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The Big Splat or how our moon came to be

Since the earliest times the moon has been considered an object of mystery. The Big Splat (or how our moon came to be) describes how one mystery about the moon was resolved - that of its formation. It is now largely agreed that early in the history of the solar system a Mars size planetoid collided with the proto-Earth to result in the Moon and a somewhat modified Earth. Although this was decided over 20 years ago, I have to say that it hadn't really entered my knowledge base - I found it a bit of a surprise. If you too feel that your knowledge of our closest astronomical neighbour needs updating then I would certainly recommend this highly readable book.

The first third of the book looks at the early history of lunar observations and ideas about the moon, from the ancients up to the work of Laplace. This is followed by three chapters describing the theories of lunar formation which were current at the start of the space age - Daughter Moon, Captive Moon and Sister Moon. Mackenzie then describes how we went to the moon, and how the information obtained modified our opinions of it, leading up to the rather abrupt 'Big Splat' consensus forming at a conference in Kona, Hawaii in 1984.

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Hardcover 240 pages
ISBN: 0471150576
Salesrank: 675397
Weight:1.1 lbs

Published: 2003 Wiley

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Hardcover 240 pages
ISBN: 0471150576
Salesrank: 323329
Weight:1.1 lbs

Published: 2003 John Wiley & Sons

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Hardcover 240 pages
ISBN: 0471150576
Salesrank: 305836
Weight:1.1 lbs

Published: 2003 Wiley

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Product Description
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.

Product Description

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.

Excellent Account of a Complex Scientific Story of Lunar Origins *****
If there is one dramatic moment--as opposed to myriad important but mundane events--in the history of lunar science it is the 1984 conference in Kona, Hawaii, in which scientists around the world presented papers on the sole topic of how the Moon originated. What made this conference so remarkable, however, was that a new consensus on the subject emerged through this process of presentation and discussion. Usually, positions are well known prior to any scientific meeting and few scientists change their minds right away. As the author of this outstanding popular history phrased it, "other specialists have to go home and process the new information. Old theories have to be sifted through and reappraised. More papers come out in favor of the new hypothesis, and others come out against it. Eventually, sometimes after many years, a new consensus emerges" (p. 167). Not so at Kona. The consensus on the origins of the Moon that came about there has enjoyed remarkable exceptional staying power since. "The Big Splat: Or How Our Moon Came to Be" by Dana Mackenzie is a concise and exceptionally readable account of how a significant but divisive scientific question came to be settled through the investigation of the Moon made possible by sending human and robotic missions there in the 1960s and 1970s. The Kona conference established a consensus in favor of a theory of origins known as the "big whack," or "big splat." Two scientists working independently, William Hartmann and Alastair Cameron, first advanced the theory in 1974 that the Moon had been formed by debris from a massive collision with the Earth about 4.6 billion years ago. This theory was predicated on the study of lunar rock and soil samples returned from the Moon by the Apollo astronauts, and over the course of the next decade further analysis allowed scientists to resolve most of the questions plaguing other theories of lunar origin by applying the "big splat" hypothesis. So contentious had the question of lunar origins been prior to the Apollo program, as Mackenzie shows, that many scientists just threw up their hands in frustration at ever being able to develop a reasonable hypothesis. Confusion ruled among scientists about the Moon's origin as competing schools battled among themselves for dominance of their particular viewpoint in the textbooks. Indeed, some expressed concern that determining the Moon's origins should be the single most significant scientific objective of Project Apollo, thinking of it as a hopeless objective. Their concern was legitimate based on what had gone before. Prior to the Apollo missions the origin of the Moon had been a subject of considerable scientific debate and careers had risen and fallen on championing one or another theory. Prior to the 1960s there had been three principal theories: 1. Co-accretion--a theory which asserted that the Moon and the Earth formed at the same time from the Solar Nebula. 2. Fission--a theory that asserted that the Moon split off from the Earth. 3. Capture--a theory that held that the Moon formed elsewhere and was subsequently drawn into orbit around the Earth. The data supporting these various theories had been developed to an amazingly fine point over time but none of these theories actually explained enough open questions to convince a majority of planetary scientists. As Mackenzie recounts in "The Big Splat," the new and detailed information from the Moon rocks pointed toward an impact theory--which suggested that the Earth had collided with a very large object (as big as Mars and named after the fact "Theia")--and that the Moon formed from the ejected material. This proved to be a theory that fit the fact that although the Earth has a large iron core the Moon does not, because the debris blown out of both the Earth and the impactor would have come from iron-depleted, rocky mantles. Also lending credence to this theory, although the Earth has a mean density of 5.5 grams/cubic centimeter the Moon's density is only 3.3 g/cc, which would be the case were it to lack iron, as it does. The Moon has exactly the same oxygen isotope composition as the Earth, whereas Mars rocks and meteorites from other parts of the Solar System have different oxygen isotope compositions. While there were some details to this theory that have yet to be worked out, the impact theory came out as the consensus at the Kona conference and is now widely accepted. In the end, further research will be required but all evidence to date seems to fit into the confines of this giant impact theory. "The Big Splat" also offers a wonderful affirmation of the scientific method as a self-correcting system of knowledge. Clinging to the marketplace of ideas, it insists that practitioners explicate their theories in a manner that is rigorous, peer-reviewed, and replicable. In all cases, the mode of science is to seek to disprove or at least modify these new theories. Doing so helps to self-correct the state of knowledge, and there is no higher calling in science. Of course, this road to scientific understanding is rugged and winding, and "The Big Splat" states this well in the context of lunar origins. What we learn is that scientific understanding is infinitely more complex, convoluted, interesting, and significant than most popular conceptions allow. Dana Mackenzie is to be commended for showing this process in detail and in so doing restates the positive nature of the process. Apply this case study to the major scientific debates of the present, of which there are many, and it is apparent that there are few easy answers. Dana Mackenzie has written as fascinating detective story in which scientists act as Sherlock Holmes deciphering discreet but imperfect clues to piece together the set of incidents that led to the formation of the Moon. "The Big Splat" is a wonderfully written science story. It will be of interest to historians, non-specialist readers, and students of all types.

