Michael Carroll 
Planet Earth, Past and Present 
Parallels Between Our World and its Celestial Neighbors

The Earth is not the world it once was, and it is not the world it will always be.  

This book describes the exciting, complex, and occasionally baffling history of our own planet. Over the course of its 4.5 billion years, Earth has undergone astonishing changes to its surface and atmosphere, at times more closely resembling other planets in our Solar System than the habitable, teeming biosphere of today. 

Through these otherworldly analogs, author-illustrator Michael Carroll teaches readers about different aspects of our own planet’s past. Our nearest cosmic neighbor, Venus, offers insights into Earth’s own young atmosphere and surface, while Saturn’s moon Titan may offer a window into the genesis of life on Earth. 
Planet Earth, Past and Present explores these and many more connections.

 

Original art accompanies each chapter, depicting major stages of the Earth’s evolution and providing vivid comparisons to other planets or moons. Come along on this journey through the Solar System—a journey that ultimately leads us home.

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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.

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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.