Rendezvous with Rama

I've had this book title in my head since I remember seeing an add for a Commodore 64 video game. It was a great sounding title, even if I had no idea what the book was about.

The book is set in the not-so-distant future. Humanity occupies multiple planets in the solar system. There are various squabbles, fights and conflicts as would be expected. People tend to identify themselves with the planet (or moon) that they inhabit.

Things get interesting when a strange object is noticed in the sky. It appears to be coming towards the solar system. However, it does not seem right. They discover that it is some type of spacecraft. A group goes to explore it. They discover that it is somewhat alien in origin, but the inhabitants seem to have passed away. They are able to go instead and explore. They spend time exploring and run into some sort of "servant" beings. 

The spacecraft appears to have traveled for millenia. It gets closer and closer to the sun, causing water to melt inside. Some humans from Mercury freak out and attempt to destroy it, yet some of the explorers disable the bomb. The people bail before it gets too close to the sun. They then discover that it was only on a "refueling" stop before it continued on its journal.

This interaction with aliens is a very passive one. Orson Scott Card carried on the "insect-like" aliens further in Ender's Game. In this book, the aliens really didn't care about the humans. They may not have even noticed their presence. This may be similar to an earthly voyage of discovery that landed on a "deserted" island for a fuel stop. They may never have noticed the natives that game to the ship. Perhaps later things would have changed.