Icy Worlds of the Solar System [Hardcover]

Pat Dasch (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 20, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0521640482 | ISBN-13: 978-0521640480

Scientists have only recently come to believe that the presence of ice is widespread in our solar system. Focusing on the occurrence and significance of water ice, and ices formed by other materials, this volume considers the implications of the reservoirs of water ice for the presence of life elsewhere in our solar system, and for habitability by human explorers who may venture to these distant worlds in the future. Pat Dasch is a consultant in the space industry specializing in policy and public outreach issues. She has written, published, and broadcast on a wide variety of space-related issues for the past twenty years. From 1997-2001 she served as Executive Director of the Washington, DC-based National Space Society.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Icy Worlds of the Solar System is an excellent little book ... the coverage is remarkably wide ... a book that will richly reward readers for the time they devote to it.' The Journal of the British Astronomical Association

'This book would be a good introduction for undergraduate students, as well as appealing to those with a layman's interest.' Spaceflight

'... there is much of value in this volume. ... To the majority of us ice is most familiar in a gin and tonic, as a surface for skating or an irritant on the winter morning commute, but this useful book provides a unifying theme that should be of interest to all geologists and astrobiologists.' Geological Magazine

Book Description

Scientists have only recently come to realize that the presence of ice is widespread in our solar system. Focusing on the occurrence and significance of water ice, and ices formed by other materials. this book considers the implications of the reservoirs of water ice for the presence of life elsewhere in our solar system, and for habitability by human explorers who may venture to these distant worlds in the future. The accessible text will be of interest to students and professionals in planetary science, geology, and related areas.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (September 20, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521640482
• ISBN-13: 978-0521640480
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,873,877 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars History and significance of ice in our solar system, March 22, 2005

By 

Jill Malter ([e-mail]) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Icy Worlds of the Solar System (Hardcover)

This is an recent, well-written, and very readable book about ice in our solar system. Pat Dasch clearly did a fine job as editor.

There is an introduction by Jonathan Lunine. We see the significance of solar system ice as the source of the Earth's water and of life. Robert Bindschadler then has a section on ice on Earth. He explains that Ice is 2 % of the Earth's water. Glaciation began 2.3 billion years ago, when the Earth was half its present age. And there's much more on the nature and history of our planet's ice.

There's clearly no reason to study ice on Venus, so Bryan Butler discusses the potential for finding ice on Mercury and the Moon. He thinks it is likely that ther are significant ice deposits on Mercury in permanently shaded regions in polar craters there. And there may be some on the Moon as well.

Next is a section by Tobias Owen on the role of icy planetesimals and indigenous rocks in providing our Earth with an atmosphere. After that, Michael Mellon discusses the nature of the Martian polar caps. Ice can exist only near the poles on Mars; nearer the equator, it simply sublimates. Paul Schenk then covers the solar system's icy satellites, including the terrain of the Jovian moons. And John Stansberry tells us about Triton, Pluto, and the Kuiper Belt.

The final chapter is by Dale Cruikshank, on comets. As we discover, comets appear to have supplied the Earth with a significant amount of water.

If we humans are going to explore the solar system, the amount of water on these surfaces may be of critical importance to us. In addition, the mechanisms that cause Earth to have as much water as it does may be present in other stellar systems, which could indicate something about the chances of life elsewhere in the Galaxy.

This is an interesting book for laymen and scientists, and I recommend it.