The Quest For Alien Planets

The Quest For Alien Planets PDF Author: Paul Halpern
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
Details the important discoveries of the first known worlds beyond the solar system; explores the search for planets similar and alien to Earth.

The Quest For Alien Planets

The Quest For Alien Planets PDF Author: Paul Halpern
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
Details the important discoveries of the first known worlds beyond the solar system; explores the search for planets similar and alien to Earth.

Planet Quest

Planet Quest PDF Author: Ken Croswell
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780192880833
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 348

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Book Description
Are we alone? In 1995 planet hunters discovered the first alien solar system around a star like our own Sun. Ken Croswell tells the fascinating story of this discovery and the people who made it, then explores the possibility that one day we may have the technology to travel to different solar systems and find life.

Strange New Worlds

Strange New Worlds PDF Author: Ray Jayawardhana
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 069115807X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 278

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Book Description
Describes the science of planet hunters, the prospects for the discovery of alien life, and discusses the controversies surrounding extrasolar-planet research.

Exoplanets

Exoplanets PDF Author: Donald Goldsmith
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674988876
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 129

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Book Description
“How do alien, faraway worlds reveal their existence to Earthlings? Let Donald Goldsmith count the ways. As an experienced astronomer and a gifted storyteller, he is the perfect person to chronicle the ongoing hunt for planets of other stars.” —Dava Sobel Astronomers have recently discovered thousands of planets that orbit stars throughout our Milky Way galaxy. With his characteristic wit and style, Donald Goldsmith presents the science of exoplanets and the search for extraterrestrial life in a way that Earthlings with little background in astronomy or astrophysics can understand and enjoy. Much of what has captured the imagination of planetary scientists and the public is the unexpected strangeness of these distant worlds, which bear little resemblance to the planets in our solar system. The sizes, masses, and orbits of exoplanets detected so far raise new questions about how planets form and evolve. Still more tantalizing are the efforts to determine which exoplanets might support life. Astronomers are steadily improving their means of examining these planets’ atmospheres and surfaces, with the help of advanced spacecraft sent into orbits a million miles from Earth. These instruments will provide better observations of planetary systems in orbit around the dim red stars that throng the Milky Way. Previously spurned as too faint to support life, these cool stars turn out to possess myriad planets nestled close enough to maintain Earthlike temperatures. The quest to find other worlds brims with possibility. Exoplanets shows how astronomers have broadened our planetary horizons, and suggests what may come next, including the ultimate discovery: life beyond our home planet.

Alien Oceans

Alien Oceans PDF Author: Kevin Hand
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691227284
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
Inside the epic quest to find life on the water-rich moons at the outer reaches of the solar system Where is the best place to find life beyond Earth? We often look to Mars as the most promising site in our solar system, but recent scientific missions have revealed that some of the most habitable real estate may actually lie farther away. Beneath the frozen crusts of several of the small, ice-covered moons of Jupiter and Saturn lurk vast oceans that may have existed for as long as Earth, and together may contain more than fifty times its total volume of liquid water. Could there be organisms living in their depths? Alien Oceans reveals the science behind the thrilling quest to find out. Kevin Peter Hand is one of today's leading NASA scientists, and his pioneering research has taken him on expeditions around the world. In this captivating account of scientific discovery, he brings together insights from planetary science, biology, and the adventures of scientists like himself to explain how we know that oceans exist within moons of the outer solar system, like Europa, Titan, and Enceladus. He shows how the exploration of Earth's oceans is informing our understanding of the potential habitability of these icy moons, and draws lessons from what we have learned about the origins of life on our own planet to consider how life could arise on these distant worlds. Alien Oceans describes what lies ahead in our search for life in our solar system and beyond, setting the stage for the transformative discoveries that may await us.

Alien Universe

Alien Universe PDF Author: Don Lincoln
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421410737
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 279

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Book Description
Are alien civilizations really possible? If extraterrestrials exist, where are they? How likely is it that somewhere in the universe an Earth-like planet supports an advanced culture? Why do so many people claim to have encountered Aliens? In this gripping exploration, scientist Don Lincoln exposes and explains the truths about the belief in and the search for life on other planets. In the first half of Alien Universe, Lincoln looks to Western civilization's collective image of Aliens, showing how our perceptions of extraterrestrials have evolved over time. The roots of this belief can be traced as far back as our earliest recognition of other planets in the universe—the idea of them supporting life was a natural progression of thinking that has fascinated us ever since. Our captivation with Aliens has, however, led to mixed results. The world was fooled in the nineteenth century during the Great Moon Hoax of 1835, and many people misunderstood Orson Welles's 1938 radio broadcast, The War of the Worlds, leading to significant anxiety among some listeners. Our continuing interest in Aliens is reflected in entertainment successes such as E.T., The X-Files, and Star Trek. The second half of the book explores the scientific possibility of whether advanced Alien civilizations do exist. For many years, researchers have sought to answer Enrico Fermi’s great paradox—if there are so many planets in the universe and there is a high probability that many of those can support life, then why have we not actually encountered any Aliens? Lincoln describes how modern science teaches us what is possible and what is not in our search for extraterrestrial civilizations. Whether you are drawn to the psychological belief in Aliens, the history of our interest in life on other planets, or the scientific possibility of Alien existence, Alien Universe is sure to hold you spellbound.

Planet Hunters

Planet Hunters PDF Author: Lucas Ellerbroek
Publisher: Reaktion Books
ISBN: 1780238789
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 269

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Book Description
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.

The Alien World

The Alien World PDF Author: Steven Eisler
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780517305607
Category : Life on other planets
Languages : en
Pages : 96

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Book Description


New Worlds in the Cosmos

New Worlds in the Cosmos PDF Author: Michel Mayor
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521812070
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
Table of contents

First Contact

First Contact PDF Author: Marc Kaufman
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 143910901X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
Kaufman details the incredible true story of science's search for the beginnings of life on Earth and the probability that it exists elsewhere in the universe.