Alien Seas: Oceans in Space

by Michael Carroll (Editor), Rosaly M.C. Lopes

Oceans were long thought to exist in all corners of the Solar System, from carbonated seas percolating beneath the clouds of Venus to features on the Moon's surface given names such as "the Bay of Rainbows and the "Ocean of Storms." With the advent of modern telescopes and spacecraft exploration these ancient concepts of planetary seas have, for the most part, evaporated. But they have been replaced by the reality of something even more exotic. For example, although it is still uncertain whether Mars ever had actual oceans, it now seems that a web of waterways did indeed at one time spread across its surface. The "water" in many places in our Solar System is a poisoned brew mixed with ammonia or methane. Even that found on Jupiter's watery satellite Europa is believed similar to battery acid. Beyond the Galilean satellites may lie even more "alien oceans." Saturn's planet-sized moon Titan seems to be subject to methane or ethane rainfall. This creates methane pools that, in turn, become vast lakes and, perhaps, seasonal oceans. Titan has other seas in a sense, as large shifting areas of sand covering vast plains have been discovered. Mars also has these sand seas, and Venus may as well, along with oceans of frozen lava. Do super-chilled concoctions of ammonia, liquid nitrogen, and water percolate beneath the surfaces of Enceladus and Triton? For now we can only guess at the possibilities. 'Alien Seas' serves up part history, part current research, and part theory as it offers a rich buffet of "seas" on other worlds. It is organized by location and by the material of which various oceans consist, with guest authors penning specific chapters. Each chapter features new original art depicting alien seas, as well as the latest ground-based and spacecraft images. Original diagrams presents details of planetary oceans and related processes.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Astronomy, Nature

130 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Michael Carroll (also Michael W. Carroll), a renowned astronomical and paleo artist for more than twenty years, has done work for NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. His art has appeared in many magazines, including Time, National Geographic, Sky & Telescope, and Asimov’s Science Fiction. One of his paintings flew aboard MIR; another is resting at the bottom of the Atlantic, aboard Russia’s ill-fated Mars 96 spacecraft. He lives in Littleton, Colorado.

Reviews

[Kadri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well illustrated and interesting book. It consists of articles about oceans or possible oceans on different worlds starting with Venus and Mars and lava oceans and sand seas and going into the oceans under the icy surfaces of gas giants' moons.
Some of the articles are easier to read than others. In general a good read.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful and accessible book about one of the current "hot" topics in planetary sciences.

[John Jaksich · Rating 5 out of 5]

This outstanding book is one that is accessible to all, but it would make the ideal Christmas gift for the special HS student or the gifted college student.