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A fascinating look at extraterrestrial volcanoes in our Solar
System. The volcano - among the most familiar and perhaps the most
terrifying of all geological phenomena. However, Earth isn't the
only planet to harbour volcanoes. In fact, the Solar System, and
probably the entire Universe, is littered with them. Our own Moon,
which is now a dormant piece of rock, had lava flowing across its
surface billions of years ago, while Mars can be credited with the
largest volcano in the Solar System, Olympus Mons, which stands
25km high. While Mars's volcanoes are long dead, volcanic activity
continues in almost every other corner of the Solar System, in the
most unexpected of locations. We tend to think of Earth volcanoes
as erupting hot, molten lava and emitting huge, billowing clouds of
incandescent ash. However, it isn't necessarily the same across the
rest of the Solar System. For a start, some volcanoes aren't even
particularly hot. Those on Pluto, for example, erupt an icy slush
of substances such as water, methane, nitrogen or ammonia, that
freeze to form ice mountains as hard as rock. While others, like
the volcanoes on one of Jupiter's moons, Io, erupt the hottest
lavas in the Solar System onto a surface covered in a frosty
coating of sulphur. Whether they are formed of fire or ice,
volcanoes are of huge importance for scientists trying to picture
the inner workings of a planet or moon. Volcanoes dredge up
materials from the otherwise inaccessible depths and helpfully
deliver them to the surface. The way in which they erupt, and the
products they generate, can even help scientists ponder bigger
questions on the possibility of life elsewhere in the Solar System.
Fire and Ice is an exploration of the Solar System's volcanoes,
from the highest peaks of Mars to the intensely inhospitable
surface of Venus and the red-hot summits of Io, to the coldest,
seemingly dormant icy carapaces of Enceladus and Europa, an unusual
look at how these cosmic features are made, and whether such active
planetary systems might host life.
'A promising debut.' New Scientist Icy, rocky, sometimes dusty,
always mysterious - comets and asteroids are among the Solar
System's very oldest inhabitants, formed within a swirling cloud of
gas and dust in the area of space that eventually hosted the Sun
and its planets. Locked within each of these extra-terrestrial
objects is the 4.6-billion-year wisdom of Solar System events, and
by studying them at close quarters using spacecraft we can coerce
them into revealing their closely-guarded secrets. This offers us
the chance to answer some fundamental questions about our planet
and its inhabitants. Exploring comets and asteroids also allows us
to shape the story of Earth's future, enabling us to protect our
precious planet from the threat of a catastrophic impact from
space, and maybe to even recover valuable raw materials from them.
This cosmic bounty could be as useful in space as it is on Earth,
providing the necessary fuel and supplies for humans as they voyage
into deep space to explore more distant locations within the Solar
System. Catching Stardust tells the story of these enigmatic
celestial objects, revealing how scientists are using them to help
understand a crucial time in our history - the birth of the Solar
System, and everything contained within it.
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