Exoplanets: diamond worlds, super-Earths, pulsar planets, and the new search for life beyond our solar system

Description

The past few years have seen an incredible explosion in our knowledge of the universe. Since its 2009 launch, the Kepler satellite has discovered more than two thousand exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system. More exoplanets are being discovered all the time, and even more remarkable than the sheer number of exoplanets is their variety. In Exoplanets, astronomer Michael Summers and physicist James Trefil explore these remarkable recent discoveries: planets revolving around pulsars, planets made of diamond, planets that are mostly water, and numerous rogue planets wandering through the emptiness of space.;Not your grandfather's galaxy -- Our backyard -- A plurality of worlds -- What is a planet? -- The Kepler spacecraft -- 55 Cancri E : diamond world -- Haven : rogue planet -- Ice world -- Kepler 186f : super Earth, archipelago world -- Gliese 1214b : water world -- Life on Earth -- The search for extraterrestrial life -- The search for extraterrestrial intelligence -- The Fermi Paradox.