Uranus and Neptune

Description

The most distant planets in our solar system, Uranus and Neptune were unknown by the ancients - Uranus was discovered in the 1780s and Neptune only in the 1840s. Our discovery and observation of both planets has been hampered by their sheer distance from Earth: there has only been one close encounter, Voyager 2 in the late 1980s. The Voyager mission revealed many enticing details about the planets and their moons, but also left many more questions unanswered. This book is an informative and accessible introduction to Uranus, Neptune and their moons. It takes the reader on a journey from discovery to the most recent observations made from space- and ground-based telescopes, and will appeal to amateur and professional astronomers alike.

Carolyn Kennett is a writer, researcher, historian and astronomer who lives in Cornwall. She is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, and her books include Celestial Stone Circles of West Cornwall (2018).

"Kennett manages to make the subject approachable, in large part due to that historical context. . . . A useful addition to this attractive series."-- "Popular Science" "This latest book . . . in Reaktion Books's Kosmos series is a concise summary of our knowledge of both planets, as well as their numerous moons. Neptune is the only planet whose discovery was predicted--a result of perturbations in Uranus's orbit--and the book carefully unpicks the complex tale of this discovery, showing who should be credited with which aspect."-- "BBC Sky at Night Magazine" "A very concise yet detailed look at Uranus and Neptune. Kennett incorporates the history of the outer planets' discoveries, details of modern observations from Earth and visiting spacecraft in the late 1970s, and rounds off the book with a practical introduction to how these planets can be observed by the amateur."--Kevin Kilburn, founder member of the Society for the History of Astronomy, honorary member of Manchester Astronomical Society "Uranus and Neptune were just points of green blue light until modern times, as the secrets of these two ice giants, located in the cold outer regions of our solar system, have only recently been revealed. Well-designed and lavishly illustrated, Kennett's book will appeal to anyone wishing to discover more about these elusive, distant worlds. Its pages packed with information, facts, and historical stories will make for a good read on many cloudy nights."--Gerard Gilligan, chairperson of the Society for the History of Astronomy