When the Earth Had Two Moons: Cannibal Planets, Icy Giants, Dirty Comets, Dreadful Orbits, and the Origins of the Night Sky
Written by Erik Asphaug
Narrated by Adam Verner
3.5/5
()
About this audiobook
An astonishing exploration of planet formation and the origins of life by one of the world’s most innovative planetary geologists.
In 1959, the Soviet probe Luna 3 took the first photos of the far side of the moon. Even in their poor resolution, the images stunned scientists: the far side is an enormous mountainous expanse, not the vast lava-plains seen from Earth. Subsequent missions have confirmed this in much greater detail.
How could this be, and what might it tell us about our own place in the universe? As it turns out, quite a lot.
Fourteen billion years ago, the universe exploded into being, creating galaxies and stars. Planets formed out of the leftover dust and gas that coalesced into larger and larger bodies orbiting around each star. In a sort of heavenly survival of the fittest, planetary bodies smashed into each other until solar systems emerged. Curiously, instead of being relatively similar in terms of composition, the planets in our solar system, and the comets, asteroids, satellites and rings, are bewitchingly distinct. So, too, the halves of our moon.
In When the Earth Had Two Moons, esteemed planetary geologist Erik Asphaug takes us on an exhilarating tour through the farthest reaches of time and our galaxy to find out why. Beautifully written and provocatively argued, When the Earth Had Two Moons is not only a mind-blowing astronomical tour but a profound inquiry into the nature of life here—and billions of miles from home.
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
Erik Asphaug
Erik Asphaug is a professor in the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona. He studies planet formation and evolution and has been on the science teams of numerous past and upcoming NASA and international space missions. He lives with his family in Arizona.
Related to When the Earth Had Two Moons
Related audiobooks
Imagined Life: A Speculative Scientific Journey among the Exoplanets in Search of Intelligent Aliens, Ice Creatures, and Supergravity Animals Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Impact: How Rocks from Space Led to Life, Culture, and Donkey Kong Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs: The Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Exoplanets (Goldsmith): Hidden Worlds and the Quest for Extraterrestrial Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Little Book of Exoplanets Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One of Ten Billion Earths: How We Learn About Our Planet's Past and Future From Distant Exoplanets Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All These Worlds Are Yours: The Scientific Search for Alien Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Just Six Numbers: The Deep Forces That Shape the Universe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ancient Skies: Constellation Mythology of the Greeks Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Five Billion Years of Solitude: The Search for Life Among the Stars Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Universe: The book of the BBC TV series presented by Professor Brian Cox Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Space 2069: After Apollo: Back to the Moon, to Mars, and Beyond Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Calculating the Cosmos: How Mathematics Unveils the Universe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Genesis: The Story of How Everything Began Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alien Earths: The New Science of Planet Hunting in the Cosmos Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Story of Earth: The First 4.5 Billion Years, from Stardust to Living Planet Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Magicians: Great Minds and the Central Miracle of Science Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Alien Perspective: A New View of Humanity and the Cosmos Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cosmos: Possible Worlds Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Things That Go Bump in the Universe: How Astronomers Decode Cosmic Chaos Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChandra's Cosmos: Dark Matter, Black Holes, and Other Wonders Revealed by NASA's Premier X-Ray Observatory Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Planet X Hypothesis: The History and Legacy of the Theory that the Solar System has a Hidden Planet Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Lightness Being: Mass, Ether, and the Unification of Forces Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Asteroid Hunters Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gravity's Engines: How Bubble-Blowing Black Holes Rule Galaxies, Stars, and Life in the Cosmos Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Planets Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Origin of the Universe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Astronomy & Space Sciences For You
The Theory of Everything: The Origin and Fate of the Universe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Holographic Universe: The Revolutionary Theory of Reality Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Invisible College: What a Group of Scientists Has Discovered About UFO Influences on the Human Race Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a New World View Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dark Matter & Dark Energy: The Hidden 95% of the Universe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Creator and the Cosmos: How the Latest Scientific Discoveries Reveal God Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Darwin's Doubt: The Explosive Origin of Animal Life and the Case for Intelligent Design Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beginning and the End of Everything: From the Big Bang to the End of the Universe Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Book of the Moon: A Guide to Our Closest Neighbor Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Brief History of Black Holes: And why nearly everything you know about them is wrong Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cosmos: A Personal Voyage Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Extraterrestrial Species Almanac: The Ultimate Guide to Greys, Reptilians, Hybrids, and Nordics Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Under Alien Skies: A Sightseer's Guide to the Universe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Seven Days that Divide the World, 10th Anniversary Edition: The Beginning According to Genesis and Science Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alien Oceans: The Search for Life in the Depths of Space Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Black Holes: The Key to Understanding the Universe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Visits from the Afterlife: The Truth about Ghosts, Spirits, Hauntings, and Reunions with Lost Loved Ones Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Man on the Moon Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Origins of the Universe: The Cosmic Microwave Background and the Search for Quantum Gravity Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5From Eternity to Here: The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Theories of the Universe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Apollo 11: The Inside Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Peregrine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Read Nature: An Expert's Guide to Discovering the Outdoors You've Never Noticed Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Secret Lives of Planets: Order, Chaos, and Uniqueness in the Solar System Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Science of Interstellar Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for When the Earth Had Two Moons
13 ratings1 review
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A well-known author stated that the best way to capture the audience's attention, whether simply to make something interesting or to impart information, is to tell a good story. Unfortunately, the author of this book entirely fails in that regard. While this work is certainly chock full of information, many times it reads more like an encyclopedia than a book. There is no narrative flow. Often just a litany of facts or theory followed by the inevitable metaphor.Although I am a fan of planetary science, and had high hopes, I was disappointed with this work. Not recommended.