Moons of the Solar System, Revised Second Edition

Book excerpt: Retired astronomer Thomas Wm. Hamilton has written six books on astronomy. But science always changes. His most recent book, Moons of the Solar System, has just been revised to incorporate the newest research and information on these amazing bodies in the sky. The new title is Moons of the Solar System, Revised Second Edition: Incorporating the Latest Discoveries in Our Solar System as well as Suspected Exomoons. Having once worked on the Apollo Project, the author has long been fascinated in studying moons. From Galileo’s discoveries in 1610, to the latest returns from the Cassini spacecraft in orbit around Saturn, four centuries of discoveries in the solar system are summarized, complete with the names of those responsible for finding them. The 185 known moons of the planets and dwarf planets in the solar system are described in great detail, from how they were discovered, and by whom, to information about their sizes and orbits. The strange and exotic origins of the moons’ names make for astonishing stories. Moons of the Solar System also includes the possible dangers faced by human travel in space.