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Exoplanets: Hidden Worlds and the Quest for Extraterrestrial Life
Astronomers have recently discovered thousands of planets that orbit stars throughout our Milky Way galaxy. With his characteristic wit and style, Donald Goldsmith presents the science of exoplanets and the search for extraterrestrial life in a way that Earthlings with little background in astronomy or astrophysics can understand and enjoy.
Much of what has captured the imagination of planetary scientists and the public is the unexpected strangeness of these distant worlds, which bear little resemblance to the planets in our solar system. The sizes, masses, and orbits of exoplanets detected so far raise new questions about how planets form and evolve. Still more tantalizing are the efforts to determine which exoplanets might support life. Astronomers are steadily improving their means of examining these planets' atmospheres and surfaces, with the help of advanced spacecraft sent into orbits a million miles from Earth. These instruments will provide better observations of planetary systems in orbit around the dim red stars that throng the Milky Way. Previously spurned as too faint to support life, these cool stars turn out to possess myriad planets nestled close enough to maintain Earthlike temperatures.
The quest to find other worlds brims with possibility. Exoplanets shows how astronomers have broadened our planetary horizons, and suggests what may come next, including the ultimate discovery: life beyond our home planet.
Much of what has captured the imagination of planetary scientists and the public is the unexpected strangeness of these distant worlds, which bear little resemblance to the planets in our solar system. The sizes, masses, and orbits of exoplanets detected so far raise new questions about how planets form and evolve. Still more tantalizing are the efforts to determine which exoplanets might support life. Astronomers are steadily improving their means of examining these planets' atmospheres and surfaces, with the help of advanced spacecraft sent into orbits a million miles from Earth. These instruments will provide better observations of planetary systems in orbit around the dim red stars that throng the Milky Way. Previously spurned as too faint to support life, these cool stars turn out to possess myriad planets nestled close enough to maintain Earthlike temperatures.
The quest to find other worlds brims with possibility. Exoplanets shows how astronomers have broadened our planetary horizons, and suggests what may come next, including the ultimate discovery: life beyond our home planet.
272 pages, Hardcover
Published September 10, 2018
About the author
Donald Goldsmith
54 books28 followersDonald Goldsmith is an astrophysicist, popular science author and screenwriter. He is the president of Interstellar Media. He is also the winner of the 1995 American Astronomical Society's Annenberg Foundation Award for Education and the Klumpke-Roberts Prize for his contributions to the public understanding of astronomy.
He received his Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of California, Berkeley in 1969.He taught at Stony Brook University before becoming a full-time popularizer, and has written, co-written, or edited a number of popular science books.
His book "Origins," co-written with Neil Tyson, was the companion volume to the four-hour PBS series with the same title. Dr. Goldsmith worked on Carl Sagan's "COSMOS" series, and on Neil Tyson's series of the same name, and was the science editor and co-writer of the six-part PBS series "THE ASTRONOMERS." He has written many popular articles for journals such as Scientific American, Natural History, Discover, and Astronomy.
He received his Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of California, Berkeley in 1969.He taught at Stony Brook University before becoming a full-time popularizer, and has written, co-written, or edited a number of popular science books.
His book "Origins," co-written with Neil Tyson, was the companion volume to the four-hour PBS series with the same title. Dr. Goldsmith worked on Carl Sagan's "COSMOS" series, and on Neil Tyson's series of the same name, and was the science editor and co-writer of the six-part PBS series "THE ASTRONOMERS." He has written many popular articles for journals such as Scientific American, Natural History, Discover, and Astronomy.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 20, 2021
Exoplanets fell far short of my expectations, unfortunately...
Author Donald Goldsmith is an astrophysicist, popular science author, and screenwriter. He is the president of Interstellar Media. He is also the winner of the 1995 American Astronomical Society's Annenberg Foundation Award for Education and the Klumpke-Roberts Prize for his contributions to the public understanding of astronomy.
Donald Goldsmith:
The book gets off to a bit of a bumpy start, with an introduction that was very flat and dry. This proved to be a harbinger for the rest of the writing that was to follow...
Goldsmith continues on, giving the reader a brief summary of the history of the search for exoplanets.
Despite fielding incredibly interesting subject matter, I found the writing here to be extremely dry, technical, and long-winded. There are many very exact technical specifications included here: from the precise diameters of telescopic lenses, to the exact measurement of stellar radial velocities, to the exact gravitational deviations of certain planets, and many, many other tedious details that will only be interesting to a small minority of readers of this book.
