The Big Splat, or How Our Moon Came to Be

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.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Wiley (TP)
Published: 03/01/2003
ISBN: 9780471150572
Pages: 240
Weight: 1.08lbs
Size: 9.32h x 6.34w x 0.86d

Review Citations: Discover 05/01/2003 pg. 82
Booklist 04/15/2003 pg. 1436
Booklist 12/01/2003 pg. 641
Booklist Editors Choice/Adult 01/01/2004 pg. 775