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
exploration... 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: * Dramatic accounts of the
daring, resourcefulness, and ferocious competitive zeal of renowned
as well as almost-forgotten space pioneers. * Clear explanations of
the precursors to modern astronomy, including how ancient natural
philosophers and observers first took the measure of the heavens. *
More than a hundred informative photographs, maps, simulated
scenarios, and technical illustrations--many of them in full color.
* 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), Bond'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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