What do you think?
Rate this book
Jupiter
Each volume in the Planetary Exploration series has been designed to introduce aspects of the solar system to young readers. The text has been illustrated with artwork which provides a scientifically accurate portrayal of features of the planet's surfaces, and gives such details as a sunrise over the rings of Saturn and the total eclipse of the sun.
48 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 1989
2 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 10, 2024
I can't recall how I came to own this thin, letter-sized book, which is part of a small planetary exploration series.
Obviously meant for youthful readers (but not patronizing them), it was published far too long ago (i.e., before even the Galileo mission) for all the information to still be accurate or complete. Well, the latter (completeness) I'm sure of; the former (accuracy), not so much. But at least I do seem to half-remember one detail about Europa that I really thought was incorrect -- I may be wrong. And overall, with the rather low level of detail, this shouldn't be a problem when presenting this volume as a fun and first introduction to our distant neighbour planet. If you happen [to stumble] across it, that is -- it seems to me to be a rather obscure release. I was almost surprised that someone had already added it to GR.
Text verdict: Somewhere between 2* & 3*, due to repetitive nature and depth being too variable. (Some details are very well addressed; others are glossed over.) Space was at a premium, it seems -- which is fine; but it may be that time was of the essence (i.e., rushing to publish?), too. In its defense, if this was the case, at least it did not lead to any editorial or typographical errors that I could discern. (Except from some repetitive phrases, perhaps -- which I'm sensitive too, it seems.)
Graphics assessment: adequate (3*) to very nice (4*), especially the imaginative paintings of the "massive" Jovian cloud decks. Those really impressed me -- and, I must now admit, the descriptive text accompanying them helped a lot in my attempts to imagine the composition and the astounding scale of Jupiter's colourful bands, and how they are layered.
Having said that, I'll conclude that the text on Jupiter itself (in the beginning of the book) did much more for me (at least 3*) than the brief 'chapters' about the moons and the V'ger and Pioner probes (and a nice, then-preview of the Galileo mission). The latter part, as such, receives the aforementioned 2*. Better to use online resources to learn about the moons and the spacecraft (the fair paintings notwithstanding).
But I would certainly recommend it, for the off chance that you have use for a physical book with artistic paintings and supportive text about the gass giant itself.
Obviously meant for youthful readers (but not patronizing them), it was published far too long ago (i.e., before even the Galileo mission) for all the information to still be accurate or complete. Well, the latter (completeness) I'm sure of; the former (accuracy), not so much. But at least I do seem to half-remember one detail about Europa that I really thought was incorrect -- I may be wrong. And overall, with the rather low level of detail, this shouldn't be a problem when presenting this volume as a fun and first introduction to our distant neighbour planet. If you happen [to stumble] across it, that is -- it seems to me to be a rather obscure release. I was almost surprised that someone had already added it to GR.
Text verdict: Somewhere between 2* & 3*, due to repetitive nature and depth being too variable. (Some details are very well addressed; others are glossed over.) Space was at a premium, it seems -- which is fine; but it may be that time was of the essence (i.e., rushing to publish?), too. In its defense, if this was the case, at least it did not lead to any editorial or typographical errors that I could discern. (Except from some repetitive phrases, perhaps -- which I'm sensitive too, it seems.)
Graphics assessment: adequate (3*) to very nice (4*), especially the imaginative paintings of the "massive" Jovian cloud decks. Those really impressed me -- and, I must now admit, the descriptive text accompanying them helped a lot in my attempts to imagine the composition and the astounding scale of Jupiter's colourful bands, and how they are layered.
Having said that, I'll conclude that the text on Jupiter itself (in the beginning of the book) did much more for me (at least 3*) than the brief 'chapters' about the moons and the V'ger and Pioner probes (and a nice, then-preview of the Galileo mission). The latter part, as such, receives the aforementioned 2*. Better to use online resources to learn about the moons and the spacecraft (the fair paintings notwithstanding).
But I would certainly recommend it, for the off chance that you have use for a physical book with artistic paintings and supportive text about the gass giant itself.
Displaying 1 of 1 review