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Summary:

The Earth is not the world it once was, and it is not the world it will always be. This book describes the exciting, complex, and occasionally baffling history of our own planet. Over the course of its 4.5 billion years, Earth has undergone astonishing changes to its surface and atmosphere, at times more closely resembling other planets in our Solar System than the habitable, teeming biosphere of today. Through these otherworldly analogs, author-illustrator Michael Carroll teaches readers about different aspects of our own planets past. Our nearest cosmic neighbor, Venus, offers insights into Earths own young atmosphere and surface, while Saturns moon Titan may offer a window into the genesis of life on Earth. Planet Earth, Past and Present explores these and many more connections. Original art accompanies each chapter, depicting major stages of the Earths evolution and providing vivid comparisons to other planets or moons. Come along on this journey through the Solar Systema journey that ultimately leads us home.

Table of Contents:

• Intro
• Other non-Fiction Springer Books by Michael Carroll
• Springer "science and fiction" novels by Michael Carroll
• Reviews of Planet Earths: Past and Present
• Introduction: An opening act you won't want to miss
• Acknowledgements
• Contents
• 1: Before Earth
• 2: Earth=Asteroid belt: the impact of uneasy relationships during the great solar system cleanup
• 3: Earth=Mercury: Earth as a molten and bludgeoned world
• 4: Earth=Venus: Our planet as a Dante-esque oven
• 5: Earth=Titan: cradle of life?
• 6: Earth=Mars: a snowball world
• 7: Surrogate Earths: making homes away from home
• 8: Distant Earths: exoplanets with potential
• 9: Earth=Venus, part II: future Earth?
• Appendices
• Appendix A: Important Terms
• Appendix B: Further reading
• GENERAL PLANETARY GEOLOGY

• ASTROBIOLOGY
• SPECIFIC PLANETARY BODIES
• EXOPLANETS
• CLIMATE
• LIVING ON OTHER WORLDS
• Appendix C: Data for analogous planets/moons
• Appendix D: Major successful missions to the terrestrial planets (including Titan), comets and asteroids
• Appendix E: Supercontinents throughout Earth's History
• Appendix F: Probable Causes of Major Extinction Events
• Appendix G: Early Life Timeline
• Appendix H: Cold epochs in Earth's History
• Appendix I: Exoplanet ESI index
• Appendix J: Astronomical distances/scales
• Appendix K: Star types
• Appendix L: Potency of greenhouse gases
• Index

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Author/Creator:

Carroll, Michael, 1955- , author

Languages:

English

Language Notes:

Item content: English

Main Work:

Planet Earth, past and present: parallels between our world and its celestial neighbors [by Carroll, M.]

Other Related Resources:

Print version: Planet Earth, Past and Present [by Carroll, M.] (Cham : Springer International Publishing AG,c2023 — ISBN 9783031413599)

Related Series:

Springer-Praxis books in popular astronomy

Subjects:

Earth (Planet)

Planets

Solar system

General Notes:

Includes index.
Description based on: Online resource; title from PDF title page (SpringerLink, viewed October 24, 2023).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xix, 454 pages) : illustrations.

Digital Characteristics:

text file

Call Numbers:

QB631 .C377 2023eb

ISBNs:

3031413601
9783031413605 (electronic bk.)

Other Standard Numbers:

Digital Object Identifier: 10.1007/978-3-031-41360-5

OCLC Numbers:

1405367417