The Planets: A Journey Through the Solar System - Hardcover

In the last 40 years the planets have been revealed in their full glory, unmasked by a fleet of satellites and interplanetary probes. And the closer we look, the more astonishing they are: Mars' deserts were once home to rivers and oceans; on Jupiter wind speeds reach 10,000 kph (6,000 mph) and storms rage for centuries; Saturn is surrounded by a swarm of 34 moons; and diamonds are believed to rain from Neptune's blue skies. Moving out from the Sun, every planet and moon is visited in a journey that takes us a full light year into space, out to the fringes of the solar system where the Sun is no longer the brightest star in the sky. With 200 spectacular images, The Planets follows the tracks of robotic rovers over Mars, plunges through Titan's atmosphere on the back of the Hugyens probe, smashes into a comet with Deep Impact, and voyages to the edge of our solar system to discover the frozen planets that lurk beyond the orbit of Pluto.

Giles Sparrow studied Astronomy at University College London, and works as an editor specializing in popular science. He is the author of - amongst other books - The Universe and How To See It, The Stargazer's Handbook and Hubble: Window on the Universe and was a major contributor to Dorling Kindersley's Universe.