Synopses & Reviews
Where did the Moon come from? Its a question even a child can ask, but until recently scientists could not agree on an answer. Some proposed that the Moon ripped itself loose from a rapidly spinning Earth, perhaps leaving behind a scar later filled in by the Pacific Ocean. Others theorized that it wandered in from some other place in the solar system or even beyond, and was captured by Earths gravity. Or, perhaps, the Moon simply formed in tandem with Earth, out of the same cloud of cosmic gas and dust. Yet none of these theories could be reconciled with the hard evidence gathered by the Apollo astronauts.
For the first time, this book relates for a general audience how lunar scientists arrived at a theory of the Moons birth that fits all the available facts. Travel backwards in time with science journalist Dana Mackenzie, from the slopes where the astronauts collected their Moon rocks to the ocean of magma from which those rocks crystallized and finally all the way back to the world-shaking collision that created the Moon four-and-a-half billion years ago. This collision, the Big Splat, destroyed one planet and forever changed our ownperhaps even creating the conditions in which life could evolve.
Along the way, Mackenzie explains how, over the centuries, humans have changed their own views of the Moon. He relates the fascinating history of lunar speculation, moving from such titans of science as Galileo and Kepler to less-famous luminaries such as George Darwin (son of Charles) to rogue scientists such as turn-of-the-century astronomer Thomas Jefferson Jackson See. He explains how lunar studies eventually fell into disrepute, with scientists very nearly becoming indifferent to the Moons originuntil the 1960s. Mackenzie rockets the reader through the urgency and controversy that surrounded the space program, and salutes the accomplishments of the Apollo astronauts. In spite of the belief among some Apollo-era scientists that unmanned missions could have done the job just as well, Mackenzie shows how it took an intuitive, human touch to solve one of the Moons great mysteries. It also took a revolution in the way that scientists think about the universe, signaled by the emergence in the 1970s of chaos theory, and the notion that catastrophes can befall our nearest neighbors in the solar system.
The Big Splat will forever change the way you look at the moon.
Review
Ace science writer Mackenzie's account of humanity's long relationship with Earth's only natural satellite, from a probable lunar calendar found in the Lascaux caves to the new "giant impact" theory of the moon's origin, is magnetically readable, preternaturally clear, and amazingly concise.
— Booklist Editors' Choice '03
Review
* ""...Dana Mackenzie?reveals the truth..."" (
The Mail on Sunday, 30 March 2003)
""...this is a most useful and interesting book..."" (New Scientist, 7 June 2003)
""A most useful and interesting book."" (Patrick Moore in New Scientist)
""...an absorbing and informative account of the quest to explain the genesis of the moon..."" (Astronomy and Space, June 2003)
""...fascinating! For everyone with even the slightest interest in astronomy?an insightful and entertaining read..."" (M2 Best Books, 14 July 2003)
""Besides telling an interesting tale well and elucidating how science progresses, Mackenzie's book emphasizes the fact that impacts have been the primary creative and destructive process throughout the history of the Solar System."" (NATURE)
""The Big Splat is a superb exploration of an important chapter in the history of Earth and its satellite. Every Moon-buff will want a copy."" (Astronomy)
""...a comprehensive travelogue of lunar nativities throughout history..."" (Astronomy Now, March 2004)
Review
"...Dana Mackenzie?reveals the truth..." (
The Mail on Sunday, 30 March 2003)
"...this is a most useful and interesting book..." (New Scientist, 7 June 2003)
"A most useful and interesting book." (Patrick Moore in New Scientist)
"...an absorbing and informative account of the quest to explain the genesis of the moon..." (Astronomy & Space, June 2003)
"...fascinating! For everyone with even the slightest interest in astronomy?an insightful and entertaining read..." (M2 Best Books, 14 July 2003)
"Besides telling an interesting tale well and elucidating how science progresses, Mackenzie's book emphasizes the fact that impacts have been the primary creative and destructive process throughout the history of the Solar System." (NATURE)
"The Big Splat is a superb exploration of an important chapter in the history of Earth and its satellite. Every Moon-buff will want a copy." (Astronomy)
"...a comprehensive travelogue of lunar nativities throughout history..." (Astronomy Now, March 2004)
Synopsis
The first popular book to explain the dramatic theory behind the Moon's genesisThis 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.
Synopsis
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.
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. 209-219) and index.
Synopsis
GENESIS REVISED
"It takes a certain amount of courage to step beyond one's day-to-day experiments and look at the big picture?and the origin of the Moon is a 'big picture' question par excellence. Perhaps it makes sense that William Hartmann, one of the two scientists who unraveled the Moon?s biggest mystery, is not only a scientist but also a part-time artist and science fiction writer. It took someone with an artist?s eye and a fiction writer?s speculative temperament to see the big picture.
"This is a book about that big picture: the origin of the Moon, as interpreted by Hartmann and Alastair Cameron, the second patriarch of The Big Splat. It is also about a doomed planet called Theia, and a familiar one called Earth that used to look vastly different from today?s Earth. But, most of all, it is about a long lineage of intellectual voyagers who began exploring the Moon long before Neil Armstrong planted his boot into the lunar dust."
—From the Introduction
Synopsis
The first popular book to explain the dramatic theory behind the Moon's genesisThis 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.
About the Author
DANA MACKENZIE holds a doctorate in mathematics from Princeton University. After teaching mathematics at Duke University and Kenyon College for more than a decade, in 1997 he completed the Science Communication Program at the University of California at Santa Cruz. Since then he has been a freelance science writer, with articles appearing in such magazines as Science, Discover, American Scientist, Astronomy, and New Scientist. He lives in Santa Cruz with his wife as well as three cats and a dog.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Genesis Revised.
1. A Highly Practical Stone.
2. The Stone Star.
3. Kepler Laughed.
4. The Clockwork Solar System.
5. Daughter Moon.
6. Captive Moon.
7. Sister Moon.
8. Renaissance and Controversy.
9. “A Little Science on the Moon”.
10. When Worlds Collide.
11. The Kona Consensus.
12. Introducing Theia.
Appendix: Did We Really Go to the Moon?
Glossary.
References.
Acknowledgments.
Index.