Customer Reviews

Encyclopedia of the Solar System

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Don't buy this book thinking it will be an entertaining reference for your twelve-year-old nephew who enjoys astronomy. This hefty tome is more akin to a college-level textbook than an encyclopedia. If you want to get a detailed, but not overly technical, overview of modern solar system science, this is the book for you.

Following a thematic progression, ranging outward from the Sun to other planetary systems, the Encyclopedia of the Solar System details the dynamics of motions and rotations, solar wind, planetary, geologic, and atmospheric conditions, as well as other processes in the formation of planets, satellites and the smaller bodies of our planetary environment. The Encyclopedia covers the latest observations employing planetary radar, radio, infrared, and ultraviolet wavelengths.

Features convenient glossaries of technical terms, over 700 illustrations, numerous color plates, extensive cross-referencing throughout, further readings, useful appendices, and a comprehensive 4,500 entry index. Readers and web denizens like me will particularly appreciate the convenience of using the accompanying website (academicpress.com/solar) to link to related on-line resources.

Keep watching the sky!

This is the best work I've read on the solar system, period. The text is wonderful but I dearly wish the author had included the American measuring system along with the metric one. I'm one of those old fogies who has to cogitate in the extreme in order to convert kilometers into miles. Oh, well.

Seriously, this book is a "must-have" for astronomy aficionados and for those who merely wish to brush up on their knowledge of our solar neighborhood.

I also wish the book had a sewn binding. Otherwise, it is a really great read and a "keeper".

If you are interested in the solar system in which you live in, this book is a must. It is very informative and complex, yet simple enough for the high school student. The absolute best book about our solar system.