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

by Michael Summers Narrated by Jon Bennett

Overview

Since its 2009 launch, the Kepler satellite has discovered more than two thousand exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system. More exoplanets are being discovered all the time, remarkable in their variety. 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. 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. In short, we have to change how we think about the universe and our place in it, because it is stranger and more interesting than we could have imagined.

Editorial Reviews

Library Journal - Audio

★ 10/15/2017
George Mason University professors Summers (astronomy) and Trefil (physics; Space Atlas: Mapping the Universe and Beyond) discuss and evaluate the recent discoveries from the Kepler satellite. Kepler was launched in 2009 and has since identified thousands of planets in the galaxy. These planets outside of our solar system, called exoplanets, have arrived in such an astonishing number and in places where planets should not form, such as planets near pulsars that should have been obliterated when that star went supernova, that they have turned astronomy on its head. The authors take the listener on a tour of a Diamond World, a Super Earth, and even a Rogue Planet (one that does not orbit a nearby star). They also discuss various "chauvinisms" that present as biases in science today, such as surface, stellar, and carbon chauvinisms (i.e., scientists will assume life can only form on the surface, in a zone congruent in temperature to Earth, and must be carbon-based). Jon Bennett's soft voice lures the listener as he expounds upon the universe. VERDICT With the current spate of consumer-friendly writing promoting interest in science, this audiobook is highly recommended for all libraries.—Jason L. Steagall, Gateway Technical Coll. Lib., Elkhorn, WI

Product Details

BN ID:	2940175394512
Publisher:	Dreamscape Media
Publication date:	03/28/2017
Edition description:	Unabridged

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