Planet Quest: The Epic Discovery of Alien Solar Systems (Harvest Book) - Softcover

Croswell, Ken

Softcover

ISBN 10: 015600612X ISBN 13: 9780156006125

Publisher: Harcourt Brace International, 1998

Synopsis

An astronomer chronicles the momentous ten-month period of discovery in 1995 and 1996 that revealed no less than five new solar systems in the universe and discusses the profound implications of that discovery in terms of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Reprint. 35,000 first printing.

About this title

Review

"Someday, astronomers knew, their great quest to find alien worlds would finally be fulfilled, and the first planets beyond those of the solar system would at last emerge from hiding, hailing a new era of astronomical discovery." It had not occurred to anyone with even the wildest imagination that these first extrasolar planets would be found in 1991 orbiting a pulsar 1,000 light-years away. Ken Croswell gives a remarkably clear exposition of what we know about planets in our solar system and elsewhere, how they are discovered, what kind of people have looked for them, and the exceptional number of embarrassing mistakes they've made--and how many surprises nature has dished out in a discipline that's still very young.

Review

an excellent guide to how far astronomy has come ... Fascinating and worthwhile (New York Times )

Edition details

• Publisher: Harcourt Brace International
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 015600612X
• ISBN 13: 9780156006125
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336