to-cover, making notes and learning a ton of new material. This text is light on math and heavy on descriptive content, making it easy to read and grasp the concepts. Further reading is given for more in-depth technical approaches to the topics, which is welcome for the scientists in the audience. Overall, I highly recommend this book for an introduction to planetary geology concepts.