The Search for Extra-Solar Terrestrial Planets: Techniques and Technology [Hardcover]

J.M. Shull (Editor), Harley A. Thronson Jr. (Editor), S. Alan Stern (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 079234474X | ISBN-13: 978-0792344742 | Publication Date: March 31, 1997

This book contains the invited talks from the 1995 Boulder conference on the Search for Extra-Solar Planets. It describes the scientific basis, technological options, and programmatic implications of large-scale efforts to find and study Earth-like planets outside the Solar System, and is targeted at astronomers, planetary scientists, engineers, and graduate students. These are among the first papers in this rapidly expanding field, driven by the first discoveries of planetary companions to nearby stars and providing the current status of the search for extra-solar planets. What sort of objects are we looking for in planetary atmospheres and planetary-system architectures? What techniques are currently feasible, both from the ground and in space? How can interferometers be optimized to discern faint planets in the glare of their parent stars? The detection and study of Earth-like planets outside our Solar System will be one of the great scientific, technological, and philosophical events of our time, affecting our understanding of the Universe and the place of life within it.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 164 pages
• Publisher: Springer (March 31, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 079234474X
• ISBN-13: 978-0792344742
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,821,700 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars methods still relevant, December 20, 2008

By 

W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Search for Extra-Solar Terrestrial Planets: Techniques and Technology (Hardcover)

The term extra-solar in the title is now outdated. The preferred term is exoplanets; more concise. Perhaps too the book's contents are somewhat outdated. There have been considerable advances in hardware and observations since the book's publication in 96.

But readers might still want to look up the contents. Various methods are described, and the science behind these is still relevant. Plus, with the benefit of the intervening years, you can now assess how feasible those ideas turned out to be.