Ripples on the Cosmic Ocean : An Environmental History of Our Place in the Solar System.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Degroot, Dagomar.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Solar system--Environmental conditions.

Solar system.

Earth (Planet)--Environmental conditions.

Earth (Planet).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (413 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Harvard University Press, 2025.

Summary:

Changes in cosmic environments, from solar storms to asteroid impacts, have altered the course of history. Tracing how such events shaped geopolitics and spurred scientific and cultural innovation, Dagomar Degroot asks what comes next as the solar system becomes increasingly vulnerable to human activity.

Contents:

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Contents

Introduction: Our Cosmic Environment

Part I. Sun

1. Ice Ages Great and Small

2. Changing Stars, Changing Climates

3. Hidden Connections and Solar Science

4. Solar Storms and Existential Risk

Conclusion. Harnessing Our Star

Part II. Venus

5. Measuring the Universe

6. Venus as a Changing Earth

7. Worlds in Collision

8. Remaking Venus and Earth

Conclusion. Earth's Once and Future Twin?

Part III. Moon

9. Muses of the Moon

10. The Promise and Peril of Lunar Life

11. Lunar Changes, Human Ambitions

12. Exploiting the Moon

Conclusion. Navigating the Lunar Anthropocene

Part IV. Mars

13. Unveiling a New World

14. Aliens on an Aged Earth

15. Meeting the Martians

16. Reshaping Planetary Climates

Conclusion. A Planet for Dreamers

Part V. Comets and Asteroids

17. Warnings in the Heavens

18. Encountering Near-Earth Objects

19. Giggles and Close Calls

20. Avoiding Jupiter's Fate

Conclusion. Saving Earth, Fueling the Future?

Conclusion: A Shore on the Cosmic Ocean

Notes

Acknowledgments

Illustration Credits

Index.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

0-674-30181-1

0-674-30182-X

OCLC:

1517414705