	Distant Worlds: Milestones in Planetary Exploration by Peter Bond (Author) This book recounts the epic saga of how we as human beings have come to understand the Solar System. The story of our exploration of the heavens, Peter Bond reminds us, began thousands of years ago, with the naked-eye observations of the earliest scientists and philosophers. Over the centuries, as our knowledge and understanding inexorably broadened and deepened, we faltered many times, frequently labored under misconceptions, and faced seemingly insurmountable obstacles to understanding....
	Praxis Manned Spaceflight Log 1961-2006 (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration) by Tim Furniss (Author), David J. Shayler (Author), Michael D. Shayler (Author) Praxis Log of Manned Spaceflight 1961-2006 will open with a section entitled: Quest for Space, which will provide an explanation of the methods employed to get in and out of orbit and brief overviews of the different international space programmes. It will be a complete chronological log of all attempted orbital manned spaceflights, including the X-15 "astroflights" of the 1960s that only achieved an altitude of c. 50 miles and the two 1961 Mercury and Redstone missions which were...
	Celestial Mechanics: The Waltz of the Planets (Springer Praxis Books / Popular Astronomy) by Alessandra Celletti (Author), Ettore Perozzi (Author) The common perception of Celestial Mechanics is that of a discipline which needs advanced mathematics and astronomy to be understood. Yet modern Celestial Mechanics has a rather different taste and a truly interdisciplinary nature. The number of celestial objects known to mankind has dramatically increased, the long-awaited presence of extrasolar planets has been eventually detected around other stars, spaceflight dynamics has brought new applications encompassing rocked dynamics, the...

EDITORIAL REVIEWS

Product Description
The detection and exploration of extrasolar planets is one of the most exciting and fast moving areas of astronomical research at the present time. With over forty research programmes ongoing, and just as many planned, the search for these new worlds has become the main objective for a new generation of giant ground-based telescopes as well as many future space missions. Experimental methods and observational techniques are pushing existing instruments to their limits. The most exciting possibility offered by this research is the discovery of Earth-like extrasolar planets, with a mass comparable to that of Earth, located at the right distance from its star to host liquid water - in other words, a place where life could evolve. The authors tackle this challenging field of research by first looking at early searches for extrasolar planets, the very first discoveries and the observational techniques involved. They then examine the very wide range of extrasolar planets that have been discovered during the past ten years and look at what we can learn about such planets by studying the bodies in our own solar system. The formation of planetary systems, the way in which such systems may evolve and the final systems of planets that result are then discussed. Finally Drs Casoli and Encrenaz examine the possibilities for life on extrasolar planets, again using our own solar system as a model, and look to the plans for future extrasolar planet searches. A number of Appendices summarise the extrasolar planet discoveries to date.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 5.0 based on 2 reviews)

Answering a two-thousand year old question... by Stephen Pletko (London, Ontario, Canada)

