Exoplanets: A Visual Guide to the Worlds Outside Our Solar System | A Visual Guide to the Worlds Outside Our Solar System

by Wendy Bjazevich, David Miles (Illustrator)

You know all about the planets near Earth, but what about the planets outside our solar system? How are they discovered? Could there be life? Find out in  Exoplanets ! “The saturated colors of pop art marry with swirling watercolors and sharp geometric shapes in this picture book that’s perfect for budding scientists.”― Foreword Reviews NASA has confirmed the existence of over 5,000 exoplanets (planets that lie outside of our solar system), and that number is growing! Exoplanets , the first book of its kind for kids, is a visually packed guidebook to the exoplanets of our universe. You’ll learn the four main types of exoplanets, techniques scientists use to discover them, the probability of finding life as we know it beyond Earth, plus detailed information about dozens of some of the most fascinating exoplanets discovered so far, from water worlds to planets that are literally evaporating! It’s a thrilling journey, and it all begins in Exoplanets ! From The 5,000-plus planets found so far include small, rocky worlds like Earth, gas giants many times larger than Jupiter, and “hot Jupiters” in scorchingly close orbits around their stars. There are “super-Earths,” which are possible rocky worlds bigger than our own, and “mini-Neptunes,” smaller versions of our system’s Neptune. Add to the mix planets orbiting two stars at once and planets stubbornly orbiting the collapsed remnants of dead stars. “It’s not just a number,” said Jessie Christiansen, science lead for the archive and a research scientist with the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute at Caltech in Pasadena. “Each one of them is a new world, a brand-new planet. I get excited about every one because we don’t know anything about them.”

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Childrens, Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 16, 2023

Reviews

[Shoshana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous illustrations

[Joseph Hirsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent resource for kids who are just getting into astronomy, also for adults who just want the concepts boiled down to their absolute essentials. Topics include methods for finding extrasolar planets—most methods unfortunately still involve mostly inference—including radial velocity and astrometry. Direct photography has of course been achieved—and is only likely to get better thanks to new methods of coronographic occlusion. But, as any fan of space art knows, paintings harness the imagination of the artist and excite the imagination of the nascent scientist sometimes more than real images. Heck, looking through even the most high-powered telescopes at distant objects usually only yields small “button-shaped blears,” as I think Henry Cavendish once called them.
Also included is a quick taxonomy of the various kinds of exoplanets out there, including the earthlike, or terrestrials, orbiting in what exoplanetary scientists call “The Goldilocks Zone.” Some of these things would require one to travel at the speed of light for a year to reach them, but what are roughly six-trillion miles between friends?
The illustrations—done in what look like a mixture of watercolors and acrylics—are as bright, luminous, and varied as the wandering stars they depict. Your oxidized, rusty reds are well-represented, as are your icy-blues for the clathrate ice planets and greenish hazes for the methanes.
An excellent book to have readily at hand, either on the coffee table or on the toilet’s water tank, when you, the kids, or a guest, need a quick reminder how big and beautiful the universe is. The publisher also has a “matching,” program, in which each book you purchase means they’ll send one, free of charge, to a kid at risk of analphabetism.
Teach a man to fish and all that. Or just think, if Isaac Asimov’s father’s candy store hadn’t had that magazine rack to spark the young boy’s imagination, science fiction would be much worse off.

[rapunzel xxl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastisch

Exoplaneten - Eine Reise zu den Welten außerhalb unseres Sonnensystems ist ein Sachbuch für Kinder ab 10 Jahren, geschrieben von Wendy Bjazevich und illustriert von David Miles. Das 40-seitige Buch erklärt die wissenschaftlichen Kenntnisse und Ergebnisse der Suche nach Exoplaneten.

Das Buch ist in zwei Teile gegliedert. Der erste Teil vermittelt grundlegende wissenschaftliche Informationen, z. B. was Exoplaneten sind, warum sie erforscht werden, welche Nachweismethoden es gibt und wo außerirdisches Leben existieren könnte. Der zweite Teil konzentriert sich auf verschiedene Exoplanetentypen wie Gasriesen, Eisriesen, Supererden und Gesteinsplaneten usw.. Ein Glossar mit wichtigen Begriffen befindet sich am Ende des Buches.

Wir finden dieses Buch fantastisch! Die Illustrationen sind farbenfroh, der Text ist prägnant und flüssig, und das Buch präsentiert die neuesten Forschungsergebnisse zu Exoplaneten auf anschauliche und kindgerechte Weise. Mein Sohn und ich hatten viel Spaß mit den Planetenkarten im zweiten Teil; auf jeder Seite durften wir uns unseren Lieblingsplaneten aussuchen.

Kurz gesagt: Dieses Buch ist übersichtlich strukturiert, reich bebildert und voller Energie – es weckt die Neugier von Kindern und Erwachsenen gleichermaßen! Astronomiebegeisterte sollten sich dieses Buch nicht entgehen lassen.

[Raina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exoplanets are the planets outside our Solar System. Did you know we (humanity) only ascertained that there are planets orbiting other stars in the 1990s?
It makes sense when I think about it. And after I learned what I learned from this book.
I learned things in this book about the science of determining whether there is an exoplanet (we can't go there, of course, and we can't even see them with a telescope). I learned about the various types of (exo)planets. And I loved the pages which depict many of the actual exoplanets that have been discovered thus far - which include size info, orbital periods (how long is a year there?), how far away it is, and more.
The art really adds to this, also. David Miles' work is trippy and imaginative. It feels dreamlike and full of possibilities.
I took this out to local elementary schools leading up to the Summer of 2026, and students were really attracted to the cover and conversation. After all, as I told the students, if aliens exist, they almost certainly live on an Exoplanet...

[topper2015 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ein Sachbuch voller Farbe und Informationen

„Exoplaneten – Eine Reise zu den Welten außerhalb unseres Sonnensystems“ überzeugt vor allem durch seine beeindruckende Gestaltung. Die Seiten sind farbenfroh, modern und sehr ansprechend illustriert, sodass man sofort Lust bekommt, darin zu blättern. Besonders gelungen ist die Mischung aus verständlichen Texten und anschaulichen Grafiken. Komplexe Themen wie die Entdeckung von Exoplaneten oder verschiedene Messmethoden werden kindgerecht erklärt, ohne zu stark zu vereinfachen.
Gut gefallen hat mir auch die Vielfalt an Informationen: Neben Grundlagen wie „Was ist ein Exoplanet?“ werden konkrete Beispiele vorgestellt, sodass man ein besseres Gefühl für die Größe und Vielfalt des Universums bekommt. Die übersichtlichen Darstellungen helfen dabei, den Inhalt schnell zu erfassen.
Insgesamt ist das Buch ein gelungenes Sachbuch für Kinder, das Wissen spannend vermittelt und durch seine Gestaltung begeistert. Es eignet sich sowohl zum selbstständigen Lesen als auch zum gemeinsamen Entdecken.

[Sharon Archer · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re mildly interested in a topic, a kids book is a really fun way to explore.

I actually didn’t realize it was a kids book!!

[Emery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful art! Interesting facts! I've been wanting to delve into kids books more and it has been great! Easy reads that are also beautiful to look at.