Alien seas
Subtitle: oceans in space
By: Michael Carroll, Rosaly Lopes, editors
Publisher: Springer New York; Imprint: Springer
Published: 2013
Language: eng
Number of pages: 119
ISBN-13: 9781461474722
Subjects: Surfaces; Water; Seas; Planets; Ocean
Other titles: Oceans in space
Description: In the early days of planetary observation, oceans were thought to exist in all corners of the Solar System. Carbonated seas percolated beneath the clouds of Venus. Features on the Moon's surface were given names such as "the Bay of Rainbows” and the "Ocean of Storms." With the advent of modern telescopes and spacecraft exploration these ancient concepts of planetary seas have been replaced by the reality of something even more exotic. Alien Seas serves up the current research, past beliefs, and new theories to offer a rich array of the "seas" on other worlds. It is organized by location and by the material composing the oceans under discussion, with expert authors penning chapters on their  specialty. Each chapter features new original art depicting alien seas, as well as the latest ground-based and spacecraft images. With the contributors as guides, readers can explore the wild seas of Jupiter's watery satellite Europa, believed similar in composition to battery acid. Saturn's planet-sized moon Titan seems to be subject to methane or ethane rainfall that become vast lakes and, perhaps, seasonal oceans. Titan and Mars have seas of sand, large shifting dunes covering huge plains, while Venus may have ‘oceans’ of frozen lava. The possibilities are excitingly endless and ripe for exploration. Contributors: Kevin Baines Jeffrey Bennett James Cameron Michael Carroll Mona Delitsky David Grinspoon Rosaly Lopes Christopher P. McKay Karl Mitchell Robert Pappalardo Timothy Parker Jani Radebaugh John Spencer
Notes: Includes index.
Table of contents: title: Chapter 1 Introduction: Oceans on Earth and Elsewhere Michael Carroll; title: Chapter 2 Chasing the Lost Oceans of Venus David Grinspoon; title: Chapter 3 Oceans on Mars Timothy Parker; title: Chapter 4 Seas of Molten Rock Rosaly Lopes; title: Chapter 5 Jupiters Water Worlds: Water Lurks Beneath the Surfaces of Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto Robert T. Pappalardo; title: Chapter 6 Oceans at the Outer Limits: Enceladus, Outer Moons, Pluto John Spencer; title: Chapter 7 Sand Seas of the Solar System Jani Radebaugh; title: Chapter 8 Exotic Seas: Liquid Alkanes on Titans Surface Karl L. Mitchell; title: Chapter 9 The Seas of Saturn Kevin H. Baines and Mona L. Delitsky; title: Chapter 10 The Alien Seas of Earth: Astrobiological Implications Chris McKay; title: Chapter 11 Seas of the Milky Way Jeffrey Bennett; title: Chapter 12 A Gallery of Maritime Planetscapes Michael Carroll; title: About the Authors; title: Index.