B O O K R E V I E W S

A. Dollfus : Surfaces and Interiors of Planets and Satellites, Academic Press, London and New York 1970. 569 pp., $ 25.-.

This is a collection of review articles on selected topics coning the surfaces and interiors of planets and satellites. There is an excellent discusion by Kovalevsky on the determination of masses followed by a comprehensive discussion by Dollfus on diameters, a treatment which stresses double image micro- metry. It would have been interesting to follow these two by a short discussion of densities, but the discussion of densities is deferred until a later discussion of densities of the interiors of terrestria planets by B. J. Levin, which lays stress on the hypothesis that the core of the Earth is a silicate phase transition rather than a concentration of iron. Active and passive radio studies of planets are described by Rolf Dyce and Cornell Mayer. This is followed by a long discussion of the photometry of planetary surfaces by G. de Vaucouleurs, and by a very useful treatment of asteroid photometry by T. Gehrels. There is a treatment of the critical properties of Saturn's Rings by M. S. Bobrov and a short discussion of the Earth's magnetic field (with a coda on the magnetic field of Jupiter) by R. Hide. The volume closes with a discussion on the surface environment and possible biology of Mars by Carl Sagan, who compares contemporary knowledge on the subject with the contents of ' Is Mars Habitable?' by Alfred Russell Wallace (1907). The similarity of Wallace's ideas with con. temporary ideas is sobering.

Three of the articles are in French; the rest in English. Most were written in 1967 or 1968, which gives at least some a dated air. Dollfus' introduction indicates that planetary atmospheres were omit- ted because the subject was changing too rapidly in the 1960's. But there are signs that studies of surfaces and interiors are now moving very rapidly as well. The selection of topics on surfaces and interiors is not quite comprehensive: for example there is nothing on cratering statistics, the geology of the moon, or remote determination of geochemistry or particle size distribution; and, remarkably in a book edited by Dollfus, no discussion of polarization measurements. Some of the articles are necessarily weighted towards the individual author 's own views or techniques; nevertheless most of them are not considerable interest and are likely to retain their interest for some time.

Cornell University CARL SAGAN

Philip M. Dauber (ed.): lsotopic Composition of the Primary Cosmic Radiation; Proceedings of a Symposium organised by the Danish Space Research Institute in Lyngby, Denmark, in March 1971 294 pp.

The Symposium and its Proceedings highlight the fact that the isotopic composition of the nucleonic component of cosmic radiation, like its chemical composition, holds many clues to the secrets of its celestial sources and source material, as well as the transformations it undergoes through interactions with matter and fields it traverses in cosmic space. The holding, for the first time, of a serious dis- cussion exclusively devoted to this subject is a measure of the initial gains which such investigations have led to.

The organisers have rightly laid primary emphasis on the speed of publication of the volume which has been brought out in about 8 months. It contains reports of many experimental approaches that have already been undertaken, and the initial results obtained therefrom. These preliminary findings clearly demonstrate the potentialities of these researches. The experimental papers are then followed by a series of reports which highlight associated theoretical and interpretative astrophysical problems of topical interest. The volume also contains recordings of the many lively discussions which illumi- nate the future scope of the subject; at the same time they bring out the limitations of the present works. To summarise, it is a handy volume for experts interested in a newly developing area of space physics of considerable interdisciplinary interest.

Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bombay R.R . DANIEL

Space Science Reviews 14 (1972) 175-176. All Rights Reserved Copyright �9 1972 by D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht-Holland

176 BOOK REVIEWS

Albrecht Uns61d: Sterne undMenschen, Aufsgitze und Vortriige, Springer, Berlin, 1972. VIII -~- 170 pp., 12 • 20 cm 2, 16 fig., D M 29.80, US$9.30.

This booklet contains a number of essays delivered by professor Uns61d at various occasions. The papers deal with greatly different matters such as, 'Physics and history', being the Rector's speech at the University of Kiel in 1958, ' the chemical composition of stars', ' the unity of the universe', 'science and research in modern society', and memorial discourses on various great physicists and astronomers : Max Planck, Heinrich Hertz, Walter Kossel, P. ten Bruggencate, Otto Struve, and M. Minnaert. Clearly the title is too narrowly chosen, physics and physicists are an important part of the book. The various contributions originated at different times and so the book is necessarily somewhat inhomo- geneous, but this aspect only helps to place the various contributions in their historical framework; it adds to the lucidity of the book and certainly does not reduce its readableness.

The Astronomical Institute, Utrecht C. DE JAGER

Merton E. Davies and Bruce C. Murray, The View from Space, Columbia University Press, 1972. X I I § 163 pp., 73 ill. $14.95.

This slim volume presents an appraisal of the part which photography plays as a data communications medium in space research. It also examines in some detail the interaction of space photography with other provinces: for example military reconnaissance applications, economic and socialogical profit, national prestige. The authors make it clear in their preface that they have written a book coloured and limited by their experience, but at the same time they hope to communicate some of their views about the exciting field of research in which they are engaged. Indeed, a glance at the contents list and layout will convince the reader that this book is no ordinary pictorial tour of the solar system. The seven chapters occupying the bulk of the volume certainly do contain many illustrations which serve as an adequate review of space photography of Earth, Moon and Mars, together with some physical inter- pretation of what the various images show, but perhaps even more weight is given to aspects which the non-specialist might only hazily guess at. There is a good description in Chapter 5 (Mars close-up) of the way in which the highly successful Mariner 4, 6 and 7 photographic missions were planned and executed, and a fairly intricate discussion of the trade-offs and compromises necessitated by long-term budgeting and by engineering, communications and celestial mechanics constraints.

The final thirty-five pages of the book consist of appendices devoted to Phptography as a communi- cations process, Space camera design, Performance criteria and Aerial and space inspection at the Surprise Attack Conference, 1958. These sections amplify what has been said before concerning the technical problems of acquisition, transmission, processing and interpretation of photographic data, and serve to give a very clear idea of what a photograph is and what it can be used for (not simple tasks). The last of these appendices may seem a strange choice for inclusion, but in fact it neatly fills in the arguments put forward in Chapter 2 concerning the strategic applications of Earth satellite photography.

It is difficult to aim specific negative criticisms at a book which very clearly explains such a fruitful sector of space research in an original way. However, a plea must be put in for ground-based telescopic observers who are systematically sleighted; in particular, several pages are used up, unjustifiably in this reviewer's opinion, to the criticism of Percival Lowell's work on Mars. The layout of the book is clear, though it does result in a significant proportion of pages with large blank areas. The illustrations are on the whole adequate, except where they are used to convey ideas on photographic resolution; evidently the authors have not in these instances allowed for the inevitable degradation that results from half-tone printing processes.

Observatoire deParis-Meudon EDWARD L. G. BOWELL