Solar System

The Solar System offers an introduction to the geology of our solar system grounded in the author's unique background in both earth science and astrophysics. Written to be accessible to both the sciences and nonscience major, The Solar System provides the most up-to-date discussion of our current understanding of planetary formation. One the cover: Mars, as photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope, between April and May of 1999 when Mars was only 54 million miles from Earth, its closest approach in eight years. The area of dark sand dunes that surround the polar cap is composed of dark, sand-sized grains of pulverized volcanic rock. Below and to the left are the massive Martian canyon systems of Valles Marineris. Early morning clouds can be seen along the edge of the planet, and a large cyclonic storm composed of water ice is churning near the polar cap. (Photo an excerpted caption courtesy of NASA.)