Excellent Account of a Complex Scientific Story of Lunar Origins *****

If there is one dramatic moment--as opposed to myriad important but mundane events--in the history of lunar science it is the 1984 conference in Kona, Hawaii, in which scientists around the world presented papers on the sole topic of how the Moon originated. What made this conference so remarkable, however, was that a new consensus on the subject emerged through this process of presentation and discussion. Usually, positions are well known prior to any scientific meeting and few scientists change their minds right away. As the author of this outstanding popular history phrased it, "other specialists have to go home and process the new information. Old theories have to be sifted through and reappraised. More papers come out in favor of the new hypothesis, and others come out against it. Eventually, sometimes after many years, a new consensus emerges" (p. 167). Not so at Kona. The consensus on the origins of the Moon that came about there has enjoyed remarkable exceptional staying power since.

"The Big Splat: Or How Our Moon Came to Be" by Dana Mackenzie is a concise and exceptionally readable account of how a significant but divisive scientific question came to be settled through the investigation of the Moon made possible by sending human and robotic missions there in the 1960s and 1970s. The Kona conference established a consensus in favor of a theory of origins known as the "big whack," or "big splat." Two scientists working independently, William Hartmann and Alastair Cameron, first advanced the theory in 1974 that the Moon had been formed by debris from a massive collision with the Earth about 4.6 billion years ago. This theory was predicated on the study of lunar rock and soil samples returned from the Moon by the Apollo astronauts, and over the course of the next decade further analysis allowed scientists to resolve most of the questions plaguing other theories of lunar origin by applying the "big splat" hypothesis.

