Customer Reviews

The Cambridge Guide to the Solar System

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

although this is an extensive and comprehensive guide to the solar system as understood in modern science, there are several editorial errors which let the publication down; the example that springs to mind is the mistake made in kepler's third law, written as P³ = a², which should read P² = a³; maybe nitpicking, but its a pretty bad error and there are others at several points which are misleading for anyone trying to understand the scientific model by which we explain the workings of our solar system. shame, because otherwise it has alot of information and is easily understandable.

This is a hugely informative compendium of current knowledge of our solar system. Included is up-to-date science, compiled from the missions of all the modern spacecraft, of all (make that most) of the planets plus all of their known moons; plus comets, asteroids, solar winds, magnetic fields, and everything else present in the solar system. A bonus is found in the beginning chapters of the book, which present the history of astronomical discovery by earthbound explorers, and also a large chapter on Earth itself. Included are informative treatises on the Earth's geology, topology, and atmosphere, setting up equally fascinating examinations of those topics on the other planets. Thus we get up-to-date and in-depth coverage of everything from the bizarre volcanoes of Venus to the encrusted oceans of Europa to the pink smog of Titan. Just watch out for some sneaky politics in the chapter on the Earth, as coverage of atmospheric changes leads to some not wholly appropriate comments on the political side of global warming. And while the book is uniformly fascinating and informative, one humbug for me is a nearly complete lack of coverage for Pluto. This is likely because we haven't yet been able to send a spacecraft there, and also because the creators of this book have followed the currently accepted scientific theory of Pluto as a non-planet that doesn't deserve the attention of the "real" planets. (In fact, Pluto is actually missing from the book's lists of planets of the solar system). Come on, cut the little guy some slack already! [~doomsdayer520~]

This book is written in a clear and easy to read style. If you are a novice on astronomy you will still be able to understand the text. At the same time this book offers enough in-depth and up-to-date information to satisfy the person who is more knowledgeable on the subject. The text is richly illustrated, with a multitude of photographs, charts, schematics, drawings etc.

The first three chapters of the book deal with general subjects like the history of astronomy, the forming of impact craters, the principles of volcanism in the solar system, the (presumed) existence of water on several solar objects, the characteristics of atmospheres of planets and Titan etc. etc. After this there are separate chapters about the earth, our moon, the asteroids, comets and all planets. Unexpectedly, although understandable in view of their similarities, Uranus and Neptune are put together in one chapter. Even more peculiar is the fact that there is not a separate chapter about Pluto and its companion Charon. They are described in four pages in one of the general chapters. So Pluto is not treated as a real planet but more as an object of the Kuiper-belt. The last chapter of the book is called "Worlds colliding" and deals with the impact in 1994 of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 into Jupiter, collisions of comets with the sun, existing impact craters on earth and the chances of disaster by incoming asteroids/meteoroids.

All in all I find this a very nice book that should appeal to both beginners in the field as to the more knowledgeable "amateur-astronomers" among us. In this way it is a "well balanced" book.

This book presents an excellent overview of our knowledge about the Solar System. The planets, their moons, asteroids and meteorites, Kuiper belt objects, and some information about exoplanets are presented. Many high-quality illustrations are present.

Back when I went to college and took a class in astronomy (I think the world was still considered to be flat) we studied all that known at the time about the sun and the planets. The amount of knowledge that we have learned about the solar system since that time makes this book seem to be almost a book on a different subject.

Now the planets have been photographed from spacecraft, and several from landers. Here are pictures from Sojourner rover as it moves around Mars. Here are men walking around on the Moon. Poor Pluto has been lowered in status to a mere Kuiper-belt object (Surprising in a book written before the recent decisions).

All in all, beautiful photographs (157 in color, 159 in B&W), clear line drawings (114), and clearly written text. The book is suitable for use as a text in undergraduate courses, and will have appeal to interested individuals.

Pluto IS still a planet, and it should be discussed in this book. The debate over whether dwarf planets is NOT over. Only four percent of the IAU voted on the controversial demotion, and most are not planetary scientists. Their decision was immediately opposed by hundreds of professional astronomers led by Dr. Alan Stern, Principal Investigator of NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto. Stern is the astronomer who first coined the term "dwarf planet," but he meant it to indicate a third class of planets, objects large enough to be rounded by their own gravity but not large enough to gravitationally dominate their orbits. He never intended for dwarf planets to not be considered planets at all. Any book that adopts one position, in this case the dynamics position, as the only one and does not inform readers that there is an entire different perspective, the geophysical definition, is not providing a complete picture of our solar system.

I ordered a text book in August. The book did not ship in the time frame that was stated in my order. The book did not arrive in the stated time frame. In fact, the book never shipped. I contacted the seller 4 times, and did not receive any communication back.
I sell books all the time on Amazon, and it is sellers like these that make us all look untrustworthy.