Pluto and Charon: Ice Worlds on the Ragged Edge of the Solar System

by Alan Stern and Jacqueline Mitton

Book Overview

The exploration of the ninth planet, Pluto, its moon, Charon, and their relationship to the newly discovered Kuiper Belt, is a tale of perseverance, ingenuity and dedication on the part of the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471152978
• ISBN13: 9780471152972
• Release Date: November 1997
• Publisher: Wiley-Vch
• Length: 228 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Small, dark, cold and very exciting

As a resident of a small, dark, cold and remote place in Arctic Alaska, I join many of our 4,200 residents in protesting the demotion of Pluto to dwarf planet status. This book shows that as we explore the outer regions of the solar system, we are finding so much more than rock-solid, unchanging frozen outposts. Even before the New Horizons spacecraft reaches Pluto/Charon in 2015, the authors carefully summarize decades of precise science to learn a lot about this dynamic system We already know that Pluto has an atmosphere, and may resemble Neptune's surprisingly active moon Triton, which has ice geysers, long vapor and dust trails and evidence of a changing surface. We learn about the hard work, and frequent frustration as astronomers travel around the world to find vantage points when Charon passes in front of Pluto, or Pluto passes in front of a star. Imagine the challenges of observing such motions of small bodies more than 3 billion miles away! Get the book, keep it close, and we will all get ready for New Horizons to finally give us a close up view of this fantastic planet and moon

You want to become a Plutophile?

If you don't know much about the "King of the Kuiper Belt", read this book, and you will have a very clear scientific description of this "massive comet"...This book is complete, starting from the historic discovery (blind luck, really) of Pluto, the subsequent observations that kept on shrinking the planet, then the suprising discovery of Charon, the fortuitious Pluto/Charon occultation, and the latest HST results. Easy to read, and yet technical enough, this book will probably make you love this planet, even though it's only a big comet saved from destruction by its orbital resonance with Neptune... and will make you hate NASA (or the US Congress) for not going forward with their Pluto Express probe.

A Brand New Perspective On Our Solar System

A well written historic perspective on our outer-most-planet that by books' end will change your view of our solar system. A thoroughly enjoyable easy-to-read book. More hard science/discovery books should be written this way. It's not just the facts that are amazing but the proven-wrong theories we use to have on Pluto. Too bad we're still waiting for our first encounter with this mysterious planet. If history proves right, the Voyager probes were just another step in our discovering the 'real' solar system.

A truly, truly fun read

What I really liked about this book was the very irreverent tone which did not take away one bit from the scientific rigor of the presentation. The authors have a sense of humor and a genuine passion for their subject and it shows. I also liked the fact that in order to present the history of the Pluto/Charon system the book had to explain the latest hot-off-the-presses revolution in our understanding of the evolution of the Solar System. This was the first time I have been exposed to the idea of massive planets cleaning out all the early system planetisimals and the implications for the formation of the Kuiper Belt and other solar systems. It's rare to find a serious science book which is hard to put down, but this is it. Great exposition, great story, great book.

Good overview of the most distant planet

Just think, it was not that long ago that so little was known about Pluto that one would have been hard pressed to write more than a few paragraphs about this far-off world. Now we are fortunate to have an entire book, clearly written, about what scientists now know about Pluto and its moon Charon. Plutophiles should also attempt to locate the book OUT OF THE DARKNESS by Clyde Tombaugh (Pluto's discoverer) and Patrick Moore; and planet fans in general should certainly check out PLANET QUEST by Ken Croswell.