So contentious had the question of lunar origins been prior to the Apollo program, as Mackenzie shows, that many scientists just threw up their hands in frustration at ever being able to develop a reasonable hypothesis. Confusion ruled among scientists about the Moon's origin as competing schools battled among themselves for dominance of their particular viewpoint in the textbooks. Indeed, some expressed concern that determining the Moon's origins should be the single most significant scientific objective of Project Apollo, thinking of it as a hopeless objective.

Their concern was legitimate based on what had gone before. Prior to the Apollo missions the origin of the Moon had been a subject of considerable scientific debate and careers had risen and fallen on championing one or another theory. Prior to the 1960s there had been three principal theories:
1. Co-accretion--a theory which asserted that the Moon and the Earth formed at the same time from the Solar Nebula.
2. Fission--a theory that asserted that the Moon split off from the Earth.
3. Capture--a theory that held that the Moon formed elsewhere and was subsequently drawn into orbit around the Earth.
The data supporting these various theories had been developed to an amazingly fine point over time but none of these theories actually explained enough open questions to convince a majority of planetary scientists.

As Mackenzie recounts in "The Big Splat," the new and detailed information from the Moon rocks pointed toward an impact theory--which suggested that the Earth had collided with a very large object (as big as Mars and named after the fact "Theia")--and that the Moon formed from the ejected material. This proved to be a theory that fit the fact that although the Earth has a large iron core the Moon does not, because the debris blown out of both the Earth and the impactor would have come from iron-depleted, rocky mantles. Also lending credence to this theory, although the Earth has a mean density of 5.5 grams/cubic centimeter the Moon's density is only 3.3 g/cc, which would be the case were it to lack iron, as it does. The Moon has exactly the same oxygen isotope composition as the Earth, whereas Mars rocks and meteorites from other parts of the Solar System have different oxygen isotope compositions. While there were some details to this theory that have yet to be worked out, the impact theory came out as the consensus at the Kona conference and is now widely accepted. In the end, further research will be required but all evidence to date seems to fit into the confines of this giant impact theory.

"The Big Splat" also offers a wonderful affirmation of the scientific method as a self-correcting system of knowledge. Clinging to the marketplace of ideas, it insists that practitioners explicate their theories in a manner that is rigorous, peer-reviewed, and replicable. In all cases, the mode of science is to seek to disprove or at least modify these new theories. Doing so helps to self-correct the state of knowledge, and there is no higher calling in science. Of course, this road to scientific understanding is rugged and winding, and "The Big Splat" states this well in the context of lunar origins. What we learn is that scientific understanding is infinitely more complex, convoluted, interesting, and significant than most popular conceptions allow. Dana Mackenzie is to be commended for showing this process in detail and in so doing restates the positive nature of the process. Apply this case study to the major scientific debates of the present, of which there are many, and it is apparent that there are few easy answers.

Dana Mackenzie has written as fascinating detective story in which scientists act as Sherlock Holmes deciphering discreet but imperfect clues to piece together the set of incidents that led to the formation of the Moon. "The Big Splat" is a wonderfully written science story. It will be of interest to historians, non-specialist readers, and students of all types.

