New Worlds in the Cosmos
The Discovery of Exoplanets

An account of the successful search for planets outside our Solar System.

Michel Mayor (Author), Pierre-Yves Frei (Author), Boud Roukema (Translated by)

9780521812078, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 25 September 2003

274 pages, 26 b/w illus. 20 colour illus. 1 table
23.5 x 16.2 x 1.9 cm, 0.586 kg

' … the cheerful style makes this a very approachable book. I am glad to have read it.' Journal of the British Astronomical Association

With the discovery in 1995 of the first planet orbiting another star, we know that planets are not unique to our own Solar System. For centuries, humanity has wondered whether we are alone in the Universe. We are now finally one step closer to knowing the answer. The quest for exoplanets is an exciting one, because it holds the possibility that one day we might find life elsewhere in the Universe, born in the light of another sun. Written from the perspective of one of the pioneers of this scientific adventure, this exciting account describes the development of the modern observing technique that has enabled astronomers to find so many planets orbiting around other stars. It reveals the wealth of new planets that have now been discovered outside our Solar System, and what this means in terms of finding other life in the Universe.

Preface
1. The quest begins
2. Infinity and beyond
3. New arrivals in the Solar System
4. Why stars wobble
5. Neutron planets
6. Brown dwarfs in the headlines
7. Sirens in the cosmos
8. Foreign planets different to our home-grown ones
9. Destination: earths!
10. Further yet: life.

Subject Areas: Solar system: the Sun & planets [PGS], Astronomy, space & time [PG], Popular science [PDZ]