"Beyond the Solar System" by Willy Ley. NY: Viking, (1964). Jacket Art by Chesley Bonestell
From the blurb on the dust jacket:
Nearly twenty years ago, Chesley Bonestell and Willy Ley began their first collaboration on a book, which became the widely acclaimed "The Conquest of Space." It prophesied a manned flight to the moon -- now an official project on the agenda of the United States astronauts for a target date of 1970.
"Beyond the Solar System," in which beautiful full-color paintings and lucid text familiarize the reader with the stars in the comparatively nearby regions of the Milky Way galaxy, makes another startling prediction. The first interstellar expedition will be undertaken "when people now alive (though very young) will be able to watch the take-off on television -- say, half a century from now." This voyage will have as its goal the sun's nearest bright neighbor, the stellar system Alpha Centauri in the southern sky.
[The authors were on target back in the 1940's when they predicted a manned flight to the moon by 1970. But they were totally off in the early 1960's when they predicted interstellar travel by now. Even Star Trek couldn't do it until the 23rd century.}
"Beyond the Solar System" by Willy Ley. NY: Viking, (1964). Jacket Art by Chesley Bonestell
From the blurb on the dust jacket:
Nearly twenty years ago, Chesley Bonestell and Willy Ley began their first collaboration on a book, which became the widely acclaimed "The Conquest of Space." It prophesied a manned flight to the moon -- now an official project on the agenda of the United States astronauts for a target date of 1970.
"Beyond the Solar System," in which beautiful full-color paintings and lucid text familiarize the reader with the stars in the comparatively nearby regions of the Milky Way galaxy, makes another startling prediction. The first interstellar expedition will be undertaken "when people now alive (though very young) will be able to watch the take-off on television -- say, half a century from now." This voyage will have as its goal the sun's nearest bright neighbor, the stellar system Alpha Centauri in the southern sky.
[The authors were on target back in the 1940's when they predicted a manned flight to the moon by 1970. But they were totally off in the early 1960's when they predicted interstellar travel by now. Even Star Trek couldn't do it until the 23rd century.}