The journey to other worlds continues! Following the release of Mars 3-D comes a stunning three-dimensional tour of our celestial neighbor. Astronomer Jim Bell flies readers to the Moon, just in time to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s famous first steps on the lunar surface.
After a series of brief essays explaining the history and future of lunar exploration, the volume launches into a spectacular showcase of the best 3-D images available, taken by both robotic and human exploration missions; the pictures shot by the Apollo astronauts on their Moon walk receive special attention. In addition, an artistic selection of non-3D photos appears throughout, along with conceptual designs for future moon-based adventures.
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“The next best thing to landing on the Moon.”–Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 astronaut
“Your first three-dimensional look at the Moon will astound you. So will your next few thousand. But while you’re at it, read what Dr. Bell has to say. His insights will knock your moon-boots off.”—Bill Nye, Science Guy® and vice president of The Planetary Society
“Jim Bell once again brings a familiar neighbor down to Earth. But he also explores our romance with the Moon, not only as a perennial source of lore, but also as an object of fascination for scientists, and as the space-race destination of our dreams.”—Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist, American Museum of Natural History, author of Death By Black Hole and The Pluto Files.
“Jim Bell’s Moon 3-D provides a delightful sampling of Apollo's stereo-photographs and other images for the enjoyment of the viewer as well as the enlightenment of scientists.”—Dr. Harrison H. “Jack” Schmitt, Apollo 17 astronaut
About the Author
Dr. Jim Bell is currently a Professor at Arizona State University's School of Earth and Space Exploration in Tempe, Arizona, and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Astronomy at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. As President of The Planetary Society, he is an active and prolific public commentator on science and space exploration, earning the 2011 Carl Sagan Medal from the American Astronomical Society. Jim has appeared on numerous radio and television shows, including NBC's Today show and the PBS News Hour, as well as programs on the Discovery, National Geographic, and History cable channels. Author of Postcards from Mars, Mars 3-D, and Moon 3-D, he has been involved in such NASA robotic exploration missions as the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR), Mars Pathfinder, Mars Exploration Rovers, and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, to name a few. The main belt asteroid 8146 Jimbell is named in his honor.
Jim Bell is a scientist, author, and an extremely active and prolific public communicator of science and space exploration. He is a Professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University, an Adjunct Professor of Astronomy at Cornell University, and President of The Planetary Society. He is a frequent contributor to popular astronomy and science magazines like Sky & Telescope and Scientific American, and to radio shows and internet blogs about astronomy and space. He has appeared on television on the NBC "Today" show, on CNN's "This American Morning," on the PBS "Newshour," and on the Discovery and National Geographic cable channels. He has written a number of photography-oriented books that showcase some of the most spectacular images of the solar system and beyond acquired during the space program: "Postcards from Mars" (Dutton/Penguin, 2006), "Mars 3-D" (Sterling, 2008), "Moon 3-D" (Sterling, 2009), and "The Space Book" (Sterling, 2013)
Jim grew up in Rhode Island and received his B.S. in Planetary Science and Aeronautics from Caltech in 1987 and his Ph.D. in Geology & Geophysics from the University of Hawaii in 1992. His research primarily focuses on the geology, geochemistry, and mineralogy of planets, moons, asteroids, and comets using data obtained from telescopes and spacecraft missions. Jim spent 3 years as a National Research Council postdoctoral research fellow at NASA's Ames Research Center in the early 1990s.
Jim is an active planetary scientist and has been heavily involved in many NASA robotic space exploration missions, including the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR), Mars Pathfinder, Comet Nucleus Tour, Mars Exploration Rover, Mars Odyssey Orbiter, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, and the Mars Science Laboratory rover mission. As a member of the Mars Exploration Rover team, Jim has served as the lead scientist in charge of the Panoramic camera (Pancam) color, stereoscopic imaging system on the Spirit and Opportunity rovers. As a professional scientist, Jim has published more than 30 first-authored and 140 co-authored research papers in peer reviewed scientific journals, has authored or co-authored more than 400 short abstracts and scientific conference presentations, and has edited two scientific books for Cambridge University Press (one on the NEAR mission, the other on the surface composition of Mars). He has been an active user of the Hubble Space Telescope, and of ground based telescopes at Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii.