Unconventional ****
This book stands on its own as a terrific work on science, both informative and compelling. Its ability to offer the big picture as well as technical questions is probably what makes it so interesting to laymen (like myself). But it has a distinctive stamp when compared to a great work that has become the gold standard in popular astronomy, Carl Sagan's Cosmos. Overall, the two books probably have more in common than not. And the Big Splat does share Sagan's great theme of science as a self-correcting project with a long history, one characterized both by truth and errors. But science is painted a little differently here. In Carl Sagan's works, unmanned exploration of space comes across as the chief scientific success of the space program, and Sagan himself was a critic of manned space flights. In The Big Splat, it is the Apollo landing on the moon that shines as the pinnacle of scientific gain. The moon rocks returned to earth, culled on the lunar surface by astronauts trained in what to look for, told scientists that old theories about the moon's formation were untenable, and provided the key to the new and widely accepted theory; the rocks did something very similar for theories about the origin of craters. Moreover, the sheer size and visibility of the Apollo program revived lunar science when it had fallen out of favor with the scientific mainstream and was ebbing. Very few people today know that NASA's space program has had such a profound effect on any scientific field or question. The author notes himself that the impact theory of lunar formation, though widely accepted since 1984, has made only slow progress into mainstream national culture. He also notes that if the impact theory is true - and it has fewer weaknesses than any of the three principal previous theories were known to have when they were each first proposed - then few people even today have heard about what is arguably the most important event in earth's history. It was certainly the largest impact in earth's geological history, upon which all biological and social history developed; and though The Big Splat does not get into it, the presence of lunar tides may have been a key to the development of life on our globe. If the philosophy behind Cosmos has become the new, mainstream view of science, The Big Splat differs from it in at least one more important way. It does not rely greatly on the common theme of science-versus-religion (though that theme does appear). Science is presented as having its own fashions and dogmas, such as the onetime disinclination to take lunar science seriously, and the widespread prejudice against theories proposing large-scale impacts. The chief prejudice is one against lifeless planets: in the author's words, scientists as well as laymen had always proposed that there was life on the moon because "it was just too hard for the human intellect to grasp a place that was utterly devoid of life." In Carl Sagan's works, the greatest challenge to the human mind, and the largest opportunity to extend human knowledge, is said to be the possible discovery, by science, of extraterrestrial life; and religion in particular is portrayed as challenged by such possibilities. In this book, the role of that which is hardest for the human intellect to comprehend goes not to the discovery of life but of lifelessness: the discovery by Apollo that the moon was and always had been a lifeless body. To read this book is to put yourself in the shoes of the past, to work out particular scientific questions step by step, in relation to larger cultural questions - that is, as the people of the past worked them out. That may be the book's greatest strength.

Unconventional ****

This book stands on its own as a terrific work on science, both informative and compelling. Its ability to offer the big picture as well as technical questions is probably what makes it so interesting to laymen (like myself). But it has a distinctive stamp when compared to a great work that has become the gold standard in popular astronomy, Carl Sagan's Cosmos. Overall, the two books probably have more in common than not. And the Big Splat does share Sagan's great theme of science as a self-correcting project with a long history, one characterized both by truth and errors. But science is painted a little differently here. In Carl Sagan's works, unmanned exploration of space comes across as the chief scientific success of the space program, and Sagan himself was a critic of manned space flights. In The Big Splat, it is the Apollo landing on the moon that shines as the pinnacle of scientific gain. The moon rocks returned to earth, culled on the lunar surface by astronauts trained in what to look for, told scientists that old theories about the moon's formation were untenable, and provided the key to the new and widely accepted theory; the rocks did something very similar for theories about the origin of craters. Moreover, the sheer size and visibility of the Apollo program revived lunar science when it had fallen out of favor with the scientific mainstream and was ebbing. Very few people today know that NASA's space program has had such a profound effect on any scientific field or question. The author notes himself that the impact theory of lunar formation, though widely accepted since 1984, has made only slow progress into mainstream national culture. He also notes that if the impact theory is true - and it has fewer weaknesses than any of the three principal previous theories were known to have when they were each first proposed - then few people even today have heard about what is arguably the most important event in earth's history. It was certainly the largest impact in earth's geological history, upon which all biological and social history developed; and though The Big Splat does not get into it, the presence of lunar tides may have been a key to the development of life on our globe.

