The Distant Planets: Planetary Exploration

Davis, Don; Yeomans, Donald K.

ISBN 10: 0816020507 / ISBN 13: 9780816020508

Published by BLA Publishing, 1989

About this Item

Pictorial boards are chipped at tail and corners, black tape on spinecover at tip. Usual library/discard markings. Pages are clean, text has no markings. Size: 4to - over 9¾" - 12" Tall.

Seller Inventory # 220056S

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Distant Planets: Planetary Exploration
• Publisher: BLA Publishing
• Publication Date: 1989
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0816020507
• ISBN 13: 9780816020508
• Binding: Hard Cover
• Condition: Fair
• Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
• Book Type: Ex-Library

About this title

Synopsis

Discusses what is known of the occupants of the "deep freeze regions" of the solar system, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, based on current NASA data

Reviews

Grade 4-6-- A new formula series on topics astronomical, combining large, bright color paintings leavened with photos, cutaway views and charts, with a hasty but specific and up-to-date survey of the solar system. The authors, all scientists, describe the origin, inner and outer structures of the sun, and each planetary body, often with special emphasis on some intriguing special feature: the Valles Marineris on Mars, Saturn's complex rings, the moon's huge Mare Imbrium. Major moons get the same treatment; like the planets, each has a unique look and history. A number of space probe missions and findings are also summarized. The slant is occasionally unusual--our moon, for instance, gets a whole volume, the Earth only ten pages, and the asteroid belt is not discussed. Long captions and sidebar fact boxes supplement the text. Davis' paintings extend it considerably, with dramatic views of Jupiter's cloudscapes or various planetary surfaces, reconstructions of past cataclysms, a few (thankfully few) futuristic scenes, and artist's interpretations of recent photos, all done with an eye to accuracy and sometimes deceptive realism. Although books such as Lauber's Journey to the Planets (Crown, 1982) and Simon's splendid Jupiter and Saturn (both Morrow, 1985) are still the stars of the astronomy shelf, these will shed some light on the subject for researchers and browsers as well. --John Peters, New York Public Library
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.