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The planet factory : exoplanets and the search for a second Earth / Elizabeth Tasker.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: London, UK ; New York, NY, USA : Bloomsbury Sigma, 2017Copyright date: ©2017Description: 336 pages : illustrations ; 23 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781472917720
  • 1472917723
Subject(s):
Contents:
Introduction: The blind planet hunters -- part 1. The factory floor: The factory floor ; The record-breaking building project ; The problem with gas ; Air and sea -- part 2. Dangerous planets: The impossible planet ; We are not normal ; Water, diamonds or lava? : the planet recipe nobody knew ; Worlds around dead stars ; The lands of two suns ; The planetary crime scene ; Going rogue -- part 3. Goldilocks worlds: The Goldilocks criteria ; The search for another earth ; Alien vistas ; Beyond the Goldilocks zone ; The moon factory ; The search life.
Summary: "The Planet Factory tells the story of exoplanets, planets orbiting stars outside of our solar system. Discover the specks of dust that circle a young star come together in a violent building project that can form colossal worlds hundreds of times the size of the Earth; the changing orbits of young planets that risk dooming the life forming on neighboring worlds or, alternatively, that can deliver the key ingredients needed to seed its beginnings. Exoplanets are one of the greatest construction schemes in the universe and they occur around nearly every star you see. Each result is an alien landscape, but is it possible that one of these could be like our own home? The Planet Factory discusses the way these planets form, their structure and features, and describes in detail the detection techniques used (there are many) before looking at what we can learn about the surface environments and planetary atmospheres, and whether this hints at the tantalizing possibility of life." -- Amazon.com.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 523.24 T198 Available 33111008844637
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Twenty years ago, the search for planets outside the Solar System was a job restricted to science-fiction writers. Now it's one of the fastest-growing fields in astronomy with thousands of exoplanets discovered to date, and the number is rising fast.These new-found worlds are more alien than anything in fiction. Planets larger than Jupiter with years lasting a week; others with two suns lighting their skies, or with no sun at all. Planets with diamond mantles supporting oceans of tar; possible Earth-sized worlds with split hemispheres of perpetual day and night; waterworlds drowning under global oceans and volcanic lava planets awash with seas of magma. The discovery of this diversity is just the beginning. There is a whole galaxy of possibilities. The Planet Factory tells the story of these exoplanets. Each planetary system is different, but in the beginning most if not all young stars are circled by clouds of dust, specks that come together in a violent building project that can form colossal worlds hundreds of times the size of the Earth. The changing orbits of young planets risk dooming any life evolving on neighbouring worlds or, alternatively, can deliver the key ingredients needed to seed its beginnings. Planet formation is one of the greatest construction schemes in the Universe, and it occurred around nearly every star you see. Each results in an alien landscape, but is it possible that one of these could be like our own home world?

"The Planet Factory tells the story of exoplanets, planets orbiting stars outside of our solar system. Discover the specks of dust that circle a young star come together in a violent building project that can form colossal worlds hundreds of times the size of the Earth; the changing orbits of young planets that risk dooming the life forming on neighboring worlds or, alternatively, that can deliver the key ingredients needed to seed its beginnings. Exoplanets are one of the greatest construction schemes in the universe and they occur around nearly every star you see. Each result is an alien landscape, but is it possible that one of these could be like our own home? The Planet Factory discusses the way these planets form, their structure and features, and describes in detail the detection techniques used (there are many) before looking at what we can learn about the surface environments and planetary atmospheres, and whether this hints at the tantalizing possibility of life." -- Amazon.com.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 314-324) and index.

Introduction: The blind planet hunters -- part 1. The factory floor: The factory floor ; The record-breaking building project ; The problem with gas ; Air and sea -- part 2. Dangerous planets: The impossible planet ; We are not normal ; Water, diamonds or lava? : the planet recipe nobody knew ; Worlds around dead stars ; The lands of two suns ; The planetary crime scene ; Going rogue -- part 3. Goldilocks worlds: The Goldilocks criteria ; The search for another earth ; Alien vistas ; Beyond the Goldilocks zone ; The moon factory ; The search life.

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