Europa - The Ocean Moon: Search For An Alien Biosphere (Springer Praxis Books / Geophysical Sciences) [Hardcover]

Richard Greenberg (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 3540224505 | ISBN-13: 978-3540224501 | Publication Date: January 12, 2005 | Edition: 1

This story of the Galileo spacecraft probe to Jupiter`s moon provides a unique understanding of the Galileo images of Europa, and examines in detail the physical setting that might sustain extra-terrestrial life in Europa's ocean and icy crust.

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the reviews: "This book tells the story of the Galileo spacecraft probe to Jupiter’s moon, Europa. It provides a detailed description of the physical processes … . The book reviews and evaluates the interpretative work carried out to date, providing a philosophical discussion of the scientific process of analyzing results and the pitfalls that accompany it. … provides a unique understanding of the Galileo images of Europa … ." (Lunar and Planetary Information Bulletin, 2005) "Greenberg (Univ. of Arizona) offers a very intriguing book that evaluates the scientific evidence for a thin ice crust on the Jovian moon Europa. … The explanation of Greenberg’s theory is clear and concise. Just about any undergraduates, not just geology and astronomy majors, should be able to understand the concepts. … Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers; lower-division undergraduates through faculty." (J.R. Kraus, CHOICE, September, 2005) "Richard Greenberg has written a book that lays out an explanation … of what the cameras of the Voyager and Galileo missions saw on the surface of Europa. … The book is beautifully produced and edited by Springer and is well illustrated and indexed. An entire section is given to reference, which greatly increases the value of the book. … For science and scientific insight I highly recommend the book … ." (Michael J.S. Belton, Meteoritics & Planetary Science, Vol. 40 (4), 2005) "Being at the forefront of science is exhilarating on its own. Sharing the wonders with other people increases the satisfaction even more. Richard Greenbergs Europa, The Ocean Moon summarizes his research and that of his colleagues resulting from the Galileo probes mission to Jupiter. Europas ice surface may seem haphazard in construct but with intuition and perception, we can see how science can make reason out of this exotic world." (Mark Mortimer, Universe Today, 15 February 2006) "I was delighted to be invited to review this book. … In this book, I thought, I would find Greenberg’s overview of Europa … . I was right, but there is an additional dimension that made the book an even more fascinating … read than I had anticipated. … is explained with great clarity, and the book can be recommended as a well-illustrated text from which to learn about current interpretations of Europa." (Astronomy & Geophysics, Vol. 46, 2005)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 395 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (January 12, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3540224505
• ISBN-13: 978-3540224501
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,072,463 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars explains Galileo results, November 5, 2006

By 

W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Europa - The Ocean Moon: Search For An Alien Biosphere (Springer Praxis Books / Geophysical Sciences) (Hardcover)

As one after the other of the planets seems so bereft of life, Europa holds a unique position. It has a frozen over ocean. Plus, in its orbit, there is the prospect of residual volcanism and tidal and magnetic effects providing a raw energy driver for life to have emerged and be sustained.

So the text gives the results of the Galileo probe. You get an appreciation for the difficulties surmounted. Every so often, NASA really does an amazing job. Fascinating observaitions, but these beg for more insight. Necessitates another probe, this time with even better technology for remote sensing. Given that Galileo was launched in the late 80s, think how much better computing resources we could now put into its successor!

The book certainly has more than just findings from Galileo. It also discusses our changing and improving understanding of how to model vastly different biospheres. But the text is clearly dominated by the real Galileo results. Not just speculation.

Portions of the book will be beyond the lay reader. But there's enough that is well written and accessible to everyone.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Read, March 22, 2008

By 

Mark Pietroski "xenophilia" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Europa - The Ocean Moon: Search For An Alien Biosphere (Springer Praxis Books / Geophysical Sciences) (Hardcover)

I admit it--I'm a planetary science junkie and this is (to my knowledge) the only book available solely devoted to Europa. And it's an interesting world indeed, with a probable 60 mile deep ocean under a planet wide, largely uncratered, ice sheet. The bulk of the book explores the likelihood of the existance of this ocean and the implications it could have to a possible biosphere. Maybe life in the seas of Europa? That's a question that will have to wait for future missions. One note of caution, some chapters contain material may be beyond the comfort level of the casual reader. Nonetheless, there is plenty here to muse upon.