If the philosophy behind Cosmos has become the new, mainstream view of science, The Big Splat differs from it in at least one more important way. It does not rely greatly on the common theme of science-versus-religion (though that theme does appear). Science is presented as having its own fashions and dogmas, such as the onetime disinclination to take lunar science seriously, and the widespread prejudice against theories proposing large-scale impacts. The chief prejudice is one against lifeless planets: in the author's words, scientists as well as laymen had always proposed that there was life on the moon because "it was just too hard for the human intellect to grasp a place that was utterly devoid of life." In Carl Sagan's works, the greatest challenge to the human mind, and the largest opportunity to extend human knowledge, is said to be the possible discovery, by science, of extraterrestrial life; and religion in particular is portrayed as challenged by such possibilities. In this book, the role of that which is hardest for the human intellect to comprehend goes not to the discovery of life but of lifelessness: the discovery by Apollo that the moon was and always had been a lifeless body.

To read this book is to put yourself in the shoes of the past, to work out particular scientific questions step by step, in relation to larger cultural questions - that is, as the people of the past worked them out. That may be the book's greatest strength.

Moonies, meteors and tidal mechanics *****
There's no greater reading pleasure than good science writing. By combining ingredients from history, stirring in good data, adding some spice of characterisation, a recipe of adventure and inquiry becomes a delicious result. Dana Mackenzie has produced a confection suited to any reader's taste in this account of thinking about our neighbour in space. Tracing the history of thought on our satellite, he travels down the centuries to reach an earth-shaking conclusion. It's difficult today to view the Moon as the ancients did. Once, it was considered a disc. Even whether its light came from the sun or originated from the lunar surface was disputed. The nature of the markings, Mackenzie explains, was equally contentious. The dark areas were finally deemed "seas" and the Latin "maria" remains with us today. After Galileo determined the moon was cratered, the origins of these enigmatic forms opened new discussion. Volcanoes held sway as their origin, although no Earth vulcanism had produced caldera of such size. Meteor impact was viewed with suspicion in an age when catastrophic events were looked on with cautious scorn. The moon's effect on the oceans was realised in ancient times, brought strongly to further awareness as Europe sent ships to far shores. Tidal predictability became a normal calculation, but much about tidal forces remained mysterious, Mackenzie reminds us. Examining tidal action would help lay the foundation for the most likely mechanism of the Moon's formation. Although Mackenzie introduces us to many thinkers on the lunar phenomenon, the key figure is Ralph Baldwin. In the midst of growing debate about the lunar craters, Baldwin had the temerity to suggest that one impact had formed a significant part of the lunar surface. The debate was resolved, of course, by the Apollo landings. Among the rocky souvenirs brought back from those explorations were some green, glassy samples. These objects can only be formed by high speed impact of solid bodies. Deep in the past, The Moon had bombarded by meteors. Some of the bolides had been large, and their origin remained in question. One object had far greater impact than anything the lunar surface implies. It was the body that had led to the formation of the Moon itself. Mackenzie's "great splat" is the analysis of lunar material that revealed the Moon is made up of Earth-like surface material. The Moon doesn't have the iron core typical of rocky planets. The reason for this is that the Moon didn't co-form when the Earth did. The Moon was the result of a Mars-size planetoid striking the Earth shortly after its formation. The impact drove a mass of material into space which coalesced to form our satellite. Mackenzie's lively account is an excellent read and highly informative. He deals ably with some tough questions and cantankerous characters. Scientific dispute is often entertaining, particularly when the reader has little stake in the outcome. Yet, anything that advances research should be given attention and this book deserves yours. In demonstrating that questions about the Moon are still with us, Mackenzie's final chapter examines the strange story of conspiracy theorists who contend none of the Apollo landings took place. It's easy to dismiss this kind of thinking until you become aware of how many accept the notion. He deals with it carefully, asking the questions and dismissing the idea with carefully developed answers. This finale is almost worth the price of the book. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Moonies, meteors and tidal mechanics *****

There's no greater reading pleasure than good science writing. By combining ingredients from history, stirring in good data, adding some spice of characterisation, a recipe of adventure and inquiry becomes a delicious result. Dana Mackenzie has produced a confection suited to any reader's taste in this account of thinking about our neighbour in space. Tracing the history of thought on our satellite, he travels down the centuries to reach an earth-shaking conclusion.

