The Earth's Moon

by Isaac Asimov

Book Overview

Examines the many facets and puzzles of our Moon, including its phases and eclipses, its early discoveries and modern exploration, and its possible origins and future prospects. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 155532357X
• ISBN13: 9781555323578
• Release Date: March 1988
• Publisher: Gareth Stevens Publishing
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Age Range: 8 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 3 and higher

Customer Reviews

Asimov proves that his writing talent extends to writing for children

Although humans have walked the surface of the moon, there are still many major unanswered questions regarding what it is made of and how it was formed. When compared to the other planet-moon systems in the solar system, the relative sizes of the Earth and the moon is a distinct oddity. In many ways, the Earth-Moon system has more of a double planet structure rather than a primary-satellite relationship. This has led to a great deal of speculation that the tides generated by the moon had a very positive effect on the development of life on Earth. Since the moon is the closest celestial body and dominates the night sky, it has been used for many purposes over the years. The phases of the moon are regular enough to be used as a primary calendar; the Christian holiday of Easter is based on the cycles of the moon rather than the days of the calendar year. Once again Isaac Asimov is at his best in explaining complex scientific concepts at a level that young people can understand. He manages to pack a reasonably complete description of the role the moon has had in human history with a recapitulation of the current knowledge as well as speculation as to how it was created. I strongly recommend this book for elementary school courses in science.