Planets: A Very Short Introduction

This Very Short Introduction discusses the nature of planets and gas giants, and their rings and moons. It also looks beyond Pluto, in the Kuiper Belt, at the knowledge we have about planets around other stars. With many striking photos to illustrate the details, it demonstrates the unique world of every planet.

Dr David Rothery became interested in astronomy as a schoolboy, and took a degree in geology at Cambridge University. He went on to a career in geological remote sensing at the Open University, where is now a senior lecturer chairing planetary science courses and doing research in volanology and planetary science. He has been involved in various lunar and martian missions, and is now lead scientist for an X-ray spectrometer to be flown to Mercury on the BepiColombo spacecraft, and has chaired the European Space Agency's Mercury surface and composition working group since 2007.