Delaware County District Library

When the Earth had two moons, cannibal planets, icy giants, dirty comets, dreadful orbits, and the origins of the night sky, Erik Asphaug

Label
When the Earth had two moons, cannibal planets, icy giants, dirty comets, dreadful orbits, and the origins of the night sky, Erik Asphaug
Language
eng
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages [305]-344) and index
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
index present
Literary Form
non fiction
Main title
When the Earth had two moons
Nature of contents
bibliography
Responsibility statement
Erik Asphaug
Sub title
cannibal planets, icy giants, dirty comets, dreadful orbits, and the origins of the night sky
Summary
In 1959, the Soviet probe Luna 3 took the first photos of the far side of the moon. Even in their poor resolution, the images stunned scientists: the far side is an enormous mountainous expanse, not the vast lava-plains seen from Earth. Subsequent missions have confirmed this in much greater detail. How could this be, and what might it tell us about our own place in the universe? As it turns out, quite a lot. Fourteen billion years ago, the universe exploded into being, creating galaxies and stars. Planets formed out of the leftover dust and gas that coalesced into larger and larger bodies orbiting around each star. In a sort of heavenly survival of the fittest, planetary bodies smashed into each other until solar systems emerged. Curiously, instead of being relatively similar in terms of composition, the planets in our solar system, and the comets, asteroids, satellites and rings, are bewitchingly distinct. So, too, the halves of our moon. In When the Earth Had Two Moons, esteemed planetary geologist Erik Asphaug takes us on an exhilarating tour through the farthest reaches of time and our galaxy to find out why.
Table Of Contents
Ruined structures -- Rocks in a stream -- Systems inside systems -- Strange places and small things -- Pebbles and giant impacts -- The last ones standing -- A billion earths
Classification

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