Atlas of Venus [Hardcover]

Peter Cattermole (Author), Patrick Moore (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521496527 | ISBN-13: 978-0521496520 | Publication Date: May 28, 1997

A combination of striking photos and lucid prose, this volume brings this mysterious planet to life. Well-known astronomers Peter Cattermole and Patrick Moore place Venus in the solar system and explain what information telescope observation has yielded. They then take us on a space-age trip to Venus exhibiting observations from orbiting space craft and probes, and, most significantly, the data-laden Magellan mission. An abundance of colorful illustrations showcase Venus' fascinating topography, including impact craters, highland massifs, and plains. The text is rounded out by a history of this intriguing planet and a gazetteer of Venusian place names. Several useful appendices of data complement the atlas. This book will delight amateur astonomers and will also serve as a helpful reference to professional astronomers and planetary scientists.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Amateur astronomers will enjoy Atlas of Venus, the most up-to-date book available on the geography and geology of Earth's non-identical twin planet. This colorful compendium of maps and pictures draws heavily from the Magellan spacecraft's radar imaging, some of it published here for the first time. As the authors point out, we have learned more about Venus in the last few decades--perhaps even in the last few years--than throughout the whole of human history. It's hardly the tropical paradise of 1950s science fiction, but a harsh world that may never witness human exploration due to the severity of its environment. In a way, its truly alien qualities make Venus all the more enticing.

Review

"Books on Venus have been either too technical or purely popular. Peter Cattermole and Patrick Moore have bridged the gap between these extremes with Atlas of Venus... an erudite and detailed book, eminently readable and superbly illustrated." David Hughes, New Scientist

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 159 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (May 28, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521496527
• ISBN-13: 978-0521496520
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #577,469 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #59 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Astronomy & Space Science > Comets, Meteors & Asteroids

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Venus done best, June 13, 2010

By 

Thomas Erickson (Lutz Fl and Felt Oklahoma) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Atlas of Venus (Hardcover)

Atlas of Venus is a great book by Peter Cattermole and Patrick Moore. For me it was too expensive to buy new so I got a good price used in good shape.

As an amateur astronomer of 40 years I have viewed Venus many times with my 20 inch telescope. Like everyone else I can see the phases of Venus but no definition due to clouds surrounding the planet. Ive got two other Venus books both 4 stars. One Venus had PHD math in it and the other Venus Revealed with black and white pictures only. This Atlas of Venus was just right 5 stars.

No heavy math here. SUPER fantastic.... right after the preface there are 6 full page full color images of Venus with the major land features labeled. Absolutely first class! The pictures of radar images taken from the Magellan spacecraft are black and white. There are some really nice red color pictures like on page 87 of 3 large impact craters in Lavinia Planita,and a spectacular computer generated view of the highland of Ovida Regio. Also there are false color images of Aphrodite Terra and more. Also there is a full color page of the Magellan spacecraft being prepared....very interesting. If you are like me you appreciate some color images.

The writings are mid level to high level writing. To get the most out of this book you must go slow and compare what is being said about Venus topology and compare it to the maps. Also I had to look up a few words I was not sure of. This is the kind of book you can come back dozens of times for reference when doing other Venus readings. Really enjoyed learning a little about the Russian spacecraft Venera 1-16 and the Vega 1 and 2 that contributed so much to our understanding of Venus as well as the US Mariner probes. Both countries are to be congratulated.

You don't need a PHD in Planetary Science to appreciate this book. However its not a kids book and not a book you can breeze through if you really want to get as much material out of it as possible. The Appendices are excellent. This is the book you can go back to if and when other probes are sent to Venus and you want to see approximately where the probe is.

Because of an over 800F degree temperature hot enough to melt lead, aluminum and some other metals, a crushing 93X Earth's atmospheric pressure, a terrible Sulphuric acid rain, and a lethal atmosphere of mostly CO2 INMO life as we know it can not live on Venus and man will probably never step foot on Venus. Unless.... we have a huge financial incentive.... we develop technology to harvest the 100X concentration of Earth's deuterium ( heavy hydrogen... has a neutron) on Venus for Fusion reactors or can harvest the deuterium from the atmosphere or develop technology to work on Venus.

A great learning book about Venus. Take your time and enjoy it. 5 stars.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book of Venus, December 17, 2007

By 

Mario M. Mares - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Atlas of Venus (Hardcover)

As a astronomy teacher, this is a terrific book on this planet! Not a lot of information on this planet, until the Magellan probe was launched, then only a little history from observation, speculation and actual missions from Russia and United States. With the arrival of Magellan probe and its radar imaging, we now get great photos of its landscape, lat/long coordinates, and a Nice Appendix of Venusian features with a description of those features names.