To arrange a speaking engagement with Jim Bell, please contact the Penguin Speakers Bureau at speakersbureau@us.penguingroup.com.
The reviews criticizing the 3-D effects in the book are unfair. Read the opening text and you will see that these are 3-D pictures made by the astronauts using a very crude method of leaning two directions to get two different angles of a scene. The photos were later processed to work in the red-green 3-D method. The resolution was as good as possible using the cameras available to the astronauts in the sixties and we should be grateful they exist at all.
Many of these photos have never been available in a book, Mr. Bell's text is excellent and my five year old son loves it all. I'm in agreement that perhaps separate 3-D glasses should have been included, instead of the viewer fixed to the book. It is a bit awkward to use, but as a father of small boys, I'm glad that the 3-D viewer can't get misplaced.
I also like the other 3-D book by the author, Mars 3-D. The 3-D effects in that one are a bit more effective, made with higher resolution cameras and technology.
You can believe everything good that Amazon reviewers have written about Moon 3-D: The Lunar Surface Comes to Life (Hardcover). I suggest that you also buy a good set of 3-D glasses (i.e., red-blue) as the ones built into the cover do not work very well, and would lead you believe everything bad that reviewers have written about this book. Amazon offers a good line of plastic full frame and clip on glasses for between 6 and 12 dollars which can also be used for certain videos.
Great fun, highly educational, etc. You can buy a pair of 3D glasses for pennies and use those if you don't like the built-in design, which I personally do (although viewing can sometimes be awkward, but you never lose your glasses this way). The quality of the 3D photos was addressed by another reviewer, but for all that they're not bad at all. Not quite as fun as Mars 3D, but a joy to read through. Definitely more interesting than a 2D book on the moon.
MOON 3-D: THE LUNAR SURFACE COMES TO LIFE is the next best thing to actually walking on the moon: it offers photos in 3-D with special built-in lenses that offer a 3-dimensional look at the moon. These 3-D photos were taken during robotic space and human exploration missions and include photos shot by the Apollo astronauts on their Moon walks. A perfect gift for any astronomy buff who would live the lunar experience!
I was surprised to hear that there were stereo images taken of the moon by our Astronauts. Stereo Images that were planned as part of a mission objective. But the camera used wasn't a stereo camera. It was a large format Hasselblad (65mm). And the simple act of clicking the shutter, advancing the film and leaning to the left or right, then retaking the same image from a slightly different perspective would capture the image in stereo -- A simple trick that could later be used to make 3D images. How simple! The results are astonishing! The fact that this information almost disappeared from history (until this book by Jim Bell) is reason enough to buy it. It makes a perfect compliment to the Mars stereo images.
The photos are small and the viewer is difficult to use. Instead of 3D glasses, the viewer is built into the book, so you have to hold it sideways to view the pictures. Some of the pictures are really striking, but some of the others are very hard to see the 3D effect.
Many of the photos are not of the moon at all, but of spacecraft and astronauts.
The 3D part of this book is not great, I think the technology is dated. The glasses (which are included as part of the book) are the old red/blue kind and the images don't really show themselves as 3D that well.
However the text part of the book is pretty neat. The first part of the book gives a pretty good short summary of the US space program with a little bit of the USSR program in it. The 2nd part of the book has some pretty good shots of the moon (with description) taken by the Apollo astronauts while they were on the moon.
Overall, a good primer for teens interested in our exploration of the moon.
This is the worst example of 3D imagery I have ever experienced. The registration is off, the viewer is difficult to use and and the images simply lack depth or are impossible to focus on. This book is a rip off. Intense disappointment.
