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. This captivating book reveals the latest discoveries and argues that the incredible richness and complexity we are finding necessitates a change in our questions and mental paradigms. In short, we have to change how we think about the universe and our place in it, because it is stranger and more interesting than we could have imagined.
- ISBN10 1588345947
- ISBN13 9781588345943
- Publish Date 14 March 2017
- Publish Status Out of Stock
- Out of Print 27 January 2021
- Publish Country US
- Publisher Smithsonian Books
- Imprint Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 224
- Language English