Planets: A Very Short Introduction Book pdf

David Rothery is professor of planetary geosciences at the Open University ,where he chairs a level 2 module Planetary Science and the Search for Life and a level 1 module Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Tsunamis. He serves on the Open University's Senate. From 1999 to 2004 he worked on the Beagle2 project led by Colin Pillinger. In 2006 he was appointed U.K. lead scientist for the MIXS (Mercury Imaging X-ray Spectrometer) on the joint European Space Agency/JAXA mission to Mercury named BepiColombo.He leads the European Space Agency's Mercury Surface & Composition Working Group in preparation for the BepiColombo mission,which was successfully launched on 20 October 2018. He has been a guest several times on The Sky at Night, and is frequently featured or quoted in TV, radio, print and online news stories about planetary science, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis.

Planets: A Very Short Introduction book pdf by David Rothery

From the rings of Saturn to the "canals" of Mars and the Great Red Dot of Jupiter, the planets of our Solar System have long fascinated humanity. Featuring many striking photos, this Very Short Introduction offers a fascinating portrait of the unique world of each planet as well as an illuminating discussion of moons, asteroids, and Trans-Neptunian objects. Leading planetary scientist David A. Rothery, who has chaired the European Space Agency's Mercury surface and composition working group since 2007, gives a stimulating overview of the origin, nature, and evolution of our Solar System, including the controversial issues of what qualifies as a planet, and what conditions are required for a planetary body to support life. He explains how the surfaces of planets and moons have been sculpted by geology, weather, and impacts by meteors and asteroids. Rothery shows how our knowledge has advanced over the centuries, and how it has expanded at a dramatic rate in recent years, going far beyond our Solar System to explore planets orbiting distant stars.