Twenty Worlds: The Extraordinary Story of Planets Around Other Stars

by Niall Deacon

Thirty years ago the only planets we knew were the ones orbiting our own Sun; we now know of thousands of other worlds orbiting distant stars. In this book astronomer Niall Deacon journeys to twenty of these globes: from giant, blisteringly hot planets orbiting close to their parent stars to planets that float through the cold wilderness of space alone, and from dead stars shredding asteroids to worlds made of diamond and even planets that may be similar to the Earth. Deacon also takes in the latest exoplanet discoveries, and explains how astronomers have come to learn so much about these strange and distant worlds.

Twenty Worlds tells a sweeping story, of real planets around other stars, and appeals to the wide audience for popular science and astronomy.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Space, Astronomy

208 pages, Hardcover

Published August 10, 2020

About the author

Niall Deacon is an astronomy researcher and writer, and lives in Heidelberg, Germany. His research focuses on failed stars called brown dwarfs and giant planets orbiting other stars.

Reviews

[Malvika Dua · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exceptionally well-written book which breaks down complex concepts to an elementary level. Also, very well researched and tells you everything you want to know about the worlds above!
Loved it!

[Hanna (lapetiteboleyn) · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a lot here that's genuinely interesting, however Deacon's habit of bizarre targets on his way to actually making a point got really old, really quickly. I was hoping that this would be more theoretical, more imaginative, and while I can't fault the science, it can get heavy quite fast.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very nicely produced study of twenty exoplanets that are unknown to the general public. Deacon has pitched the book at popular audiences and intersperses each chapter with artistic depictions (in color) of what such planets may look like. He is good at indicating how astronomers know what they know about different stars and planets, such that the reader gets a good sense of how our sense of other planets is changing (and how recently our sense has changed).

The only drawback to this work has to do with the way that Deacon attempts to make his material more understandable to lay readers. He frequently relies on anecdotes and allusions to things we might know--landscapes, teaching secondary school, or having siblings, for example--to make the planets and stars he discusses understandable. He turns to these anecdotes without much a transition, such that you'll be reading along about a "hot Jupiter" or a "brown dwarf" and suddenly you'll be reading about secondary school. It can be a bit jarring and ruin one's focus. I wish the anecdotes had been integrated into the text more smoothly. Still, this is an interesting read and I did learn a lot about the planets!

P.S. I wish that each chapter had been titled with the name of the planet in question. It was hard to remember which ones I had read about in previous chapters. Perhaps my mind is just destroyed these days and everyone else did okay, memory wise?!

[Jared Millet · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fairly decent science book, but I've got a beef with how it's presented. The cover and description both promise an "enjoyable tour of twenty diverse worlds that orbit distant stars." Well... not quite. Each chapter is technically about a different exoplanet, but the planets themselves barely get a paragraph of descriptive text each. The problem, I think, is that the author isn't a planetary scientist, he's an astronomer. When I was younger, I didn't understand that these were two different fields of study, since all the planets featured heavily in all the astronomy books I read growing up.

However, to an astronomer, at least in the modern sense, planets are defined as "things that get in the way of stars" or "things that make stars act funny." So, instead of details, guesses, and extrapolations about what these other worlds might be like, the text instead focuses on how their parent stars behave and the observational techniques astronomers used to confirm the existence of planets. Whenever the planets themselves are mentioned, I couldn't help but think of Marvin the Martian wanting to blow up the Earth because it interfered with his observations of Venus. (Not quite the right analogy, but still...)

So the book really isn't about these other planets (of which, to be fair, we still know very little). Instead, it's a book about how astronomers look at stars, and what conclusions they draw when those stars misbehave.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating glimpse into planets far beyond our solar system (and imaginations)
In addition to introducing the titular 20 worlds, this book also explains how rapid advances in recent decades have led to their discovery, the methods developed that establish orbital periods and mass and even how we start to build a picture of their origins and composition.
I found this book to be accessible and enjoyable. Explanations included well thought out examples and the tone and pacing were relaxed and comfortable. I especially enjoyed the epilogue, which provides insight into what we may hope to learn from missions currently in progress and their implications.

[Emma Rigby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clearly written,  informative and interesting. Would make a lovely Christmas present for anyone with an interest in space. 

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Niall uses the stories of 20 planets from beyond our own solar system to explore physics, describe methods in science, and indulge in esoteric trivia.

[Ry Herman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clear, entertaining, and extremely interesting book about the planets, both familiar and strange, that astronomers have discovered beyond the boundaries of the solar system, and the methods used to detect and characterize them.