The Quest For Alien Planets Exploring Worlds Outside The Solar System

by Halpern, Paul

• ISBN13: 9780738208909
• ISBN10: 0738208906
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-06-20
• Publisher: Basic Books

Summary

An amazing journey throughout the universe in a search for other planets and the possibility of extraterrestrial life.

Author Biography

Paul Halpern is Professor of Physics at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia and the author of many trade science books, including The Cyclical Serpent, Countdown to the Apocalypse, and The Pursuit of Destiny. He lives in Philadelphia.

Table of Contents

Comment About Terminology	p. xxv
Introduction: The Lure of Unknown Worlds	p. 1
Red Neighbor	p. 23
Invaders from Mars?	p. 23
The Canal Controversy	p. 26
Mariners and Vikings	p. 33
Rocky Revelations	p. 39
Earth's Other Neighbor	p. 44
The Far Reaches of the Solar System	p. 47
Galileo's Scope	p. 47
Requisites to Motion	p. 52
Eyes in Space	p. 57
Realm of the Giants	p. 61
Planet X	p. 72
The Great Wobble Hunt	p. 79
A Matter of Distance	p. 79
Bright Lights	p. 83
Stellar Menagerie	p. 86
Sirius Disturbances	p. 89
Barnard's Star Search	p. 94
The Skeptic of Sproul	p. 102
Wobble Watchers	p. 106
Riddle of the Pulsar Planets	p. 113
Duelling Announcements	p. 113
The Pulsar Planet that Almost Was	p. 116
The Mystery of Pulsars	p. 120
In a Flash	p. 125
Second-Hand Worlds	p. 128
The Confirmation Challenge	p. 132
By Jupiter! Giant Worlds Around Alien Stars	p. 137
Planet-Hunting Season	p. 137
Doppler Detection	p. 141
Bellerophon, the Horseman of Pegasus	p. 148
Temperate New Territories	p. 157
Novel and Eccentric Worlds	p. 159
Seeing the Invisible	p. 165
Hidden Worlds: Planets as Dark Matter	p. 169
The Hidden Majority	p. 169
Strange Rotations	p. 171
Spacetime's Wrinkled Fabric	p. 182
Gavity's Rainbow	p. 189
Macho Detectives	p. 193
Planet Sleuths	p. 195
The Other Side of Matter	p. 198
Our Cosmic Fate	p. 202
Signs of Life	p. 207
Questing Other Earths	p. 207
Vital Ingredients	p. 211
Seeking Suitable Suns	p. 213
How Close for Comfort?	p. 216
The Right Slant	p. 221
The Elusive Blue Sky	p. 225
Competing with Darwin	p. 230
Planetary Disk Pursuit	p. 234
Making Contact	p. 239
Ear to the Stars	p. 239
The Wizard of Ozma	p. 243
Greeting the Aliens	p. 248
Lonely Silence	p. 250
Phoenix Rising	p. 258
Preparing for Contact	p. 263
Conclusion: Pushing the Light Barrier	p. 267
References	p. 273
Related Reading	p. 277
Planet-Related Computer Sites on the World Wide Web	p. 285
Index	p. 287
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