Exoplanets: hidden worlds and the quest for extraterrestrial life PDF
Preview Exoplanets: hidden worlds and the quest for extraterrestrial life
EXOPLANETS Exoplanets Hidden Worlds and the Quest for Extraterrestrial Life DONALD GOLDSMITH Cambridge, Mas sa chu setts • London, England 2018 Copyright © 2018 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College All rights reserved Printed in the United States of Amer i ca First Printing Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Names: Goldsmith, Donald, author. Title: Exoplanets : hidden worlds and the quest for extraterrestrial life / Donald Goldsmith. Description: Cambridge, Mas sa chu setts : Harvard University Press, 2018. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2018005407 | ISBN 9780674976900 (hardcover : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Extrasolar planets. | Extrasolar planets— Detection. | Life on other planets. Classification: LCC QB820 .G64 2018 | DDC 523.2/4— dc23 LC rec ord available at https:// lccn . loc . gov / 2018005407 Book design by Chrissy Kurpeski Cover photograph: “Crossing Horizons” © 2018 Jean-François Graffand Cover design: Jill Breitbarth For Oriana and Felix— and a new generation of exoplanet observers CONTENTS Prologue 1 1 • The Long Search for Other Solar Systems 5 2 • Cosmic Distances 10 3 • Early Quests for Exoplanets 14 4 • The Breakthrough: Mea sur ing Radial Velocity Precisely 28 5 • Finding Exoplanets by Their Transits 50 6 • Directly Observing Exoplanets 64 7 • Detecting Planets with Einstein’s Lens 74 8 • Two Minor Methods for Finding Exoplanets 85 9 • A Gallery of Strange New Planets 91 10 • What Have We Learned? 127 11 • How Planets Form with Their Stars 135 12 • Habitable Planets and the Search for Life 157 13 • Future Approaches to Hunting Exoplanets 175 14 • Proxima Calls: Can We Visit? 207 Notes 227 Further Reading 243 Acknowl edgments 245 Index 247
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