Earth and the Moon

Linda T. Elkins-Tanton0-8160-5194-1

The physical make up of our home planet is covered in great depth in this book. The preface gives a brief historical overview of human observation of the skies. It also defines rotation, inclination, obliquity, and the different features of the planets. The chapters deal with the Earth’s interior, moment of inertia, the crust, the mantle, rheology, the solid and liquid cores, the magnetic field, temperatures, pressure, composition, the early evolution of the planet, surface features, volcanism, earthquakes, atmosphere, surface conditions, and weather. A special chapter covers the moon and its formation, evolution, crystallization of the Lunar Magma Ocean, meteorite bombardment, fossa, sulci, basins, volcanism, the interior, the surface features, remote sensing, magnetic fields, atmosphere, and missions to the moon. Except for a small block of color photographs in the middle of the book, all the diagrams and photographs are in black-and-white. The type is small but the page design allows for lots of interesting images, diagrams, and charts to add interest. This book is part of Chelsea House’s “The Solar System” series, which includes the titles Asteroids, Meteorites, and Comets; The Earth and the Moon; Jupiter and Saturn; Mars; The Sun, Mercury, and Venus; and Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and the Outer Solar System. Each title contains extensive back matter, including an index for both subject and illustrations; a list of organizations of interest; a glossary; a list of Internet resources; a bibliography; charts and tables for light, wavelength, and radiation measurements; and a list of all known moons. An appendix for units and measurements covers the fundamental units;compares Kelvin, Celsius, and Fahrenheit; lists the useful measures of distance; gives the definitions for electricity and magnetism; and lists some common prefixes.