Planet Quest: The Epic Discovery of Alien Solar SystemsOxford University Press, 1999 - 324 pages Are we alone? In 1995 planet hunters discovered the first alien solar system around a star like our own Sun. Ken Croswell tells the fascinating story of this discovery and the people who made it, then explores the possibility that one day we may have the technology to travel to different solar systems and find life. |
Contents
A LIVING SOLAR SYSTEM | 10 |
THE SUNS DISTANT OUTPOSTS | 32 |
A SHAKY START | 72 |
THE VEGA PHENOMENON | 100 |
DARK STAR | 114 |
PULSAR PLANETS | 132 |
THANKS JUPITER | 161 |
HARVEST OF PLANETS | 180 |
FUTURE WORLDS | 218 |
INTO THE COSMOS | 235 |
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Common terms and phrases
51 Pegasi 61 Cygni Alpha Centauri asteroid astrometric Astronomical Society astronomical units atmosphere Barnard's Star Beta Pictoris billion bright brown dwarfs Bruno companion constellation detect discovered discovery disk distance Doppler shift Doppler technique dust Earth Eichhorn Epsilon Eridani exist extrasolar planets Frail Galaxy gas giant Gatewood giant planets Gliese gravity Harrington hydrogen and helium infrared Interview with Ken Jupiter Jupiter and Saturn Kamp Ken Croswell Kumar Lalande Leverrier light-years look Lyne magnitude main-sequence star Marcy and Butler Mars Marsden massive Mercury millisecond pulsars Moon nearby stars Neptune neutron star object observations Observatory oxygen Pegasian planets percent Planet X Planetary Systems Pluto predicted Procyon pulsar planets radiation red dwarf revolve satellite scientists Seidelmann Sirius solar system space spacecraft spectral type Standish star's stellar Sun's Sunlike star supergiant supernova telescope temperature Tombaugh tronomers University Uranus Uranus and Neptune Vega velocity Venus wavelengths Wetherill white dwarf wobble Wolszczan