Few planets have gripped the human imagination like Mars -- artists fantasized about it as the source of alien invasions, while scientists, glimpsing dark markings on its red surface, thought they saw "vegetation" and "canals." But the truth about Mars is as fascinating as fiction, and an undisputed expert on the subject tells the full story, from the myths of the past to the facts gleaned by modern spacecraft. This well-illustrated, fascinating account explains its place in the solar system, as well as Mars' structure, surface, mountains, volcanoes, impact craters, ice-caps, atmosphere, and weather. Careful consideration is given to the possibility of life on the planet, both past and present, in light of the latest evidence.
Night falls over the equator and Phoebus rises from the west. It takes only 4 1/4 hours for this nearest moon to cross the sky--more than enough time for it to wax from new to full.
This is the enduring charm of Mars: the more you learn about it, the stranger it seems. Moore's sober, commonsense tale of discovery cannot help but be as much about the garish Mars of the imagination as it is about the physical planet--and the changes wrought upon that imaginary twin have been truly cataclysmic. Lowell's charming canals lie shattered beneath the gargantuan volcanic sierras of Olympus, Ascraeus, and Pavonis. The frozen carbon dioxide and thin hoarfrost of Mars's meager poles have vanished beneath huge quantities of water ice, bringing with it the nagging possibility of subterranean oceans and, every few tens of millions of years, an intermittent period of fertility.
Moore is better placed than most to give earlier observations and imaginations their due. When he wrote Guide to Mars in 1955, it was commonly believed that the dark areas of the planet's surface were due to vegetation. And, given all the advances in our understanding in the mere 40 years since, it seems perfectly natural for Moore to conclude his account by writing seriously about the likely shape of future colonies there.
A home astronomer's guide, a memoir, a history that ably demonstrates the interplay between scientific data and interpretation--however you read it, Patrick Moore on Mars is more poetic and inspiring than it knows. --Simon Ings, Amazon.co.uk
