Discovering the Solar System - Softcover

Jones, Barrie W.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0470018313 ISBN 13: 9780470018316

Publisher: Wiley, 2007

Synopsis

Discovering the Solar System, Second Edition covers the Sun, the planets, their satellites and the host of smaller bodies that orbit the Sun. This book offers a comprehensive introduction to the subject for science students, and examines the discovery, investigation and modelling of these bodies. Following a thematic approach, chapters cover interiors, surfaces and the atmospheres of major bodies, including the Earth. The book starts with an overview of the Solar System and its origin, and then takes a look at small bodies, such as asteroids, comets and meteorites.

Carefully balancing breadth of coverage with depth, Discovering the Solar System, Second Edition:

• Offers a comprehensive introduction, assuming little prior knowledge
• Includes full coverage of each planet, as well as the moon, Europa and Titan. The Second Edition includes new material on exoplanetary systems, and a general update throughout.
• Presents latest results from the Mars Rover and Cassini-Huygens missions
• Includes a colour plate section
• Contains ‘stop and think’ questions embedded in the text to aid understanding, along with questions at the end of major sections. Answers are provided at the end of the book.
• Provides summaries at the end of each chapter, and a glossary at the end of the book

Praise for the First Edition:

"(...) essential reading for all undergraduate students (...) and for those at a more advanced level approaching the subject for the first time." THE SCIENCE BOOK BOARD BOOK REVIEW

“One of the best books on the solar system I have seen. The general accuracy and quality of the content is excellent.” JOURNAL OF THE BRITISH ASTRONOMICAL ASSOCIATION

About this title

About the Author

Professor Barrie W. Jones, Professor of Astronomy, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.
Has been awarded the David Wynn-Williams Prize for services to Astrobiology, by the Astrobiology Society of Britain in 2006.

From the Back Cover

Discovering the Solar System, Second Edition is a comprehensive, up-to-date, account of the Solar System and the ways in which the various bodies have been investigated and modelled. The approach, well received in the first edition, is thematic - the book includes sequences of chapters on the interiors of planetary bodies, their surfaces, and their atmospheres. Within each sequence there is a chapter on general principles and processes, followed by either one or two chapters on specific bodies.

Liberally illustrated with diagrams, black and white photographs and colour plates, the book also features:

• Tables of essential data
• End of section questions with full answers
• Summaries at the end of each chapter

Discovering the Solar System, Second Edition is essential reading for all undergraduate students for whom astronomy or planetary science are components of their degrees as well as for those at a more advanced level approaching the subject for the first time. It is also suitable for anyone with a keen interest in astronomy. A small amount of scientific knowledge is assumed in addition to a familiarity with basic algebra and graphs.

The author is Emeritus Professor of Astronomy at the Open University, an institution dedicated to supported distance learning, where Professor Jones has acquired much a lot of experience in writing clear texts that promote active reading.

Liberally illustrated with diagrams, black and white photographs and colour plates, the book also features:

• Tables of essential data
• End of section questions with full answers
• Summaries at the end of each chapter

Discovering the Solar System, Second Edition is essential reading for all undergraduate students for whom astronomy or planetary science are components of their degrees as well as for those at a more advanced level approaching the subject for the first time. It is also suitable for anyone with a keen interest in astronomy. A small amount of scientific knowledge is assumed in addition to a familiarity with basic algebra and graphs.

The author is Emeritus Professor of Astronomy at the Open University, an institution dedicated to supported distance learning, where Professor Jones has acquired much a lot of experience in writing clear texts that promote active reading.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0470018313
• ISBN 13: 9780470018316
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 470