Traveling between Asteroids and Comets by Giordano Cevolani and Antonio Piazzolla, review

Traveling between Asteroids and Comets by Giordano Cevolani and Antonio Piazzolla

Our Universe, according to the most recent and accredited studies, has a history that began 13.8 billion years, a period of time so extended as to be almost incalculable, unimaginable for beings whose life expectancy goes up to around one hundred. years. One of the most fascinating aspects of astronomy is precisely the scale of magnitudes of space and time dealt with, enormously greater than the very small ones of our lives and our contingent daily reality. The study of what happens beyond and outside the borders of the planet Earth is also of fundamental importance for a correct understanding of the phenomena that interest it, as well as to know their origins. For this reason, books such as Traveling Between Asteroids and Comets are a very useful tool in the hands of readers to give adequate answers to questions and doubts about the known Universe and about certain astronomical objects in particular.

The solar system of red dwarf TRAPPIST-1 with its 7 planets is located 39.5 light years from us

To the scientific value in itself of astronomy we must also add its fundamental contribution to the birth and development of science fiction, the which, in turn, with historical television series like Star Trek, in turn stimulates scientists to push the limits of our knowledge one step further, with expeditions like the Mars Pathfinder. Comets and asteroids are objects we have all heard of, and studying them not only helps us understand information such as their origin and composition, but also how their history is intimately connected to that of our Universe.

Traveling between Asteroids and Comets: who are the authors

Traveling between Asteroids and Comets is a text that could be defined as authoritative, given its authors. Giordano Cevolani is a physicist, planetologist, geophysicist, teacher and researcher to whom the asteroid 6069 Cevolani was dedicated in 1996. He is also the author of over 200 publications, including some scientific essays. He has participated in several studies on the atmosphere of the planet Earth and, more generally, on our solar system.

Giordano Cevolani

Antonio Piazzolla is a journalist and science writer, collaborator of several newspapers like Le Stelle, Forbes and Huffpost. You can find more information about him and his work and many interesting news, not only about astronomy, on his official website.

Antonio Piazzolla with a copy of Traveling between Asteroids and Comets

Traveling between Asteroids and Comets: the contents ...

The text in question talks in great detail about the two types of celestial bodies mentioned in the title, taking all the time to analyze the history of their study from the beginning, to finally arrive at a discussion of the most pioneering aspects of space exploration. All this is made possible by the fact that the text consists of 207 pages in total, which contributes to making it a volume for enthusiasts who want to know every aspect of life and interactions with the surrounding space, more or less distant from asteroids and comets. In Viaggio tra Asteroidi, however, is presented in a rather small and compact format, with a flexible plastic cover.

Graphic representation of 16 Psyche, an asteroid with a diameter of 250 km composed almost exclusively of iron and nickel

From a content point of view, the volume covers various topics in an exhaustive manner, focusing on the space missions that have allowed us to explore space in an ever more in-depth manner. of course, basic information on asteroids and comets is also provided, explaining what kind of astronomical objects they are and when they were first discovered, studied and analyzed, up to the most recent, much richer information.

A very interesting datum is also the analysis of the so to speak economic aspect of the study of asteroids: they are in fact objects also composed of materials such as rare earths, gold and platinum, for which we are already thinking about finding a way to be able to extract them which, however, is also profitable, since the extraction of precious materials from bodies so distant from the Earth would have very high costs.

Comets also have a particular charm, since it is believed that they have always played a role fundamental in the diffusion of gas and particles in space, some of which were fundamental for the birth, development and evolution of the many forms of plant and animal life present i on our planet.

Astrobiology, or "the researches concerning the origin, evolution and distribution of life forms in the Universe", to quote In Viaggio tra Asteroidi e Comet, starts precisely from this awareness, enjoying ever greater success even outside its own specific field as the answer to the question arouses enormous interest and curiosity: are there other forms of intelligent life somewhere in the Universe? Naturally, astrobiology pauses to observe and study even the most elementary forms of alien life, which are also fundamental for understanding the conditions in which they develop.

In Traveling between Asteroids and Comets you will also find an entire chapter , the fifth, dedicated to Pluto, once considered to all intents and purposes a planet of our solar system and rather recently "downgraded" to a dwarf planet. The chapter also focuses on the other planets closest to us and on the various scientific study missions launched to learn more about the solar system of which our Earth is part.

The volume then concludes with a futuristic and intriguing section dedicated to the future of space travel, also talking about projects not yet started and also about the failures and fatal accidents that have caused the death of several astronauts, during this long and complex process of study and exploration.

… and the shape

Let's now pass to the real sore point of Traveling between Asteroids and Comets: the editing work, almost non-existent, to the point that it seems to be facing a draft not yet revised. Some errors and typos are so coarse and obvious that they stand out even in the eyes of the layman, but a professional editor can't help but get their hands in their hair screaming at the sight of so much sloppiness. The problems are of all sorts, ranging from trifles to real aberrations, and unfortunately they are found from the beginning to the end of the work.

They range from typos (involuntary typing errors) of different nature to oversights in bolds to an incorrect use of punctuation and apostrophes, passing through the spelling of acronyms (“NASA” sometimes becomes “Nasa”) to unpleasant close repetitions of the same term; the most serious errors concern the wrong singular / plural concordance and the chilling and really inexplicable (it was enough to copy / paste from Google ...) wrong transcription of the title of a text by Carl Friedrich Gauss, in Latin, which from "Theoria Motus Corporum Coelestium in Sectionibus Conicis Solem Ambientium "becomes the terrible and highly incorrect" Theory motu corpo rum telestico in secessionista conici Solem ambientum ".

Although editing is practically non-existent, the intrinsic value of Traveling between Asteroids and Comets it is absolutely undeniable, and its reading, even if tainted by the presence of typos and errors of all kinds, is really pleasant and satisfying. If you want to buy it and thus satisfy your curiosity about our Universe in general and about asteroids and comets in particular, you can find Traveling between Asteroids and Comets here on Amazon.