Bookraft

Astronomy Special Issue - Mars February 2006

Kalmbach Pubishing features such magazines as Model Railoader, Astronomy and other specialty magazines and they certainly know how to treat their readers. From time to time Kalmbach has a special issue like Astronomy's Mars: Explore the Red Planets Past, Present and Future. And with the Bush Administration having set the wheels in motion for a manned trip to Mars along with the spectacular success of the Mars Rovers - there is no shortage of materrial about Mars to be culled together into a Special Issue.

And Astronomy's Editor, Richard Talcott, does not fail to deliver on the announced historical perspective:
Fourth Rock from the Sun - starts with a planet oveview and basic geological survey including a topographical map of the two polar regions and then a broad equatoral swath ripe with 10-15,00o feet deep rifts and then Mountains 400 mile wide like Mons Olympus rising 72,000 feet abve the Martian Plain with great sand storms that sweep whole regions of the planet for weeks.

So Where are the Martians ? - describes the earthly imagination for life on Mars. The Viking Lander performed from 1976 three sophisticated experiments looking for signs of life on Mars with largely negative but still mixed and somewhat ambiguous results results. But the consistent discovery and revelation of water remains and residue in the geology of Mars as revealed by Viking and later Mars Orbiters has tantalized scientists wth the prospect that the planet once was covere with not just water, carbon dioxide but also methane and other hydro-carbos that are life's precursors. And the suggestions of the evidence from ...

Before the Space Age - Even befre the 16th century and the days of Galileo and the first telescopic astronomers, Mars had been the source of extra-terrestrial speculation - as a source of god-like mythical inhabitants. But with the telescope and ever more refined observations along with the dynamic nature of the Mars polar ice caps and great planet wide sandstorms, a firestorm of interest erupted when ...

Mars Attacks! - ...inevitably the interest turned to story telling and then science fiction reaching its Mons Olympus with HG Wells radio production in 1938 of War of the Worlds. This program's radio bulletins and seemingly frantic interviews made believers of CBS radio listeners - and a nationwide panic ensued. Given the closeness of World War II, there was almost a premonition of the dire nature of the times. But the idea of life on Mars took on a world-wide life of its own ...

First Visitors from Earth - describe the first Mars flybys and then orbiters. To think that the first "close-up" images were slightly better than 200x200 6bit pixels from tens of thousands of miles away. Mars was slow to reveal its details until mariners 6,and 7 sent back a steady stream of "higher density" Shts. But since, a steady stream of flybys and orbiters has brought ever greater detail on the planets surface and geologywhile also revealing the nature of Mars moons ...

The View fromOrbit - The ability to bring space probe into orbit around Mars with ever more powerful camera and other detection instrumentation has meant the ability to not just the surface but also under the surface. No magnetic field, yet a clear evidence of volcanoes and a great tectonic past suggest geologic activity similar to Earth's but like the disappearing atmosphere - having gone dormant in epic events in the ...

The Great Mars RoadTrip - is 36 pages all about the Mars Rovers of 2004, their discoveries and the astonishing fact that are still alive and well and delivering information 4 times longer than their expected 3-6 months engineering life. Given the ability of the Rovers to shake off dust or have it cleared away in the planets sandstorms, the ability to recharge batteries and energy has succeeded beyond all expectations. And so scientists are busy pushing the Rovers on to exploring ...

Mars or Bust - is about the new plans for Mars, a steady stream of ...

Now I do not consider my self a science fact or fiction freak but this Special Issue has so much appeal that I would certainly wish I got this for Christmas. It is chock full of facts, figures and superbly chosen images. Say ... I did get this for Christmas. Thanks ... Ned.

(c)JBSurveyer 2006