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Astronomers are on the verge of answering one of our most profound questions: are we alone in the universe? The ability to detect life in remote solar systems is at last within sight, and its discovery—even if only in microbial form—would revolutionize our self-image. Planet Hunters is the rollicking tale of the search for extraterrestrial life and the history of an academic discipline. Astronomer Lucas Ellerbroek takes readers on a fantastic voyage through space, time, history, and even to the future as he describes the field of exoplanet research, from the early ideas of sixteenth-century heretic Giordano Bruno to the discovery of the first exoplanet in 1995 to the invention of the Kepler Space Telescope. We join him on his travels as he meets with leading scientists in the field, including Michel Mayor, who discovered the first exoplanet, and Bill Borucki, principal investigator for NASA’s Kepler mission. Taken together, the experiences, passion, and perseverance of the scientists featured here make the book an exciting and compelling read. Presenting cutting-edge research in a dynamic and accessible way, Planet Hunters is a refreshing look into a field where new discoveries come every week and paradigms shift every year.
He has discovered more planets than anyone in history. In this inspiring true story, winner of the American Institute of Physics Award, Geoff Marcy's love of space helped him overcome struggles in his studies until finally he became an astronomer. But he was not on track to make major discoveries. Eventually, he went back to the questions that thrilled him as a boy: Are we alone? Do Earth-like planets orbit the stars in the night sky? It would not be easy to find a planet outside our solarsystem. Others had tried and failed. But Marcy never gave up. Since 1995, he and his colleagues have discovered nearly half of the 380 known "extrasolar" planets. Stunning paintings transport the reader to the exotic worlds that he and others have found.
In the vastness of space, countless planets exist. Scientists are actively studying as many of them as they can. How many could support life as Earth does? And what other wonderful worlds will our technology find?
He has discovered more planets than anyone in history. In this inspiring true story, winner of the American Institute of Physics Award, Geoff Marcy's love of space helped him overcome struggles in his studies until finally he became an astronomer. But he was not on track to make major discoveries. Eventually, he went back to the questions that thrilled him as a boy: Are we alone? Do Earth-like planets orbit the stars in the night sky? It would not be easy to find a planet outside our solar system. Others had tried and failed. But Marcy never gave up. Since 1995, he and his colleagues have discovered nearly half of the 380 known "extrasolar" planets. Stunning paintings transport the reader to the exotic worlds that he and others have found.
In the mid-1990s, astronomers made history when they began to find planets orbiting stars in the Milky Way. More than eight hundred planets have been found since then, yet none of them is anything like Earth and none could support life. Now, armed with more powerful technology, planet hunters are racing to find a true twin of Earth. Science writer Michael Lemonick has unique access to these exoplaneteers, as they call themselves, and Mirror Earth unveils their passionate quest. Unlike competitors in other races, Geoff Marcy, Bill Borucki, David Charbonneau, Sara Seager, and others actually consult and cooperate with one another. But only one will be the first to find Earth's twin. Mirror Earth tells the story of their competition.
Forget about rockets to Mars – the future of space science lies with the search for exoplanets Twenty years ago, the search for planets outside the Solar System was the preserve of science-fiction writers. Now it's one of the fastest-growing fields in astronomy, with thousands of exoplanets discovered to date, and the number rising fast. These new-found worlds are more alien than anything in fiction. Planets larger than Jupiter with years lasting a week; others with two suns lighting their skies, or with no sun at all. Planets with diamond mantles supporting oceans of tar; possible Earth-sized worlds with split hemispheres of perpetual day and night; waterworlds drowning under global oceans and volcanic lava planets awash with seas of magma. The discovery of this diversity is just the beginning. There is a whole galaxy of possibilities. The Planet Factory tells the story of these exoplanets. What can we learn about these faraway surface environments and planetary atmospheres? And do the results hint at the tantalising possibility of alien life?
How Do You Find an Exoplanet? by John Asher Johnson Pdf
An authoritative primer on the cutting-edge science of planet hunting Alien worlds have long been a staple of science fiction. But today, thanks to modern astronomical instrumentation and the achievements of many enterprising observational astronomers, the existence of planets outside our solar system—also known as exoplanets—has moved into the realm of science fact. With planet hunters finding ever smaller, more Earth-like worlds, our understanding of the cosmos is forever changed, yet the question of how astronomers make these discoveries often goes unanswered. How Do You Find an Exoplanet? is an authoritative primer on the four key techniques that today's planet hunters use to detect the feeble signals of planets orbiting distant stars. John Johnson provides you with an insider’s perspective on this exciting cutting-edge science, showing how astronomers detect the wobble of stars caused by the gravitational tug of an orbiting planet, the slight diminution of light caused by a planet eclipsing its star, and the bending of space-time by stars and their planets, and how astronomers even directly take pictures of planets next to their bright central stars. Accessible to anyone with a basic foundation in college-level physics, How Do You Find an Exoplanet? sheds new light on the prospect of finding life outside our solar system, how surprising new observations suggest that we may not fully understand how planets form, and much more.
