Digital

Planetary
Encyclopedia

VIEWS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM

Calvin J. Hamilton (National Science Teachers
Association, 1840 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA
22201). CD-ROM for MacOS and Windows 3.1,
95, and NT. Order item PB128X. $21.95.
Review by John E. Mosley

A common complaint (and one I have expressed frequently) about software today is
that CD-ROMs often have too little content. More than 600 megabytes per disc is a
lot of space and offers enormous potential
so infrequently utilized. Views of the Solar
System uses it wisely.
The disc is an illustrated tour of the
solar system targeted for secondary-school
students and their teachers. Plenty of pictures and text, supplemented by smallscale video clips, summarize what is known
about the many members of the solar system. Go from planet to planet, explore by
feature, or review the history of exploration. There are (very) brief biographies
of astronomers, links to World Wide Web
sites, tables of data, highlights of the Apollo
expeditions to the Moon, and background
articles and space-related classroom activities from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
and the journal of the National Science
Teachers Association. The writing is clear
and informative at the level of NASA
press releases.
To access the material you need software used to browse the World Wide Web,
but not an actual connection to the Internet. Microsofts Internet Explorer is supplied. This is an excellent strategy. The
powerful program is familiar to many
users who will need no instruction before
diving in. You can also use your own copy
of Netscapes Navigator if you prefer. Contents are linked throughout via hypertext.

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1997 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.

Sky & Telescope December 1997

77

Its operation is completely intuitive.

Although created for teachers and students, the disc will have broad appeal to
anyone who is interested in an introductory illustrated tour of the solar system. It
is up to date as of late 1996. It would take
several evenings to explore it all.
With so many pictures available on the
Web for free, why spend money on a CDROM? First, its fast. Also, not everyone
(especially schools) has Internet access.
And educators will know exactly what
information is there. Teachers building
lesson plans favor material that will not
unexpectedly change in content or format. Furthermore, working from a disc
removes possible objections to giving
children unsupervised access to the bad
sites on the Internet.
Compared to a book Views of the Solar
System is a good value. You have to view
it on your computer rather than from
your armchair, but it includes sound and
motion and you can copy the publicdomain pictures.
John Mosley supervises the educational programs at Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.
His e-mail address is jmosley@griffithobs.org.

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briefly noted
T. rex and the Crater of Doom, Walter
Alvarez (Princeton University Press, 1997). 185
pages. ISBN 0-691-01630-5. $24.95.
The younger half of the father-and-son
team who first revealed that the impact of
an asteroid or comet 65 million years ago
brought the dinosaurs demise (and that of
many other species) tells his story of discovery. His analysis of an iridium-enriched layer
of rock was the vital clue explaining the mass
extinction of life. Since then, scientists have
searched for the impact location. Alvarez describes the search and the most likely site
near Mexicos Yucatan Peninsula.
Sweeper in the Sky: The Life of Maria
Mitchell, Helen Wright (College Avenue
Press, P.O. Box 75, Clinton Corners, NY 12514;
1997). 270 pages. ISBN 1-883551-70-6. $24.95.
First published in 1949, Wrights biography
of pioneering astronomer Maria Mitchell
has been reissued as a commemorative edition to coincide with the 150th anniversary
of Miss Mitchells Comet discovered on October 1, 1847. The book includes the unabridged text of the first edition and features
a new preface, epilogue, and numerous photographs.

78

December 1997 Sky & Telescope

1997 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.