Seven Wonders Of The Solar System

Explores the world beyond the solar system and examines stars, galaxies, and the universe itself.

Ready for a wondrous celestial journey? This extraordinary book puts you right there in the middle of our solar system: breaking through colorful gaseous hazes; exploring the surface of red-hot or ice-cold planets; hurtling through rings of flying, frozen ice chunks; and rocketing on out to deep space. Astronomer David Aguilar is our navigator on these seven wonderful trips through space—journeys that someday may actually happen!

From earliest times, humans have wondered about the sky above them and have studied all visible objects. People began to identify differences between stars and planets, and as technology advanced with telescopes and space probes, they sought deeper understanding of the millions of bits of debris rocketing through the solar system. Scientists determined that most of these objects are left over from the creation of the planets and their moons. They classified these leftovers into categories such as asteroids, comets, and meteors. In this book, we'll explore seven wonders of asteroids, comets, and meteors. Ceres is a huge mountain-sized asteroid that orbits with other asteroids between Mars and Jupiter. Other marvels include Ganymede, the largest asteroid in the group called Earthgrazers or Near-Earth Objects, and Halley's comet, a ball of ice, that passes Earth every seventy-five or so years. We'll also explore the amazing impact that space debris can have on planets and moons. The Borealis Basin, a wondrous crater more than 5,000 miles across, formed when an asteroid collided with Mars in the ancient past. Then we will travel to the far-off Kuiper belt, where as many as 200 million icy bodies orbit, and wonder at the mystery of planetlike objects, such as Pluto and Charon. Finally, we ll can experience a space wonder firsthand by standing outside on a night in August to watch the spectacular Perseid meteor shower fill the sky.

From earliest times, humans have looked to the sky in wonder, and their wonder and curiosity fueled science. Ancient peoples built enormous temples and monuments to observe the sun and track the movement of stars. And as scientific knowledge expanded, technologies grew more sophisticated. Each development changed the way we viewed our place in the universe. But no technology changed our understanding more than the ability to launch scientific equipment and human explorers into space. In this book, we'll explore seven wonders of space technology. Scientists and engineers have built vehicles and equipment to explore the farthest reaches of the solar system. Orbiting satellites and telescopes have given us everything from more accurate weather reports to glimpses back to the beginning of the universe. International teams have built an orbiting space laboratory and are working on plans for human lunar settlements and missions to other planets. Learn about the people and the science behind these amazing advances in space technology.

This book conveys the thrill of observing strange and surprising features of the universe and the satisfaction gained by understanding them through modern science. Using simple analogies and a wealth of illustrations, Professor Narlikar skilfully steers us through a cosmic journey of discovery, starting from the Earth and solar system and stepping out to the farthest reaches of the universe. Each of the seven wonders represents a range of mysterious phenomena or a class of spectacular events or remarkable cosmic objects that have challenged human curiosity and often defied explanation.

Describes the geographic phenomena of the inner planets of the solar system and their moons, including the largest mountain of the planets, the deepest canyon, and the highest recorded temperatures.

The Sunday Times Bestseller In Wonders of the Solar System – the book of the acclaimed BBC TV series – Professor Brian Cox will take us on a journey of discovery where alien worlds from your imagination become places we can see, feel and visit.

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