Planet Earth, Past and Present

Artist/writer Michael Carroll has written over 30 books and dozens of articles on science topics ranging from space to archeology. Several of his short stories have appeared in Analog. His latest nonfiction book, Ice Worlds of the Solar System, was released by Springer in 2018. His latest novel in Springer’s science and fiction series, Plato’s Labyrinth, was released in 2021. Carroll is the recipient of the AAS Division of Planetary Sciences award for best feature article of the year. His art has appeared in several hundred magazines throughout the world, including National Geographic, Time, Smithsonian, Astronomy, and others. One of his paintings is on Mars—in digital form—on the deck of the Phoenix Lander. Carroll is the 2006 recipient of the Lucien Rudaux Award for lifetime achievement in the Astronomical Arts, and is a Fellow of the International Association for the Astronomical Arts.

• Chapter 1: Beginnings.- Chapter 2: Asteroid belt: the impact of an uneasy relationship during the great solar system.- Chapter 3: Earth=Mercury: Earth as a molten world.- Chapter 4: Earth=Venus: Our planet as a Dante-esque oven.- Chapter 5: Earth=Titan.- Chapter 6: Earth=Mars: the “Snowball” Earth.- Chapter 7: Surrogate Earths: making homes away from home.- Chapter 8: Distant Earths: exoplanets with potential.- Chapter 9: Earth=Venus, part II: Future Earths.