As I have unfortunately discovered first hand; the skillset required to produce great science rarely coincides with the skillset required to produce great writing... Many of the science books I've read are seemingly not geared towards communicating science to the public in a manner that most will find interesting, or even accessible. They seem to be books written by scientists, for other scientists. A definite failure of communication. Terrible...
My reviews are always heavily weighted based on how engaging and readable the author's prose is, and sadly, that will see this book harshly penalized here.
**************************
As mentioned at the start of this review, this one did not meet my expectations.
Thankfully, it was not any longer, or I would have put it down...
1.5 stars.
Author Donald Goldsmith is an astrophysicist, popular science author, and screenwriter. He is the president of Interstellar Media. He is also the winner of the 1995 American Astronomical Society's Annenberg Foundation Award for Education and the Klumpke-Roberts Prize for his contributions to the public understanding of astronomy.
Donald Goldsmith:
The book gets off to a bit of a bumpy start, with an introduction that was very flat and dry. This proved to be a harbinger for the rest of the writing that was to follow...
Goldsmith continues on, giving the reader a brief summary of the history of the search for exoplanets.
Despite fielding incredibly interesting subject matter, I found the writing here to be extremely dry, technical, and long-winded. There are many very exact technical specifications included here: from the precise diameters of telescopic lenses, to the exact measurement of stellar radial velocities, to the exact gravitational deviations of certain planets, and many, many other tedious details that will only be interesting to a small minority of readers of this book.
As I have unfortunately discovered first hand; the skillset required to produce great science rarely coincides with the skillset required to produce great writing... Many of the science books I've read are seemingly not geared towards communicating science to the public in a manner that most will find interesting, or even accessible. They seem to be books written by scientists, for other scientists. A definite failure of communication. Terrible...
My reviews are always heavily weighted based on how engaging and readable the author's prose is, and sadly, that will see this book harshly penalized here.
**************************
As mentioned at the start of this review, this one did not meet my expectations.
Thankfully, it was not any longer, or I would have put it down...
1.5 stars.
June 19, 2019
Exoplanets and the possibility of extraterrestrial life is another area of scientific study that fascinates me. This book is a nice update of the latest findings, as of 2018, regarding these subjects. It talks about many of the more interesting finds that have been made so far and what information we can determine from these discoveries. It is also an overview on a variety of other subjects including methods currently used for detecting exoplanets and some of the possibilities for future detection including finding life. Another area discussed is the possibility (or impossibility) of interstellar travel. The book is an excellent read for anyone interested in the subject.
September 20, 2019
An very readable survey of our current standing in the search for new exoplanets. The first part of the book provides a clear and engaging explanation of the methods astronomers have for finding exoplanets (without their own source of light, they are elusive hidden in the glare of their suns). I appreciated this but what I really loved were the final chapters on some interesting specimen found so far, as well as the search for life. Astrobiology is not a topic I am familiar with and so I stopped listening to the book on audible to read the paper version so to make notes and underline fascinating bits. Great book aimed at general readers.
May 26, 2019
Accessible and both readable (print) and listenable (audiobook). I missed enough on the first pass, mostly audio, that I went back and listened to about a third of the book a second time. Lots of names and dates, but lots of cool details, too, with political and social commentary as well. I feel I’m now a better consumer of news in this field.
December 12, 2023
Thousands of planets that orbit stars in our Milky Way galaxy have just been found by astronomers. Donald Goldsmith presents the science of exoplanets and the search for extraterrestrial life in a way that even people with no background in astronomy or astrophysics are able to understand and enjoy with his unique and fascinating writing style.
October 26, 2018
The continuing story of looking for life on other planets. NASA has gone way beyond just listening. The plans for bigger and better telescopes, earthbound and space bound. Planets have been found, now it's whether or not they can support life.
April 16, 2020
This is a good introduction to the extra solar planets out there - the methods on how they are found, how the first were found, the strangest known systems and the future of finding them with orbiters/telescopes and even if in the future we can go to them. Good stuff! :)
July 18, 2020
A solid and accessible introduction to astronomy's quest for distant planets and the awe-inspiring results that have been collected so far. See my full review at https://inquisitivebiologist.com/2019...
April 2, 2019
Lots of information but reads mostly like a textbook. Fun stuff saved for the end. The astronomers really need a better naming system for exoplanets.
December 26, 2021
Really interesting and informative overview of the field.
Want to Read
July 26, 2022Why even mention the obsolete term parsec?
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews