Overview
- Will present the first findings from the Kepler telescope mission, which launched in 2009 with the express purpose of finding new worlds
- Explores the possibility of humans one day traveling to and living on exoplanets
- Reviews the possibility of finding alien life within the context of what we now know about exoplanets
- Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
Part of the book series: Astronomers' Universe (ASTRONOM)
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Table of contents (14 chapters)
Keywords
About this book
Exoplanets: Finding, Exploring, and Understanding Alien Worlds probes the basis for possible answers to the fundamentals questions asked about these planets orbiting stars other than our Sun. This book examines what such planets might be like, where they are, and how we find them.
Until around ten years ago, the only planets that we knew about were within the Solar System. The first genuine planet beyond the confines of the Solar System was discovered only 1988. Since then another 350 or so exoplanets have been detected by various methods, and most of these haven been found in the last ten years. Although many more exoplanets discoveries may be expected to occur even as this book is being read, a large enough data set is now available to form the basis for an informed general account of exoplanets.
The topic hence is an extremely "hot" one - all the more so because the recently launched Kepler spacecraft should soon start uncovering many more exoplanets, some perhaps comparable with the Earth (and therefore possibly alternative homes for mankind, if we could ever reach them). Exoplanets: Finding, Exploring, and Understanding Alien Life gives a comprehensive, balances, and above all accurate account of exoplanets.
Reviews
From the reviews:
“The book opens with a retrospective of important events, discoveries, claims, and speculations from prehistory onward, followed by discovery methods and speculation about future discovery methodology. … Kitchin’s lucid prose and clear diagrams provide a balanced, comprehensive summary of this ever-changing field. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and general readers.” (M.-K. Hemenway, Choice, Vol. 49 (10), June, 2012)
“The bulk of this is given over to a review of the detection techniques employed by astronomers, with an estimate of their effectiveness. … Kitchin writes clearly and makes the information accessible to non-experts. … this book is ideal background for low-level undergraduate courses or motivated lay persons.” (Don Pollacco, The Observatory, Vol. 132 (1229), August, 2012)
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Chris Kitchin has written or contributed to over two dozen books, and has published more than 500 articles in the astronomical journals and magazines. He also appears regularly on television, including many appearances on BBC TV's Sky at Night. His works for Springer includes, A Photo Guide to the Constellations: A Self-Teaching Guide to Finding Your Way Around the Heavens (1997), Solar Observing Techniques (2001), Illustrated Dictionary of Practical Astronomy (2002), and most recently Galaxies in Turmoil (2007). In his 'day job' Chris is Emeritus Professor of Astronomy at the University of Hertfordshire, where until recently he was also Head of Physics and Astronomy, and Director of the University Observatory. Like many other astronomers Chris's interest in the subject started early. At the age of fourteen, he constructed an 8-inch Newtonian after spending hundreds of hours grinding and polishing the main mirror from scratch. Despite using some of the largest telescopes in the world since then, Chris still enjoys just 'gazing at the heavens' - though nowadays it's through a German-made Zeiss Maksutov telescope.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Exoplanets
Book Subtitle: Finding, Exploring, and Understanding Alien Worlds
Authors: Chris Kitchin
Series Title: Astronomers' Universe
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0644-0
Publisher: Springer New York, NY
eBook Packages: Physics and Astronomy, Physics and Astronomy (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012
Softcover ISBN: 978-1-4614-0643-3Published: 01 November 2011
eBook ISBN: 978-1-4614-0644-0Published: 02 December 2011
Series ISSN: 1614-659X
Series E-ISSN: 2197-6651
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XVI, 281
Number of Illustrations: 40 b/w illustrations, 36 illustrations in colour
Topics: Space Sciences (including Extraterrestrial Physics, Space Exploration and Astronautics), Popular Science in Astronomy, Planetology