Exoplanets : diamonds worlds, super-Earths, pulsar planets, and the new search for life beyond our solar system

The Past Few Years Have Seen An Incredible Explosion In Our Knowledge Of The Universe. 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, And Even More Remarkable Than The Sheer Number Of Exoplanets Is Their Variety. In Exoplanets, 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--novelist. Not Your Grandfather's Galaxy -- Our Backyard -- A Plurality Of Worlds -- What Is A Planet? -- The Kepler Spacecraft -- 55 Cancri E : Diamond World -- Haven : Rogue Planet -- Ice World -- Kepler 186f : Super Earth, Archipelago World -- Gliese 1214b : Water World -- Life On Earth -- The Search For Extraterrestrial Life -- The Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence -- The Fermi Paradox -- Epilogue. Michael Summers, James Trefil. Includes Index. The past few years have seen an incredible explosion in our knowledge of the universe. Since its 2009 launch, the Kepler satellite has discovered more than two thousand exoplanets, or planets outside of our solar system. More and more exoplanets are being discovered all the time, and even more remarkable than the sheer number of exoplanets is their variety. In Exoplanets, astronomer Michael Summers and physicist James Trefil explore the unbelievable recent discoveries: planets revolving around pulsars, planets made out of diamond, planets that are mostly water, and numerous rogue planets wandering through the emptiness of space. This captivating book reveals the latest, greatest discoveries and argues that the incredible richness and complexity we are finding necessitates a change in the questions we ask and the mental paradigms we use. 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 can even begin to imagine. The past few years have seen an incredible explosion in our knowledge of the universe. 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, and even more remarkable than the sheer number of exoplanets is their variety. In Exoplanets , 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. 218 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : 24 cm