It's difficult today to view the Moon as the ancients did. Once, it was considered a disc. Even whether its light came from the sun or originated from the lunar surface was disputed. The nature of the markings, Mackenzie explains, was equally contentious. The dark areas were finally deemed "seas" and the Latin "maria" remains with us today. After Galileo determined the moon was cratered, the origins of these enigmatic forms opened new discussion. Volcanoes held sway as their origin, although no Earth vulcanism had produced caldera of such size. Meteor impact was viewed with suspicion in an age when catastrophic events were looked on with cautious scorn.

The moon's effect on the oceans was realised in ancient times, brought strongly to further awareness as Europe sent ships to far shores. Tidal predictability became a normal calculation, but much about tidal forces remained mysterious, Mackenzie reminds us. Examining tidal action would help lay the foundation for the most likely mechanism of the Moon's formation.

Although Mackenzie introduces us to many thinkers on the lunar phenomenon, the key figure is Ralph Baldwin. In the midst of growing debate about the lunar craters, Baldwin had the temerity to suggest that one impact had formed a significant part of the lunar surface. The debate was resolved, of course, by the Apollo landings. Among the rocky souvenirs brought back from those explorations were some green, glassy samples. These objects can only be formed by high speed impact of solid bodies. Deep in the past, The Moon had bombarded by meteors. Some of the bolides had been large, and their origin remained in question.

One object had far greater impact than anything the lunar surface implies. It was the body that had led to the formation of the Moon itself. Mackenzie's "great splat" is the analysis of lunar material that revealed the Moon is made up of Earth-like surface material. The Moon doesn't have the iron core typical of rocky planets. The reason for this is that the Moon didn't co-form when the Earth did. The Moon was the result of a Mars-size planetoid striking the Earth shortly after its formation. The impact drove a mass of material into space which coalesced to form our satellite.

Mackenzie's lively account is an excellent read and highly informative. He deals ably with some tough questions and cantankerous characters. Scientific dispute is often entertaining, particularly when the reader has little stake in the outcome. Yet, anything that advances research should be given attention and this book deserves yours. In demonstrating that questions about the Moon are still with us, Mackenzie's final chapter examines the strange story of conspiracy theorists who contend none of the Apollo landings took place. It's easy to dismiss this kind of thinking until you become aware of how many accept the notion. He deals with it carefully, asking the questions and dismissing the idea with carefully developed answers. This finale is almost worth the price of the book. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

wonderful read *****
This book is a wonderful read, detailing various theories of teh origins of the moon. More interesting to me was the history of these theories. Very few science books spend time talking about how ideas evolved, and in particular how ideas as recent as 30 years ago have changed. This book was fun and easy to read, and Dr. Mackenzie does a great job explaining the science and conveying the excitement he clearly feels for the topic!

wonderful read *****

This book is a wonderful read, detailing various theories of teh origins of the moon. More interesting to me was the history of these theories. Very few science books spend time talking about how ideas evolved, and in particular how ideas as recent as 30 years ago have changed. This book was fun and easy to read, and Dr. Mackenzie does a great job explaining the science and conveying the excitement he clearly feels for the topic!

Fascinating! *****
In this fascinating book, author and scientist Dr. Dana Mackenzie traces man's "scientific" study of the Moon from the Greek philosopher Anaxagoras, through the Pythagoreans, Aristotle, Kepler, Newton, and on to the present. Along the way, you get to see the flowering of modern science, and how advances helped and hindered the various explanations for how the Moon came into being. In the final chapters, the author examines the newest theory, and that is that the Moon was created by a collision between the Earth and another planet (which some have tentatively named Theia). This is a book that really exercises the mind. It is highly informative, and brings the reader right up-to-date on the latest thinking on the nature and origin of the Moon. If you are at all interested in the Moon or the history of our solar system, then I highly recommend that you get this book. As an added bonus, the book has an appendix that seeks to refute the theory that the lunar landings were merely a hoax, perpetrated by NASA. Overall, I thought that this was a well-written piece, but feel that anyone who believes in such a conspiracy theory probably wouldn't read this book anyway. That said, it gives you an interesting little thing to read when done with the book.

