Worlds Without End: The Exploration Of Planets Known And Unknown (Helix Books) [Hardcover]

John S. Lewis (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0738200115 | ISBN-13: 978-0738200118 | Publication Date: January 21, 1968

The most exciting new discovery in modern astronomy must surely be the detection of planets orbiting distant stars; but what kinds of worlds these new planets are is yet to be determined with certainty. In this imaginatively written yet solidly scientific work, planetary scientist John S. Lewis explains how planets form, what they are made of, and how scientists know what they know about both the planets in our solar system and those orbiting distant suns. From solidly grounded knowledge to the latest theories of planetary science, Worlds Without End is essential reading for everyone thrilled by the latest discoveries in astronomy.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Now we know: other stars have planets, too! What are they like? Do they house beings looking up at us? In Worlds Without End, John S. Lewis answers the first question as best he can and wisely defers the second with a thorough discussion of its possibilities. He knows what he's talking about--as codirector of the Space Engineering Research Center at the University of Arizona, he's on top of the ever-increasing flow of information about our own planet, our neighbors from Mercury to Pluto, and the invisible (but well-established) satellites of distant suns. His prose, at turns studious and droll, captures his enthusiasm for planetary science and infuses the reader with the desire to know more. Whether you want to learn about life or the planets that support it, Worlds Without End should be the starting point for your cosmic voyage. --Rob Lightner

From Publishers Weekly

This notable addition to the burgeoning galaxy of nonfiction books about extra-solar planets shines brighter than many of its companions?in part because Lewis (Rain of Iron and Ice) is a planetary scientist (at the University of Arizona) well versed in his field. Lewis is a fine teacher, lucid without being didactic: he explains that while there are billions of galaxies, each containing billions of stars, only a few types of stars are candidates for hosting habitable planetary systems, not only because of their size but also due to their life expectancy. Lewis questions the popular assumption that a habitable world need only contain elements, air and water in similar proportions as found on Earth. He hypothesizes that if there were a smaller version of our planet, it would resemble Mars eons ago, with towering mountains but such a low escape velocity that the atmosphere and water would quickly disappear into space. Lewis succeeds in keeping the necessary geological terminology to a comfortable level for general readers, and he explains fairly complex earth-science concepts with admirable clarity. Be forewarned: Lewis doesn't indulge in speculation about where intelligent life may be found. He is more interested in exploring the basic questions that are at the forefront of today's most advanced observatory science.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (January 21, 1968)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738200115
• ISBN-13: 978-0738200118
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,976,987 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fine primer on modern planetary science, September 4, 2000

By 

Peter D. Tillman (Taos, NM USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Worlds without End : The Exploration of Planets Known and Unknown (Helix Books Series) (Paperback)

______________________________________________
Besides being a fine primer on modern planetary science, Worlds without End strikes me as an exceptional resource for science-fiction worldbuilders -- and readers. I've read a couple of world-building books and they were pretty dry. This is the real thing -- a respected planetary scientist (Codirector of the Space Engineering Research Center at the University of Arizona) reporting on recent discoveries of extrasolar planets, and speculating on the range of possible planets that might host life. Lewis does a nice run-through of possible planetary surface chemistries for "life as we don't know it", and reluctantly concludes that extraterrestrial life will most likely be carbon-based and use water as a solvent, because both are the best available by far. Which isn't to say that we won't find some very odd critters out there...

And I don't mean to imply that general readers won't enjoy Worlds without End -- I recommend it to anyone who's curious about how solar-systems form.

This is a better-written book than his Mining the Sky (1996), though Lewis still gets annoyingly cutesy at times. Anyway, it's almost always a pleasure to read a pop-sci book written by a working scientist. I'm looking forward to Lewis's next.

