The big splat, or, How our moon came to be
(2008)

Nonfiction

eBook

Provider: hoopla

Details

PUBLISHED
[United States] : Turner Publishing Company, 2008
Made available through hoopla
DESCRIPTION

1 online resource

ISBN/ISSN
9780470348833 (electronic bk.) MWT13576229, 0470348836 (electronic bk.) 13576229
LANGUAGE
English
NOTES

The first popular book to explain the dramatic theory behind the Moon's genesis. This lively science history relates one of the great recent breakthroughs in planetary astronomy-a successful theory of the birth of the Moon. Science journalist Dana Mackenzie traces the evolution of this theory, one little known outside the scientific community: a Mars-sized object collided with Earth some four billion years ago, and the remains of this colossal explosion-the Big Splat-came together to form the Moon. Beginning with notions of the Moon in ancient cosmologies, Mackenzie relates the fascinating history of lunar speculation, moving from Galileo and Kepler to George Darwin (son of Charles) and the Apollo astronauts, whose trips to the lunar surface helped solve one of the most enigmatic mysteries of the night sky: who hung the Moon? Dana Mackenzie (Santa Cruz, CA) is a freelance science journalist. His articles have appeared in such magazines as Science, Discover, American Scientist, The Sciences, and New Scientist

Mode of access: World Wide Web

Additional Credits

Additional Titles