An insider's look at the cutting-edge science of today's planet hunters In Strange New Worlds, renowned astronomer Ray Jayawardhana brings news from the front lines of the epic quest to find planets—and alien life—beyond our solar system. Only in the past two decades, after millennia of speculation, have astronomers begun to discover planets around other stars—thousands in fact. Now they are closer than ever to unraveling distant twins of the Earth. In this book, Jayawardhana vividly recounts the stories of the scientists and the remarkable breakthroughs that have ushered in this extraordinary age of exploration. He describes the latest findings--including his own—that are challenging our view of the cosmos and casting new light on the origins and evolution of planets and planetary systems. He reveals how technology is rapidly advancing to support direct observations of Jupiter-like gas giants and super-Earths—rocky planets with several times the mass of our own planet—and how astronomers use biomarkers to seek possible life on other worlds. Strange New Worlds provides an insider's look at the cutting-edge science of today's planet hunters, our prospects for discovering alien life, and the debates and controversies at the forefront of extrasolar-planet research. In a new afterword, Jayawardhana explains some of the most recent developments as we search for the first clues of life on other planets.
The captivating, all-but-forgotten story of Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, and the search for a planet that never existed For more than fifty years, the world’s top scientists searched for the “missing” planet Vulcan, whose existence was mandated by Isaac Newton’s theories of gravity. Countless hours were spent on the hunt for the elusive orb, and some of the era’s most skilled astronomers even claimed to have found it. There was just one problem: It was never there. In The Hunt for Vulcan, Thomas Levenson follows the visionary scientists who inhabit the story of the phantom planet, starting with Isaac Newton, who in 1687 provided an explanation for all matter in motion throughout the universe, leading to Urbain-Jean-Joseph Le Verrier, who almost two centuries later built on Newton’s theories and discovered Neptune, becoming the most famous scientist in the world. Le Verrier attempted to surpass that triumph by predicting the existence of yet another planet in our solar system, Vulcan. It took Albert Einstein to discern that the mystery of the missing planet was a problem not of measurements or math but of Newton’s theory of gravity itself. Einstein’s general theory of relativity proved that Vulcan did not and could not exist, and that the search for it had merely been a quirk of operating under the wrong set of assumptions about the universe. Levenson tells the previously untold tale of how the “discovery” of Vulcan in the nineteenth century set the stage for Einstein’s monumental breakthrough, the greatest individual intellectual achievement of the twentieth century. A dramatic human story of an epic quest, The Hunt for Vulcan offers insight into how science really advances (as opposed to the way we’re taught about it in school) and how the best work of the greatest scientists reveals an artist’s sensibility. Opening a new window onto our world, Levenson illuminates some of our most iconic ideas as he recounts one of the strangest episodes in the history of science. Praise for The Hunt for Vulcan “Delightful . . . a charming tale about an all-but-forgotten episode in science history.”—The Wall Street Journal “Engaging . . . At heart, this is a story about how science advances, one insight at a time. But the immediacy, almost romance, of Levenson’s writing makes it almost novelistic.”—The Washington Post “A well-structured, fast-paced example of exemplary science writing.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
While modern technology has helped astronomers view the furthest reaches of the Solar System, it has also allowed scientists to start discovering planets orbiting distant stars. To make it easier to assess the relative mass and size of the new planets being discovered, scientists give these measurements as multiples of those properties for either Jupiter or Earth. In other words, if the planet is the same mass as Jupiter, then this measure would be listed as 1.0 MJ. If it were three times the mass of Earth, then it would be listed as 3.0 MEarth. The sizes of exoplanets are frequently given by expressing their radii as multiples of Jupiter's radius or as multiples of Earth's radius, RJ and REarth, respectively. Of course, given the immense distances involved, detecting exoplanets has always been hard, even to this day. The variations of light that might be evidence of an exoplanet can be caused by other phenomena, and separating the false positives from the actual detections is part of the rigor required by modern planet hunters. For example, in July 1988, a Canadian team led by astronomers Bruce Campbell, Gordon Walker, and Stephenson Yang discovered persistent indications that a planet orbited the primary star in the Gamma Cephei system, 44.98 light-years (13.79 parsecs) from the Earth. Though the technique they used was successfully employed in many subsequent discoveries, the quality of their data was insufficient for others to verify as unequivocally the result of an extrasolar planet. For reasons of poor data quality, the claimed discovery of Gamma Cephei Ab was retracted in 1992. The first confirmed discovery of an exoplanet involved a system that surprised most planet hunters. While most astronomers had been looking to find planets orbiting stars in the main sequence (between infancy and old age) or in their old age (giant phase), the first confirmed planets were found to orbit a dead star, the burnt-out core of a former giant star now broadcasting a rapid series of pulses to the rest of the universe. The first planet confirmed to be orbiting a sun-like star made the news in 1995, discovered by two Swiss scientists, Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz, using the radial velocity method. The planet was given the technical designation of 51 Pegasi b, and the more palatable name, Dimidium. Since the inclination of the planet's orbit to our line of sight remains unknown, we can only know the minimum estimated mass calculated to be 0.472 MJ (slightly less than half the mass of Jupiter).Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the discovery was the distance of this gas giant from its parent star. This planet, 51 Pegasi b, is so close to its sun that it only takes 4.23 days for it to complete one orbit, and since it is so close to its star, the planet is an estimated 1,011° Celsius. Though the color of the star, 51 Pegasi, is like that of our Sun, the exoplanet's parent is slightly larger and more massive. With a spectral type of G2IV, 51 Pegasi has evolved off the main sequence into the beginnings of stellar old age as a subgiant. This is consistent with its estimated age of 6.1 billion years: about 1.6 billion years older than the Solar System. Of course, given the way that exoplanets can seemingly be found anywhere, the revelations brought a new level of excitement - and interest - in finding other exoplanets, particularly ones most like Earth.
