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Overview"Soon astronomers expect to find alien Earths by the dozens in orbit around distant suns. Before the decade is out, telltale signs that they harbor life may be found. If they are, the ramifications for all areas of human thought and endeavor - from religion and philosophy to art and biology - will be breathtaking. In ""Strange New Worlds"", renowned astronomer Ray Jayawardhana brings news from the front lines of the epic quest to find planets - and alien life - beyond our solar system. Only in the past fifteen years, after millennia of speculation, have astronomers begun to discover planets around other stars - hundreds in fact. But the hunt to find a true Earth-like world goes on. In this book, Jayawardhana vividly recounts the stories of the scientists and the remarkable breakthroughs that have ushered in this extraordinary age of exploration. He describes the latest findings - including his own - that are challenging our view of the cosmos and casting new light on the origins and evolution of planets and planetary systems. He reveals how technology is rapidly advancing to support direct observations of Jupiter-like gas giants and super-Earths - rocky planets with several times the mass of our own planet - and how astronomers use biomarkers to seek possible life on other worlds. ""Strange New Worlds"" provides an insider's look at the cutting-edge science of today's planet hunters, our prospects for discovering alien life, and the debates and controversies at the forefront of extrasolar-planet research." Full Product DetailsAuthor: Ray JayawardhanaPublisher: Princeton University Press Imprint: Princeton University Press Dimensions: Width: 14.00cm , Height: 2.70cm , Length: 21.60cm Weight: 0.482kg ISBN: 9780691142548ISBN 10: 0691142548 Pages: 272 Publication Date: 20 February 2011 Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , General , Tertiary & Higher Education Replaced By: 9781400846542 Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Out of Print Availability: In Print  Limited stock is available. It will be ordered for you and shipped pending supplier's limited stock. Language: English Table of ContentsReviewsWith the seemingly endless stream of news about discoveries of alien planets, it's easy to forget that just 20 years ago exoplanets were no more than theoretical possibilities. Now astronomer Ray Jayawardhana tells the story of how the dramatic hunt has unfolded, from the early days of stellar astronomy to present-day speculation about life outside our solar system. -- New Scientist Professor Jayawardhana is an award-winning science writer and an eminent planet-hunter, and so is the perfect person to write an accessible guidebook to the new worlds we're discovering in our galaxy. He explains how many of those discovered so far are pretty exotic, bloated and massive or scorchingly close to their sun, and how we've even had our first weather report for another world. But what's most exciting is that this book explains how we now have within our grasp the ability to spot a true twin of Earth. -- BBC Focus Author InformationRay Jayawardhana is professor and Canada Research Chair in Observational Astrophysics at the University of Toronto, as well as an award-winning science writer. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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