Happy reading--
Pete Tillman
Consulting Geologist, Tucson & Santa Fe (USA)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic voyage..., April 9, 2004

By 

FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Worlds Without End: The Exploration Of Planets Known And Unknown (Helix Books) (Hardcover)

John Lewis is a professor of planetary sciences at the University of Arizona. Astronomy is the broad field under which this falls, but there is a specialisation within the field. I must confess I have always been one who is more interested in large-scale structures (galactic astronomy), origins and endings (cosmology and the like) as well as `how things work', the theoretical physics aspect. Planetary science didn't really enthrall me as much, even with the increasing availability of stunning photographs and records coming back from the other planets in our solar system. Don't get me wrong - I was fascinating and interested, but it did take a backseat to the other study.

This changed somewhat such that planetary sciences became near to an equal footing when instrumentation and measurement became sufficiently precise to begin detecting planets around other stars. Suddenly there was a new universe opening up around each and every star, at least it seemed so for a time. We've reached the point now where announcement of new planets around other stars not only no longer makes headlines, but may no longer warrant a mention in the press beyond the professional journals.

Lewis' book, `Worlds Without End: The Exploration of Planets Known and Unknown' helped to fill a gap in my knowledge about the direction and breadth of the new planetary studies. Published back in 1998, it is already somewhat out of date given the speed with which discoveries are occurring in this field, but it still serves as a great, accessible and interesting primer to the study of planets both `at home' and `abroad'.

Lewis explores the different kinds of planets, from rocky types like Mercury to the big gaseous giants like Jupiter and Saturn. This survey includes the study of satellites, or planets around planets, as Lewis terms them. There are more moons around Jupiter and Saturn than planets around the Sun (if one does not include asteroids). These make for fascinating trips, too.

It is no surprise that these types of giant planets were the first to be discovered around other planets. He talks about the different kinds environments for stars, and in so doing gives a short course on other aspects of general astronomy such as overall galactic motion, the different types of stars and their life cycles, and the different kinds of groupings of stars. For example, a planet around a star in a globular cluster, clumps of stars that exist surrounding some galaxies but to a certain extent separate from those galaxies (rather like gated communities might be to larger urban settings), would have spectacularly starry nights, even if the stars in the cluster were relatively small, and the close fly-bys of other stars would be a million times more frequent, such that the environment of the planet would constantly be shifting dramatically as the orbit would constantly change - stars may even `steal' planets away from one another!

Lewis in his final chapter sets the stage for ongoing planetary science, theoretical and observational. He sees that in the not too distant future we may even be able to directly detect terrestrial-type planets (much `detection' today is done indirectly, measuring shifts in movement, light patterns, etc.). He gives a nod to the SETI project here (without mentioning it by name) in talking about the remote possibility of increasingly sensitive radio telescopes to detect artificial broadcast transmissions.

The one drawback of this text is the lack of graphic images. There are eight pages of plates, but none in colour - given the dramatic photography available of planets in our solar system from exploratory ships, and the stunning photography available of objects beyond the solar system from major observatories and the Hubble Space Telescope, one wonders why these weren't incorporated. Also, a few charts and graphs might have been helpful at certain points in the discussion to give a quick idea of figures or comparative values.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book, September 25, 2001

By 

cmpst52 "cmpst52" (Denton, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Worlds without End : The Exploration of Planets Known and Unknown (Helix Books Series) (Paperback)

This is a really good book. Lewis explores the physics and chemistry of the worlds in our solar system, and then using the principles of physics and chemistry learned there to explore the possibilities of other worlds, and life on them.

He presents several mind-bending -- yet scientifically feasible -- worlds for our consideration. "Earthissimo," for example, made me put the book down, lean back in my chair, and SAVOR the elegance of the science for several minutes. Wonderful!

BUT, like Lewis's otherwise excellent _Mining the Sky_, he doesn't include any graphs, table or illustrations. (He has a few artistic rendering in the middle, which are different.)

A few graphs or tables would have clarified his arguments and saved pages of dense, descriptive text.

Good book, mind-twisting science, poor presentation: 4 stars.