Exoplanets: Diamond Worlds, Super Earths, Pulsar Planets, and the New Search for Life Beyond Our Solar System

Really Good Survey With a Kicker on "The Curse of the Single Example" Doctor Moss This is a non-technical survey of exoplanet research. The authors write in an almost breezy, accessible style, telling us, first the basics of exoplanets, how they are detected, what the current state is, and then they go into a kind of tour guide to some example types of exoplanets. The book concludes with short chapters on the Drake Equation, the search for intelligence, and the Fermi Paradox.That’s a lot to cover in a little over 200 pages, so don’t expect too much depth on any one thing. I’ve been followin. As good as science fiction but 100% factual. One of the most interesting and thought provoking books I have read in a long time. Written by scientists in a way that most everyone should be able to understand.. Natchmo said The more we change or expand our views. "Exoplanets" coming from "Smithsonian Books is neat. I thought I was a generally educated layman on astronomy among other things. Apparently, I’ve failed. For some reason I’ve mnssed much of the last 10 years of Hubble and Kepler, astronomy findings and interpretation . What’s next in upsetting our older universe. Simply, I’m out of date.Where can I begin? Simply much of what we laypeople learned in school/college is outdated by new cosmological theories and interpretation. I do not know what is being ta

This captivating book reveals the latest discoveries and argues that the incredible richness and complexity we are finding necessitates a change in our questions and mental paradigms. Astronomer Michael Summers and physicist James Trefil explore these remarkable recent discoveries: planets revolving around pulsars, planets made of diamond, planets that are mostly water, and numerous rogue planets wandering through the emptiness of space. Since its 2009 launch, the Kepler satellite has discovered more than 2,000 exoplanets, or pl