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Loading... How to Find a Habitable Planet (Science Essentials) (original 2010; edition 2009)by James Kasting
Work InformationHow to Find a Habitable Planet by James F. Kasting (2010)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. There are a number of books out now that talk about the discovery of exoplanets in the last twenty years or so. This is one of the few that deals with the science of exoplanetology and presents the topic at a semi-technical level. Also appreciate the well sourced bibliography in the book. Serves as a nice bridge between the general popular accounts and the move advanced material from Dr. Sara Seager and others. ( ) The first half consists of eye-glazing (for me at least) geoclimatology and Venus/Mars planetology. Then he gets to the Ward/Brownlee "Rare Earth" thesis (the dubiousness thereof), habitable zones, methods for exoplanet detection, and spectrographic searching for biogenic gases in atmospheres of exoplanets. I just hope the Terrestrial Planet Finder and Life Finder space missions he so authoritatively describes *do* get launched one of these years. I don't have a whole lot to say about this book, as overrall I found it a bit boring. I have read other science books, and astrobiology and astronomy books, but this one was way too technical for me. There were only a few chapters I could grasp, and the rest I just skimmed because it was too much. Unfortunately, I wouldn't recommend this book unless you have a firm grasp on the topics discussed, or enjoy going back to old chemistry notes to understand what is going on. no reviews | add a review
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"Ever since Carl Sagan first predicted that extraterrestrial civilizations must number in the millions, the search for life on other planets has gripped our imagination. Is Earth so rare that advanced life forms like us - or even the simplest biological organisms - are unique to the universe? How to Find a Habitable Planet describes how scientists are testing Sagan's prediction, and demonstrates why Earth may not be so rare after all." "James Kasting has worked closely with NASA in its mission to detect habitable worlds outside our solar system, and in this book he introduces readers to the advanced methodologies being used in this extraordinary quest. He addresses the compelling questions that planetary scientists grapple with today: What exactly makes a planet habitable? What are the signatures of life astronomers should look for when they scan the heavens for habitable worlds?" "In providing answers, Kasting explains why Earth has remained habitable despite a substantial rise in solar luminosity over time, and why our neighbors, Venus and Mars, haven't. If other Earth-sized planets endowed with enough water and carbon are out there, he argues, chances are good that some of those planets sustain life. Kasting describes the efforts under way to find them, and predicts that future discoveries will profoundly alter our view of the universe and our place in it."--BOOK JACKET. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)576.839Natural sciences and mathematics Life Sciences, Biology Genetics and evolution Evolution Life 1.0 astrobiologyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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