"Guide to the Universe: Inner Planets" by Jennifer A. Grier, Andrew S. Rivkin
Greenwood Guides to the Universe
Greenwood, ABC-CLIO | 2010 | ISBN: 0313344302 | 228 pages | PDF 

This volume in the Greenwood Guides to the Universe series covers the inner planets—Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. Thematic chapters discuss all of the many areas of astronomical research surrounding each subject, providing readers with the most up-to-date understanding of current knowledge and the ways in which it has been obtained.

Intended for use in secondary education, this volume eschews the conventional listing of the numerical data associated with astrophysical texts. Instead, the focus is on explaining processes of planetary formation and change. Grier (research associate, Planetary Science Inst.) and Rivkin (Asteroids, Comets, and Dwarf Planets in this series) break these processes down into 13 thematic chapters, devoting each to a major concept like plate tectonics, magnetospheres, or atmospheres.
Made up largely of engaging text arranged logically with subheadings, chapters are occasionally punctuated by monochromatic illustrations or informational sidebars. Each is followed by further reading lists.
A suitable subject primer for high schoolers and lay readers.


Contents
Series Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
1 Introduction
2 Cosmic Collisions: Cratering
3 Inner Fire: Volcanic Processes
4 Breaking Point: Tectonic Processes
5 Winds of Change: Atmospheric Processes
6 Rocks as Clocks: Radiometric Processes
7 Triple Point: Hydrologic Processes
8 Planetary Shield: Magnetospheric Processes
9 The Moon: Planetary Rosetta Stone
10 Mercury: Chemical Connections
11 Venus: Pressure Cooker
12 Mars: World of Dust and Wind
13 The Earth: Planet at Our Feet
Appendix: Planetary Data Tables
Glossary
Bibliography
Index