Planets

Featuring a wealth of never-before-published NASA photographs, charts, stories, and contributions by NASA astronauts and experts, Space: A Visual Encyclopedia is a comprehensive exploration of space from our nearest planets and stars to far-off galaxies. Supports the Common Core State Standards.

First, Pluto left. Then it came back, along with Ceres and Eris...and now Haumea and MakeMake, too! The recent actions of the International Astronomical Union have put every solar system book out of date. In response, National Geographic joins forces with David Aguilar of the Harvard Smithsonian Astronomical Observatory to revise our 2008 book—and to update young readers on the high-interest topic of space. Using simple text and spectacular photorealistic computer art by the author, this book profiles all 13 planets in their newly created categories—plus the sun, the Oort Cloud, comets, and other worlds being discovered. Back-of-the-book activities offer hands-on fun for budding astronomers.

Featuring all-new 3D models built using data gathered by NASA and the European Space Agency, The Planets is an awe-inspiring journey through the Solar System, from Earth to Mars and beyond. Viewed layer by layer, planets and other objects in the Solar System are taken out of the night sky and presented on a white background, revealing every detail of their surface and internal anatomy in astonishing detail. Looking at planets, the Sun, hundreds of moons and thousands of asteroids and comets, The Planets includes timelines that chronicle all major Space missions, right up to the latest Mars rovers, and infographics that present fascinating facts about all planets and the Solar System in a fresh new way.