Atlas of the Galilean Satellites

Description

Complete color global maps and high-resolution mosaics of Jupiter's four large moons - Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto - are compiled for the first time in this important atlas. The satellites are revealed as four visually striking and geologically diverse planetary bodies: Io's volcanic lavas and plumes and towering mountains; Europa's fissured ice surface; the craters, fractures and polar caps of Ganymede; and the giant impact basins, desiccated plains and icy pinnacles of Callisto. Featuring images taken from the recent Galileo mission, this atlas is a comprehensive mapping reference guide for researchers. It contains 65 global and regional maps, nearly 250 high-resolution mosaics, and images taken at resolutions from 500 meters to as high as 6 meters.

Paul Schenk is a staff scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Texas, where he specializes in impact craters and other features on icy satellites, and in 3-D imaging. He is currently analyzing released Cassini data of the icy satellites of Saturn, and assisting the New Horizons team to plan their encounter with Pluto in 2015.

'The atlas presents both a proper photomosaic atlas of each moon, and also a gazetteer of the higher-resolution Galileo imagery, with all the available mosaics and close-up views properly assembled and projected ... [t]he atlas is not only indispensable for anyone interested in the worlds of our solar system: it is also a wonderful treat. At last we can explore each of these strange new worlds as a whole.' John H. Rogers, Journal of the British Astronomical Association '... a splendid piece of work which certainly brings into sharp focus the natures of the four extraordinary satellites.' The Observatory