Worlds Fantastic, Worlds Familiar: A Guided Tour of the Solar System

Join Bonnie J. Buratti, a leading planetary astronomer, on this personal tour of NASA's latest discoveries. Moving through the Solar System from Mercury, Venus, Mars, past comets and asteroids and the moons of the giant planets, to Pluto, and on to exoplanets, she gives vivid descriptions of landforms that are similar to those found on Earth but that are more fantastic. Sulfur-rich volcanoes and lakes on Io, active gullies on Mars, huge ice plumes and tar-like deposits on the moons of Saturn, hydrocarbon rivers and lakes on Titan, and nitrogen glaciers on Pluto are just some of the marvels that await readers. Discover what it is like to be involved in a major scientific enterprise, with all its pitfalls and excitement, from the perspective of a female scientist. This engaging account of modern space exploration is written for non-specialist readers, from students in high school to enthusiasts of all ages.

Author: Bonnie J. Buratti
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 02/09/2017
Pages: 250
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.29lbs
Size: 9.37h x 6.22w x 0.70d
ISBN: 9781107152748

About the Author
Buratti, Bonnie J.: - Bonnie J. Buratti is a Senior Research Scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. With expertise on icy moons, comets and asteroids, she holds degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Cornell University, New York. She is currently serving on the Cassini and New Horizons science teams, and is the US Project Scientist for Rosetta. She is a past Chair of the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society, and advises NASA. The author of over 200 scientific papers, Buratti was awarded the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal and the International Astronomical Union named asteroid 90502 'Buratti' in recognition of her work.