This book recounts the epic saga of how we as human beings have
come to understand the Solar System. The story of our exploration
of the heavens, Peter Bond reminds us, began thousands of years
ago, with the naked-eye observations of the earliest scientists and
philosophers. Over the centuries, as our knowledge and
understanding inexorably broadened and deepened, we faltered many
times, frequently labored under misconceptions, and faced seemingly
insurmountable obstacles to understanding. Yet, despite
overwhelming obstacles, a combination of determined observers,
brilliant thinkers, courageous explorers, scientists and engineers
has brought us, particularly over the last five decades, into a
second great age of human discovery.
At our present level of understanding, some fifty years into the
Space Age, the sheer volume of images and other data being returned
to us from space has only increased our appetite for more and more
detailed information about the planets, moons, asteroids, and
comets of the Solar System. Taking a much-needed overview of how we
now understand these "distant worlds" in our cosmic neighborhood,
Bond not only celebrates the extraordinary successes of planetary
exploration, but reaffirms an important truth: For seekers of
knowledge, there will always be more to explore.
An astonishing saga of explorationa ]
In this much-needed overview of "where we stand today," Peter
Bond describes the achievements of the astronomers, space
scientists, and engineers who have made the exploration of our
Solar System possible. A clearly written and compelling account of
the Space Age, the book includes:
a [ Dramatic accounts of the daring, resourcefulness,
andferocious competitive zeal of renowned as well as
almost-forgotten space pioneers.
a [ Clear explanations of the precursors to modern astronomy,
including how ancient natural philosophers and observers first took
the measure of the heavens.
a [ More than a hundred informative photographs, maps, simulated
scenarios, and technical illustrations--many of them in full
color.
a [ Information-dense appendices on the physical properties of
our Solar System, as well as a comprehensive list of 50 years of
Solar System missions.
Organized into twelve chapters focused on the objects of our
exploration (the individual planets, our Moon, the asteroids and
comets), Bonda (TM)s text shows how the great human enterprise of
space exploration may on occasion have faltered or wandered off the
path, but taken as a whole amounts to one of the great triumphs of
human civilization.
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