SKU: 34861077653

Epic Moon

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Epic MoonBy William P. Sheehan and Thomas A. Dobbins. Product Information: Hardbound, 6 by 9 inches, 364 pages, 186 Illustrations. About Epic Moon, A History of Lunar Exploration in the Age of the Telescope The Moon has always been one of the most obvious and in some ways the most enticing astronomical objects even from early times, it was Queen of the Night, and the naked eye sees more detail than even the largest telescopes reveal on Mars. As early as 1609

By William P. Sheehan and Thomas A. Dobbins.

Product Information: Hardbound, 6 by 9 inches, 364 pages, 186 Illustrations.

About Epic Moon, A History of Lunar Exploration in the Age of the Telescope
The Moon has always been one of the most obvious and in some ways the most enticing astronomical objects – even from early times, it was Queen of the Night, and the naked eye sees more detail than even the largest telescopes reveal on Mars.

As early as 1609 Galileo’s first telescope showed the Moon to be another world. The Moon has thus been the object of intense study not only since the 1960s but for at least the previous three and a half centuries. The eye arrived before the boot. By the same token, the first “race to the Moon” was not undertaken by American astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts but by German and British selenographers in the nineteenth century, who mapped lunar detail so painstakingly that by 1878 – the year Julius Schmidt of the Athens Observatory
published his great Moon map and also the year that Congress organized the United States Geological Survey
and assigned to it the task of making large-scale maps of the United States and its territories – it could be said
without exaggeration that the earthward hemisphere of the Moon had been depicted in greater detail and with more precision than many parts of the American West were depicted in existing maps of the time.

In part, the reason for the long preoccupation with lunar surface details lay in the fact that the mapping of the Moon provided a form of therapy for astronomically inclined obsessive personalities, whose monomaniacal tendencies were drawn to the seemingly inexhaustible project of recording the multitudinous features visible in even a six-inch telescope. In part, too, it lay in the partiality of selenographers for the project – first systematically pursued by Johann Schroeter, the Lilienthal magistrate, at the end of the eighteenth century – of discovering evidence of minor changes in the lunar surface. What became a Promethean quest for changes – veils, clouds, landslips, eruptions – was initially tied in with the theory that the lunar surface features had been formed by volcanic eruptions; however, it curiously survived the demise of the volcanic theory and still shows intermittent gasps of life in the largely amateur-driven search for transient lunar phenomena, or TLP.

The long era of pre-Apollo lunar studies is a fascinating subject that has never been told in detail. “No other book, recent or not-so recent, is devoted to the history of lunar studies with telescopes” (Clark R. Chapman). Though there was a lapse of interest in the Moon in the immediate post-Apollo era, there has been a recent “return to the Moon” with the successful Clementine and Lunar Prospector missions. There is also growing evidence of a return of amateur observers to the Moon as an object worthy of their attentions. This is understandable inasmuch as the Moon remains the most accessible planetary realm; it is, moreover, the only alien world open to geological prospecting from the eyepiece of the backyard telescope.

In that sense, this book is – like the Moon itself – both timely and timeless. The story of mankind’s endless fascination with the world of the Moon and the gallery of interesting characters who pursued the details of the lunar surface with often strange intensity is a modern-day epic. Many of the stories recounted for the first time here will still be recounted generations hence, when the Apollo explorations may seem a mere interlude in what has actually been a more sustained and more significant era of endeavour. It is possible that the names of Schroeter, Beer and Madler, Webb and Schmidt may prove to be as memorable as those of Armstrong, Aldrin, Cernan and Schmitt.

About The Authors:

A psychiatrist with a lifelong interest in astronomy, William P. Sheehan is a contributing editor of Sky & Telescope magazine, a member of the History of Astronomy Division of the American Astronomical
Association, and a consultant to Committee 41 (History) of the International Astronomical Union. His previous books include Planets and Perception, the definitive history of the Martian canal controversy; The Immortal Fire Within, a critically acclaimed biography of the astronomer Edward Emerson Barnard; and In Search of Planet Vulcan (with Richard Baum). Sheehan is a 2001 fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, a prestigious award given to artists, scholars and scientists “on the basis of distinguished achievement in the past and exceptional promise for future accomplishment.”

Thomas A. Dobbins is a keen observer of the Moon and planets and a contributing editor of Sky & Telescope magazine. He is the co-author of Introduction toObserving and Photographing the Solar System (with Donald C. Parker and the late Charles F. Capen) and Video Astronomy (with Steve Massey and Eric Douglas). Dobbins, the Director of Research for a chemical manufacturing firm, holds patents in diverse fields ranging from chemical processing and rocket propulsion to acoustic amplifier design.

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SKU: 34861077653

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Cuba, US
★★★★★ 5
So Far So Good
I adopted a young adult dog less than 2 weeks ago. She had spent over 12 hours a day in a crate and has excessive energy and anxiety built up. She is a strong chewer. So far, out of 6 toys, this is the only one still in one piece. It appears sturdy and extra bouncy. So much better than regular tennis balls.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2024
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Lisa B
Port Orchard, US
★★★★★ 5
My dogs favorite!
My dogs love these! They will play all day if you'd let them, these balls are their favorites. I use the chuck-it handle and they get tons of exercise in the big yard!
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Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2026
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Theredirishman
Chelsea, US
★★★★★ 5
The Dog LOVES IT!
I bought this for my ex-wife's Pitbull. He is an aggressive chewer and usually destroys any toy I buy him. But not this one! The ball is small enough and pliable that it gives when he chomps on it. He loves this ball and seems to be his favorite toy. Thank you for making a product that he likes and can't destroy!
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Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2024
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Sean
Chelsea, US
★★★★★ 5
My Golden Retriever’s favorite
We’ve owned lots of toys and balls. This specific version (in blue) has been her absolute favorite. She’s about 72lbs and chews on this thing regularly with no visible damage. We actually own about 6 of them because they have a tendency to go missing underneath furniture and in the yard. We have two of the orange colored ones but she doesn’t like those nearly as much which I assume is because the blue is easier to see in the grass. Other than that…They bounce really well and also whistle a little when you throw them hard enough. I hope they never stop making these.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2024
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Alp acct
Cuba, US
★★★★★ 4
doesn't whistle as loud as other chuckit balls I've seen, but a good ball.
makes some noise, but I've seen (and played with) others at the dog park that whistle much louder than the 1 I got. all Chuckit balls... so, just this one I'm betting. but it flys good and the dog loves to chase it. he chews it a fair bit as well and the ball has not taken much damage from him (lab mix) or others that have had a go at it. I'll likely buy another at some point ... just wish it was a little louder when flying.
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Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2025

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