Fascinating! *****

In this fascinating book, author and scientist Dr. Dana Mackenzie traces man's "scientific" study of the Moon from the Greek philosopher Anaxagoras, through the Pythagoreans, Aristotle, Kepler, Newton, and on to the present. Along the way, you get to see the flowering of modern science, and how advances helped and hindered the various explanations for how the Moon came into being. In the final chapters, the author examines the newest theory, and that is that the Moon was created by a collision between the Earth and another planet (which some have tentatively named Theia).

This is a book that really exercises the mind. It is highly informative, and brings the reader right up-to-date on the latest thinking on the nature and origin of the Moon. If you are at all interested in the Moon or the history of our solar system, then I highly recommend that you get this book.

As an added bonus, the book has an appendix that seeks to refute the theory that the lunar landings were merely a hoax, perpetrated by NASA. Overall, I thought that this was a well-written piece, but feel that anyone who believes in such a conspiracy theory probably wouldn't read this book anyway. That said, it gives you an interesting little thing to read when done with the book.

Good but derrivative. **
I enjoyed this book but all through it I could not help thinking I had read it before. I'm not saying the author copied anything but I do feel he leans heavily on books that he does not credit. In particular I felt the ghost of Patrick Moore's recent book on the moon and Mackenzie seems to work very hard not to credit David Whitehouse's excellent book on the moon of 2001 even though I feel he was "inspired" by it. Try Moore and Whitehouse as well, they have amuch wider scope and are better written.

Good but derrivative. **

I enjoyed this book but all through it I could not help thinking I had read it before. I'm not saying the author copied anything but I do feel he leans heavily on books that he does not credit. In particular I felt the ghost of Patrick Moore's recent book on the moon and Mackenzie seems to work very hard not to credit David Whitehouse's excellent book on the moon of 2001 even though I feel he was "inspired" by it.

Try Moore and Whitehouse as well, they have amuch wider scope and are better written.

Highly recommended *****
While the Apollo astronauts collected rocks from the lunar surface, their mentors on Earth debate whether the moon originated as the Earth’s ‘daughter’, ‘sister’ or ‘spouse’ - each of which theories had its eminent advocates, its good points and its faults. At first, it seemed that the moonrocks had not resolved the issue, but in the mid-1980s, out of left field, came the ‘giant impact’ theory (the Big Splat of Mackenzie’s title) which combined all the good points of the earlier theories without their faults. If you wish to know how scientists came to realise how the moon formed, then this delightful and eminently readable book is for you.

Highly recommended *****

While the Apollo astronauts collected rocks from the lunar surface, their mentors on Earth debate whether the moon originated as the Earth’s ‘daughter’, ‘sister’ or ‘spouse’ - each of which theories had its eminent advocates, its good points and its faults. At first, it seemed that the moonrocks had not resolved the issue, but in the mid-1980s, out of left field, came the ‘giant impact’ theory (the Big Splat of Mackenzie’s title) which combined all the good points of the earlier theories without their faults. If you wish to know how scientists came to realise how the moon formed, then this delightful and eminently readable book is for you.

You'll never look at the moon the same way again *****
This book is not just for moon fans. It's packed with historical gems and scientific treats presented in an easy-going style. A real page turner for anyone who has ever wondered how our solar system go to be the way it is. The characters really came alive and the science was completely transparent. Highly recommended.

You'll never look at the moon the same way again *****

This book is not just for moon fans. It's packed with historical gems and scientific treats presented in an easy-going style. A real page turner for anyone who has ever wondered how our solar system go to be the way it is. The characters really came alive and the science was completely transparent. Highly recommended.