Product Description

This popular guide to cosmic debris introduces the fascinating world of meteorites, asteroids, comets, and impact craters. With more than 50 new photographs and updated illustrations, new and expanded appendixes, and some fun cosmic humor, Rocks from Space, Second Edition, journeys into the last frontier for close-up looks at the latest astronomical discoveries.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #360470 in Books
• Published on: 1998-03-01
• Released on: 1998-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 447 pages

From Booklist
Astronomy abounds with amateurs, and the easiest entr‚e to the hobby is meteor watching. Anyone can see a few shooting stars on any night. For nighthawks and insomniacs, then, Norton offers this quaint miscellany crammed with facts and stories about extraterrestrial rocks, along with 200 photos. "Falls," as Norton calls the pieces that reach the ground, exert great scientific interest, so he describes past expeditions to collect them and examine the ancient craters they gouged out. Meteoriticist H. H. Nininger was one such explorer, and his life, which culminated in running a commercial meteor museum, illustrates the obsessive enthusiasm the hobby can induce. Although a field book might be more authoritative, Norton's tome will help slake the curiosity and worries that surround cosmic collisions, especially so soon after a comet hit Jupiter last month. Gilbert Taylor

Review
"[This] book contains a wealth of information directed toward laypersons interested in meteoritics. . . . Recommended." --Choice

About the Author
O. Richard Norton is former director of the Grace Flandrau Planetarium and Science Center at the University of Arizona and the Fleischmann Planetarium at the University of Nevada at Reno. He studied meteoritics under world-renowned meteoriticist Frederick C. Leonard. Norton currently teaches astronomy at Central Oregon Community College and serves as president of Science Graphics, a company that produces instructional science slides for use in college and university classrooms.

Customer Reviews

very well written and a must have for all collectors
I have the first and now this second edition of this book. It is my first choice when I want a more indepth description of specimens. If you buy only one book on meteorites, it must be this one. Lots of photos too!!!

Second Edition Worth Buying
Those readers who bought the original First Edition might wish to know whether they should invest in the Second Edition. The answer is Yes. The Second Edition is sufficiently updated to warrant purchase, and includes discussion on new topics that have become important since the 1993/1994 writing of the First Edition. Additions include expanded discussion of the Shoemaker-Levy impact on Jupiter, discussion on the disputed finding of bacteria fossils in Mars meteorites, and discussion on the Mars Pathfinder mission. Here and there, clarifications and expansions on the First Edition's text bring the reader up to date.

Excellent Book.
I purchased the book "Rocks From Space (Second Edition)" about seven years ago. My main interest in space is in the field of planetary geology and I have a need to be reasonably conversant with the subscience of meteoritics. The "Rocks From Space" book was recommended by several colleagues, and I also noted that it had received good reviews.

In general, I find "popular" books directed to the interests of amateurs to be shallow and even corny. "Rocks From Space" is an exception. This book is outstanding. It provides a concise but excellent introduction to the subjects of meteorites, asteroids, comets, meteors and impact sites. It is presented in a way that amateur collectors, amateur astronomers or anyone interested in these space-related subjects can easily read and understand, but, at the same time, it is very informative and authoritative. I would not hesitate to recommend the book to anyone who was interested in meteorites and other space debris. In fact, I have recommended it to countless individuals as an excellent place to start.

"Rocks From Space" is well written, well illustrated and interesting to read. It has achieved a permanent and respected place in my reference book collection. I give talks on planetary geology to groups of geologists and astronomers and I use some of the illustrations in my presentations. For people who are interested is collecting meteorites, Norton presents a series of guidelines, anecdotes and useful information including a list of laboratories where one might get an identification confirmed. For a small and inexpensive paperback, this book contains a wealth of information.

Gary Peterson