The Big Splat, or How Our Moon Came to Be - by Dana MacKenzie (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

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.

From the Back Cover

GENESIS REVISED

"It takes a certain amount of courage to step beyond one's day-to-day experiments and look at the big picture?and the origin of the Moon is a 'big picture' question par excellence. Perhaps it makes sense that William Hartmann, one of the two scientists who unraveled the Moon's biggest mystery, is not only a scientist but also a part-time artist and science fiction writer. It took someone with an artist's eye and a fiction writer's speculative temperament to see the big picture.

"This is a book about that big picture: the origin of the Moon, as interpreted by Hartmann and Alastair Cameron, the second patriarch of "The Big Splat." It is also about a doomed planet called Theia, and a familiar one called Earth that used to look vastly different from today's Earth. But, most of all, it is about a long lineage of intellectual voyagers who began exploring the Moon long before Neil Armstrong planted his boot into the lunar dust."
--From the Introduction

Review Quotes

* "...Dana Mackenzie?reveals the truth..." (The Mail on Sunday, 30 March 2003)

"...this is a most useful and interesting book..." (New Scientist, 7 June 2003)

"A most useful and interesting book." (Patrick Moore in New Scientist)

"...an absorbing and informative account of the quest to explain the genesis of the moon..." (Astronomy & Space, June 2003)

"...fascinating! For everyone with even the slightest interest in astronomy?an insightful and entertaining read..." (M2 Best Books, 14 July 2003)

"Besides telling an interesting tale well and elucidating how science progresses, Mackenzie's book emphasizes the fact that impacts have been the primary creative and destructive process throughout the history of the Solar System." (NATURE)

"The Big Splat is a superb exploration of an important chapter in the history of Earth and its satellite. Every Moon-buff will want a copy." (Astronomy)

"...a comprehensive travelogue of lunar nativities throughout history..." (Astronomy Now, March 2004)

About the Author

DANA MACKENZIE holds a doctorate in mathematics from Princeton University. After teaching mathematics at Duke University and Kenyon College for more than a decade, in 1997 he completed the Science Communication Program at the University of California at Santa Cruz. Since then he has been a freelance science writer, with articles appearing in such magazines as Science, Discover, American Scientist, Astronomy, and New Scientist. He lives in Santa Cruz with his wife as well as three cats and a dog.