Lives of the Planets: A Natural History of the Solar System

Lives of the Planets describes a scientific field in the midst of a revolution. Planetary science has mainly been a descriptive science, but it is becoming increasingly experimental. The space probes that went up between the 1960s and 1990s were primarily generalists-they collected massive amounts of information so that scientists could learn what questions to pursue. But recent missions have become more focused: Scientists know better what information they want and how to collect it. Even now probes are on their way to Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Pluto, with Europa-one of Jupiter’s moons-on the agenda. In a sweeping look into the manifold objects inhabiting the depths of space, Lives of the Planets delves into the mythology and the knowledge humanity has built over the ages. Placing our current understanding in historical context, Richard Corfield explores the seismic shifts in planetary astronomy and probes why we must change our perspective of our place in the universe. In our era of extraordinary discovery, this is the first comprehensive survey of this new understanding and the history of how we got here.

Richard Corfield received his doctorate from Cambridge University and was previously an Earth Scientist and Science Writer at Oxford University. He is currently a Senior Lecturer and Researcher in the Centre for Earth, Planetary, Space and Astronomical Research at the Open University, where he was intimately involved in both the Beagle 2 and Huygensmissions. He is the author of two widely acclaimed books, The Silent Landscape and Architects of Eternity. He lives in Oxfordshire, England.