Ever since the serendipitous discovery of planet Uranus in 1871, astronomers have been hunting for new worlds in the outer regions of our solar system. This exciting and ongoing quest culminated recently in the discovery of hundreds of ice dwarfs in the Kuiper belt, robbed Pluto from its ‘planet’ status, and led to a better understanding of the origin of the solar system. This timely book reads like a scientific ‘who done it’, going from the heights of discovery to the depths of disappointment in the hunt for ‘Planet X’. Based on many personal interviews with astronomers, the well-known science writer Govert Schilling introduces the heroes in the race to be the first in finding another world, bigger than Pluto.
Inspire teenagers to read quality literature and help them explore issues relevant to their lives. This outstanding book offers motivational, ready-to-use booktalks for more than 100 of the best new reads for teenagers, guaranteed to pique teen interest. Each booktalk comes with complete bibliographic information, a detailed plot summary, helpful presentation tips, curriculum connections, and suggestions for related books and media. Grades 7-12. To help you keep the booktalk momentum going, Lucy Schall provides engaging follow-up discussion questions and activity ideas that will enhance every teen's reading, writing, and speaking skills. With a focus on recently published fiction and nonfiction titles in a wide variety of genres and themes, these dynamic booktalks center around issues, problems, and challenges that young adults are facing—from family concerns, expectations, and leadership to prejudice, good and evil, and the future. These lively booktalks and activities will motivate your teens to explore the complex world around them through unforgettable literary journeys.
The Science of Star Wars by Mark Brake,Jon Chase Pdf
Discover the science behind the most popular sci-fi franchise of all time! Capturing the imagination and hearts of crowds worldwide, Star Wars is a fantastic feat of science fiction and fantasy. The Science of Star Wars addresses 50 topics that span the movies’ universe such as battle technology, alien life, space travel, etc. You’ll find fascinating explorations of the physics of Star Wars, its plausibility, and more. The perfect Star Wars gift for fans of the saga, this book addresses many unanswered, burning questions, including: How long before we get a Star Wars speeder off the ground? What exactly is the Force? How could Kylo Ren stop a blaster shot in mid-air? How could we live on a gas giant like Bespin, or a desert planet like Tatooine? Nature versus nurture: How does it play out in the making of Jedi? How much would it cost to build the Death Star? And much more! We marvel at the variety of creatures and technology and the mystery behind the force. But how much of the Star Wars world is rooted in reality? Could we see some of the extraordinary inventions materialize in our world? This uncomplicated, entertaining read makes it easy to understand how advanced physics concepts, such as wormholes and Einstein’s theory of relativity, apply to the Star Wars universe. The Science of Star Wars explains to non-technical readers how physics and fantasy might merge to allow for the possibility of interstellar travel; communication with foreign but intelligent lifeforms; human-like robots; alien planets fit for human life; weapons and spacecraft such as laser guns, light sabers, and the Millennium Falcon; and Force-like psychokinetic powers. In the 21st Century, we’re on the edge of developing much of the technology from “a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away”… These fantasies aren’t as impossible as you might think! Written for every fan of George Lucas’s films, you don’t need to be a Jedi or an astrophysicist at NASA to appreciate all of Mark Brake and Jon Chase’s fun and informative analysis of this classic series in The Science of Star Wars. Prepare your mind to make the jump to light speed and find out about the facts behind one of our favorite modern epics!
