The Planets: A Journey Through the Solar System

by Giles Sparrow

Book Overview

With nearly 200 spectacular images, this book follows the tracks of robotic rovers over Mars, plunges through Titan's atmosphere on the back of a Hugyens probe, smashes into a camel with Deep Impact,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1848661746
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: Quercus
• Weight: 400.00 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Superb; A Picture Truly Says a Thousand Words!

An old proverb that has proven its correctness once again in this illustrated Journey through the solar system "THE PLANETS". Pick an interesting topic such as the planets, provide the most astounding images and present in an elegant layout and you have a masterpiece for everyone to enjoy. The stunning pictures in the book with a little commentary before each object and footnotes make this an item to be presented in a museum. That aside, the book is a must for everyone; yes even those who have no inkling interest in the solar system and the planets; will even enjoy the beauty of our celestial neighbours. In this book, you embark on a remarkable journey probing the Sun with images that reveal the most spectacular details through different lenses and wavelengths. Visit Mercury the obscure planet; unveil the shroud of Venus to see a truly alien and mysterious world. Earth, our home gets its fair share of images that best illustrate its uniqueness and special place in the cosmos. Take a Giant Step to the Moon and see the magnificent desolation, even Neil Armstrong's foot step has a picture that illustrates Mankind's dreams and accomplishments. Continue on your trek to the "Red Planet - Mars" and see geological features that are familiar yet alien. Navigate to the Asteroid belt and beyond to the outer planets; see Jupiter and its moons, Saturn with its magical rings and Moons. Take a peek at the wonders of Uranus and Neptune and finally end your journey with a few strange "Ice Worlds" and Comets including our beloved Pluto. Do not buy this book to place it on the shelf, buy this book to read it, enjoy it and share it! It can be a wonderful gift to the young minds to inspire their imagination, or for those who are so busy with life chores that have forgotten that there is beauty and magnificence all around. There are books with a more information, some are dedicated to each planet or moon, but this is "Superb; a Picture Truly Says a Thousand Words!"

Doorway to a fascination with science

My 8 year old son spends hours and hours and hours and hours...did I say hours and hours? ...looking at this book. He scrutinizes every photo and every word on every page, and there's always something new to find. If you ask him what his favorite planet or moon is, he'll give you a different answer every day. This is an extraordinary book for budding young minds, no child can resist it.

Simply Beautiful

I looked through this while waiting for an appoinment. I am so glad that they kept me waiting so that I could finish this book. The images of the planets of our solar system in this book are among the most stunning I have ever seen. Each image is accompanied by a brief description on the bottom that does not intrude into the photography. Satisfies both of my interests of astronomy and photography. Now I am waiting for my own copy!

Great for Education

I used this book to supplement the textbook when teaching an 8th grade unit on astronomy. I thought the kids would think looking at a picture book was totally lame, but they loved it. The pictures in this book are so detailed and incredibly large (which makes it great for the classroom). There are even pictures that show the surface of Venus through its thick atmosphere, close ups of Jupiter's roiling storms and a head-on shot of Saturn's rings that show you how thin they are. Coverage of the most striking moons is also given. The information is brief, but satisfying and readable for all levels.

Simply stunning

This book contains some of the most stunning images of the sun and the planets in our solar system. The quality of the paper and printing is excellent. Each of the planets is covered with a brief but informative page of current information (late 2006) accompanied by very high resolution images from the latest probes and satellites. If you have any interest in astronomy or science in general, this book will not disappoint. I picked it up at a local store on clearance for ten bucks and was amazed at the beauty of the book as I went through it. I'm planning on picking up one or two more copies to give as gifts. Being a long-time photographer and amatuer astronomer, I'm not easily impressed with most books of this type, but Sparrow did a great job assembling this information and these images.