The Planets

by Giles Sparrow

In the last 40 years the planets have been revealed in their full glory, unmasked by a fleet of satellites and interplanetary probes. And the closer we look, the more astonishing they Mars' deserts were once home to rivers and oceans; on Jupiter wind speeds reach 10,000 kph (6,000 mph) and storms rage for centuries; Saturn is surrounded by a swarm of 34 moons; and diamonds are believed to rain from Neptune's blue skies. Moving out from the Sun, every planet and moon is visited in a journey that takes us a full light year into space, out to the fringes of the solar system where the Sun is no longer the brightest star in the sky. With 200 spectacular images, The Planets follows the tracks of robotic rovers over Mars, plunges through Titan's atmosphere on the back of the Hugyens probe, smashes into a comet with Deep Impact, and voyages to the edge of our solar system to discover the frozen planets that lurk beyond the orbit of Pluto.

Genres: Science, Astronomy, Nonfiction, Space, Reference

224 pages, Hardcover

First published October 5, 2006

Reviews

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this because it is fairly new so it has Pluto in its rightful place as a non-planet. Take that Pluto!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book for anyone who loves reading about our solar system, and likes their information about the planets in that solar system in small tidbits. The pictures were absolutely amazing.