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The Solar System
Series: Kosmos
Brief Description
An inviting expedition across our galactic neighbourhood, from Mercury to the Sun's furthest satellites, complete with the latest discoveries. The Space Age probes to the Moon, Venus and Mars ushered in a golden age of planetary science, transforming planets from distant mysteries into vividly realised worlds....
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Format: Hardback
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The Solar System
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Description
An inviting expedition across our galactic neighbourhood, from Mercury to the Sun's furthest satellites, complete with the latest discoveries.
The Space Age probes to the Moon, Venus and Mars ushered in a golden age of planetary science, transforming planets from distant mysteries into vividly realised worlds. The Solar System provides a comprehensive, accessible survey of the entire solar system, covering all major planets from Mercury to Saturn, the outer solar system, and asteroids.
It includes insights from leading scientists through in-person interviews, offering an engaging overview for general readers and amateur astronomers. Noting Earth's small, beautiful and precarious nature, this book fills a unique niche, presenting the latest discoveries without losing sight of the broader picture, making it essential for anyone interested in our celestial neighbourhood.
Series: Kosmos
View all-
Mercury
The last of the five naked-eye planets discovered in ancient times, Mercury has long been an elusive, enigmatic world. As seen from the Earth, it never emerges far from the Sun, and astronomers in the telescopic era found it challenging to work out such basic data as its rotation period, the inclination of its axis, and whether or not it...Hardback$6999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Venus
This new and beautifully illustrated account of Venus delves into the most recent research about this mysterious, inhospitable world. It examines the history of our observations of the planet, ranging from early astronomy to upcoming space missions. The book seeks to answer several unresolved questions, such as why Venus and Earth, despite being so similar in size and mass, have...Hardback$5799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Uranus and Neptune
The most distant planets in our solar system, Uranus and Neptune were unknown by the ancients. Uranus was discovered in the 1780s and Neptune only in the 1840s. Our discovery and observation of both planets have been hampered by their sheer distance from Earth: there has only been one close encounter, the Voyager 2 mission in the late 1980s. The...Hardback$5799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Greatest Adventure
The space race was perhaps the greatest technological contest of the 20th century. It was a thrilling era of innovation, discovery, and exploration, as astronauts and cosmonauts were launched on space missions of increasing length, complexity, and danger. The Greatest Adventure traces the events of this extraordinary period, describing the initial string of Soviet achievements: the first satellite in orbit;...Hardback$5999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Solar Eclipses
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Asteroids
Grounded in historical studies of asteroids from the nineteenth century, Asteroids is a fully up to date view of these remarkable objects. Without resorting to any technical plots or mathematics, the author shows that asteroids are not just rocks in space, but key to understanding the life and death on Earth of both animals and humans. From space missions to...Hardback$5999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Soviets in Space
In this deeply researched chronology, Colin Burgess describes the Soviet Union's extraordinary success in the pioneering years of space exploration. Within a decade, the Soviets not only launched the world's first satellite but were the first to send an animal and a human being into Earth orbit. More than that, their ground-breaking missions sent a woman into space, launched a...Hardback$5799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Jupiter
Jupiter is the grandest of all planets. It is by far the largest planet in the solar system and among the brightest objects in the night sky, and its calming presence has inspired humans for centuries. Jupiter was the 'beloved star' of the ancient Sumerians and Babylonians, the first serious observers of the planets, and the Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft...PaperbackSold Out
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781836390640
Publisher: Reaktion Books
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 01 August 2025
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Reaktion Books
Illustration: 110 illustrations, 80 in colour
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Width: 171.0mm
Height: 220.0mm
Weight: 250g
Pages: 408
About the Author
William Sheehan is a noted historian of astronomy, writer and retired psychiatrist. His books include Mercury (2018), Saturn (2019) and Venus (2022) in Reaktion's Kosmos series. He lives in Arizona, and asteroid 16037 is named Sheehan in his honour.
Clifford J. Cunningham is a Research Fellow at the University of Southern Queensland and Associate Editor of the Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage. His books include Asteroids (2021) in Reaktion's Kosmos series. Asteroid 4276 (Clifford) is named in his honour.
Also by William Sheehan
View all-
Mercury
The last of the five naked-eye planets discovered in ancient times, Mercury has long been an elusive, enigmatic world. As seen from the Earth, it never emerges far from the Sun, and astronomers in the telescopic era found it challenging to work out such basic data as its rotation period, the inclination of its axis, and whether or not it...Hardback$6999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Venus
This new and beautifully illustrated account of Venus delves into the most recent research about this mysterious, inhospitable world. It examines the history of our observations of the planet, ranging from early astronomy to upcoming space missions. The book seeks to answer several unresolved questions, such as why Venus and Earth, despite being so similar in size and mass, have...Hardback$5799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Solar Eclipses
For millennia, solar eclipses have stirred awe and fear. Once seen as omens, they are now celebrated as rare spectacles that unite science and wonder. This accessible, richly illustrated book explores their cultural, emotional and scientific significance, from ancient myths to modern eclipse-chasing expeditions. It traces how eclipses helped unlock secrets of the Sun, and why witnessing one inspires powerful...Hardback$5999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Jupiter
Jupiter is the grandest of all planets. It is by far the largest planet in the solar system and among the brightest objects in the night sky, and its calming presence has inspired humans for centuries. Jupiter was the 'beloved star' of the ancient Sumerians and Babylonians, the first serious observers of the planets, and the Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft...PaperbackSold Out
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