The Story of the Solar System

By Mark A. Garlick

The bodies of our Solar System have orbited continously around the Sun since their formation, but they have not always been there, and conditions have not always been as they are today. The Story of the Solar System explains how our Solar System came into existence, how it has evolved and how it might end billions of years from now. After a brief historical introduction, Mark Garlick describes the birth of the Sun and the steps that built up the bodies of the Solar System. Vivid illustrations of planets, moons, asteroids and comets complement the detailed descriptions. A comparison of these objects, and an analysis of how they have changed and evolved since birth is followed by a look towards the end of the Solar System's existence. Mark A. Garlick obtained his PhD in astrophysics from the Mullard Space Science Laboratory in Surrey, England. He is a member of the International Association of Astronomical Artists, and currently works as a freelance science writer and astronomical illustrator.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0521803365
• ISBN13: 9780521803366
• Release Date: March 2002
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 2.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 9.7" x 11.1"

Customer Reviews

Great artwork, nice writing but at an introductory level

Don't buy this book if you are looking for an in-depth, extensive coverage of the history of our solar system. There are much better, more informative books on this subject, e.g. the Cambrige Guide to the Solar System or The New Solar System (both also from Cambridge University Press). Nevertheless, the author does a good job in telling this history in a splendid, non-technical and 'epic' language, like a great adventure starring the sun, the planets, the comets and the asteroids, from their first beginnings in a giant molecular cloud composed of interstellar dust to the tragic death of our sun after some 10 billion years (!), leaving our earth as a cold dead world (there's a very beautiful, eery, surreal painting of this blackened dead earth in this book, with the sun as a tiny white spot flickering in the dark sky). Very impressive writing, sublime at times, as if you were actually there, floating between the stars, watching the conception and development of our solar system unfolding before your own eyes. A good book for the novice, I would say, maybe best suited to the teenage cosmologists of the world. The best thing this book has to offer is the paintings, by the author himself (he is from 1968, working for Sky and Telescope, and also an astronomer), which are truly spectacular. I suspect they are the true reason why this book was written. You can get an impression of his 'glorious realist' style by visiting his website. So, buy this book if you like a good cosmological narrative and nice space artwork. Leave it, if you're more scientifically interested.