The Moons of Jupiter (Hardcover)

by Kristin Leutwyler (Author), John R. Casani (Afterword) "In this photograph, spiraling clouds colored in shades of rose, olive and white, like veins running through smooth marble, blow across Jupiter's equator and fade..." (more)
Key Phrases: irregular moons, chaotic terrain, loo kilometers, Galileo Orbiter, Sippar Sulcus, Great Red Spot (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
A spectacular tour of the moons of Jupiter in 106 stunning NASA images.

Launched in 1989, Project Galileo is NASA's most ambitious interplanetary mission to date. The Galileo spacecraft is scheduled to crash into Jupiter's turbulent atmosphere in September 2003, nearly nine years after it entered orbit around the mighty planet. During this time, Galileo made a number of startling discoveries and transmitted more than 6,000 images of Jupiter and its many moons.

This book explores Jupiter's moons: Io, which simmers with more than 100 active cauldrons and spews lava fountains some 5,000 feet high; Europa, encrusted with salt-stained ice that may hide a once-living subterranean sea; Ganymede, the only moon in our solar system known to generate its own magnetic field; and Callisto, which may harbor a buried ocean and is one of the oldest and possibly unchanged places in our solar system; as well as Jupiter's so-called inner moons and thirty-two additional minor moons. It shows that the Jovian system is like none we know. 106 color illustrations.

About the Author
Kristin Leutwyler was a staff editor and online editorial director at Scientific American magazine, where she wrote regularly about Jupiter and its moons. John R. Casani was the original project manager for the Galileo mission.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co. (October 6, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393050602
• ISBN-13: 978-0393050608
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 9.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #743,509 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Mythology and poetic descriptions, December 29, 2003

By	Robert "rjames5174" (New York, New York United States) - See all my reviews

This book suffers greatly from the text - poetic descriptions of the images ('...notice there are white gossamer snow flake patterns with jewel-like rays over a greenish background...') (my paraphrase) are annoying - the images are there to see for ourselves. Extensive mythological backgrounds for the names (of which there are a very large number) of every moon, every crater, every mountain ('...W who is the son of the god of X and married the goddess of fate Z and then killed Z's father after he...') (paraphrase) are usually as long as the accounts of scientific facts. A three paragraph blurb will have one of mythology, one of poetic description, and one will be informative. Buy this book for the pictures.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice picture book of probe-photos, with a disappointing text. 4.4 stars, January 25, 2006

By	Peter D. Tillman (Taos, NM USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

____________________________________________

A nice picture book of, you guessed it.... basically Galileo's Big Four, but with a few of the minor moons tossed in for extra flavor. Photos from all the probes so far (to 2002), with a nice variety of surface features. Sure, you can get all these (and a lot more!) online, but there's a lot to be said for a book (especially if you're still on dialup), and an editor's discerning eye. The color printing is pretty good, as good as the 'originals' (slow-scan digital TV images, transmitted a long, long way, and *heavily* processed).

The one big flaw, in my opinion, is the self-consciously arty text, heavy on classical allusions (to the mythical names, mostly). But these are easily skimmed or skipped. The big strength is a good selection of probe-photos, nicely reproduced & reasonably priced. Given the widespread dissatisfaction expressed in the reviews below, however, it might be best to borrow it from your library before buying.

Per RA Levien's review, "...the book is printed on the too-glossy paper of low-quality coffee table books that makes is prone to smudging and glare, so the few decent images the book contains are hard to enjoy." This isn't true of the copy (first edition, first printing) in front of me, a well-used library copy.


Happy reading--
Peter D. Tillman
Consulting Geologist, Tucson & Santa Fe (USA)

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A SADLY BOTCHED JOB - GALILEO DESERVES BETTER, November 26, 2003

By A Customer

The story of Galileo is an exciting exploration success story, and through this craft we gained an incredible trove of new information about the Jovian moons. The pictures are unrivaled in sheer, mysterious beauty. Unfortunately, however, this book seems hastily thrown together. The text is riddled with errors and misconceptions that competent editing could have caught. Many of the photos are quite poorly reproduced. Save your money for a more satisfying treatment.