5 Stars
November 23, 2008
XXXXX And that question is: Are there planets like ours elsewhere in the universe? This is the question answered in this amazing book authored by Dr. Fabienne Casoli (of the Astrophysics Space Institute in Paris and the University of Paris) and Dr. Therese Encrenaz (of the Space & Instrumentation Institute in Paris and the Paris Observatory). This book was originally published in French and later translated to English. You don't have to have any prior scientific understanding to read this book as everything is explained and defined in the main narrative. A planet orbiting a star other than our solar system's Sun is called an extrasolar planet or, more commonly, an exoplanet. (As of Nov. 2008, more than three hundred exoplanets have been detected and confirmed.) An exoEarth is an Earth-like planet not of our solar system. (Similarly, scientists talk of exoJupiters, exoSaturns, exoNeputunes, etc.) You can imagine the immense difficulty in directly imaging these planets when you consider that the typical star would be about a billion times brighter than its orbiting exoplanet(s). Therefore, indirect methods to find exoplanets must be used. After an intriguing and brief introductory chapter, this is where this book begins. Four major methods of exoplanet detection are detailed and exoplanet discoveries since 1995 are examined. Then the book considers what we have learned from our own solar system and discusses the formation of solar systems in general. (Solar system formation must be understood in order to understand planet formation.) From there, there is a fascinating chapter that considers the possibility of life in the universe and extraterrestrial civilizations. The final chapter deals with the exciting future of exoplanetary exploration with respect to space missions (some of which are now occurring) and telescopes. The main narrative is written in an interesting way. Each of the chapters is divided into titled sections. Above each section (in bold-face type) is a sentence that summarizes the detailed contents of a particular section thus making the book easy to read. For example, chapter 3 is entitled "Twelve years of discovery." Section 6 of this chapter is entitled "Cannibal Stars?" The sentence that summarizes this sections detailed contents reads as follows: "The probability of detecting a planet is greater if its star contains more of the heavy elements." (A heavy element is any chemical element with an atomic mass equal to or greater than that of carbon.) Almost on every page is at least one coloured illustration (in the form of a photograph, chart, graphs, etc.). I found that these helped immensely in understanding material introduced in the main narrative. My favourite photo has the following caption: "The first image of an extrasolar planet taken in 2004...The planet here appears in red and at the centre is the brown dwarf [a low-mass star] ." (I know! I know! Above I said that exoplanets are difficult to image but special cases can be imaged.) A feature of this book is that it has a glossary. This glossary is somewhat unique in that it defines terms that deal with exoplanets. As well, there are two interesting appendices titled "The eight planets of the solar system" and "The first 200 extrasolar planets" respectively. These two appendices allow the reader to compare physical and orbital parameters of exoplanets to those of our solar system's planets. Fascinating!! Finally, my only minor complaint with this book is that the illustrations (photographs, graphs, etc.) are not labelled with the numerical indicators figure 1, figure 2, etc. As I indicated above, this book is composed of numerous colour illustrations sometimes with more than one illustration appearing on a page. Thus, I think it would have been helpful to have numerical indicators on each of these illustrations. This is especially beneficial when the main narrative asks the reader to refer back to a previous illustration. In conclusion, this is an intriguing book that adequately explains a new science within astronomy--extrasolar planets or exoplanets!!! (first French edition published 2005; translated to English 2007; preface; 7 chapters; main narrative 165 pages; 2 appendixes; glossary; bibliography; index) XXXXX

Strongly recomend by Michael T. Miller (Seattle, WA USA)

5 Stars
October 19, 2007
Very interesting read. Gives all the basics on current methods of finding planets outside our solar system. Lots of good photos and graphs, though some of the graphs could have used more explanation. Not too technical - good for the lay person.

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

	The Crowded Universe: The Search for Living Planets by Alan Boss (Author) We are nearing a turning point in our quest for life in the universe—we now have the capacity to detect Earth-like planets around other stars. But will we find any? In The Crowded Universe, renowned astronomer Alan Boss argues that based on what we already know about planetary systems, in the coming years we will find abundant Earths, including many that are indisputably alive. Life is not only possible elsewhere in the universe, Boss argues—it is common. Boss describes how our ideas...
	Origins: How the Planets, Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Began (Astronomers' Universe) by Stephen Eales (Author) The Series This new series is aimed at the same people as the Practical Astronomy Series - in general, active amateur astronomers. However, it is also suitable for a wider audience of readers who already have some interest in astronomy. Because optical astronomy is at the mercy of the weather, all amateur astronomers inevitably have periods when observing is impossible. The Astronomers' Universe Series has been produced for those cloudy evenings. The series is...
	The Birth of Stars and Planets by John Bally (Author), Bo Reipurth (Author) Star formation is the fundamental cosmic process which makes galaxies visible, and regulates the evolution of normal matter in the Universe. New instruments and technologies are now enabling the exploration of fundamental cosmic processes. Scientists are beginning to understand the beauty and complexity of star and planet formation and their role in cosmic evolution. This fascinating book combines the latest astronomical images and data with descriptions of the exciting recent developments in...
	Titan Unveiled: Saturn's Mysterious Moon Explored by Ralph Lorenz (Author), Jacqueline Mitton (Author) In the early 1980s, when the two Voyager spacecraft skimmed past Titan, Saturn's largest moon, they transmitted back enticing images of a mysterious world concealed in a seemingly impenetrable orange haze. Titan Unveiled is one of the first general interest books to reveal the startling new discoveries that have been made since the arrival of the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn and Titan. Ralph Lorenz and Jacqueline Mitton take readers behind the scenes of this mission. Launched in...
	Cassini at Saturn: Huygens Results (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration) by David M. Harland (Author) Cassini At Saturn – Huygens Results brings the story of the Cassini-Huygens mission and their joint exploration of the Saturnian system right up to date. Cassini entered orbit around Saturn June 2004 so this update includes 8 months of scientific data available for review, including the most spectacular images of Saturn, its rings and satellites ever obtained by a space mission. As the Cassini spacecraft approached its destination in spring 2004, the quality of the images already being...