Worlds Without End - Exoplanets, Habitability, and the Future of Humanity

Informationen zum Autor Chris Impey, a University Distinguished Professor of Astronomy at the University of Arizona, has won numerous teaching awards and authored textbooks and nine popular science books, including Beyond: The Future of Space Travel and Einstein’s Monsters: The Life and Times of Black Holes . Klappentext "WORLDS WITHOUT END: EXOPLANETS, HABITABILITY, AND THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY will present the scientific missions exploring exoplanets through the lens of habitability and our survival in the universe"-- Zusammenfassung The science of finding habitable planets beyond our solar system and the prospects for establishing human civilization away from our ever-less-habitable planetary home. Planet Earth, it turns out, may not be the best of all possible worlds—and lately humanity has been carelessly depleting resources, decimating species, and degrading everything needed for life. Meanwhile, human ingenuity has opened up a vista of habitable worlds well beyond our wildest dreams of outposts on Mars. Worlds without End is an expertly guided tour of this thrilling frontier in astronomy: the search for planets with the potential to host life.   With the approachable style that has made him a leading interpreter of astronomy and space science, Chris Impey conducts readers across the vast, fast-developing field of astrobiology, surveying the dizzying advances carrying us ever closer to the discovery of life beyond Earth—and the prospect of humans living on another planet. Since the first exoplanet, or planet beyond our solar system, was discovered in 1995, over 4,000 more have been pinpointed, including hundreds of Earth-like planets, many of them habitable, detected by the Kepler satellite. With a view spanning astronomy, planetary science, geology, chemistry, and biology, Impey provides a state-of-the-art account of what’s behind this accelerating progress, what’s next, and what it might mean for humanity’s future.   The existential threats that we face here on Earth lend urgency to this search, raising the question: Could space be our salvation? From the definition of habitability to the changing shape of space exploration—as it expands beyond the interests of government to the pursuits of private industry— Worlds without End shows us the science, on horizons near and far, that may hold the answers. Inhaltsverzeichnis Prologue: The Best of All Possible Worlds 1 I Searching for Distant Worlds 5 1 The Visionaries 7 2 Doppler Wobble 17 3 Chasing Shadows 27 4 Seeing Is Believing 37 5 Calling Pandora 47 6 The Next Wave 57 7 Milky Way Census 67 II Habitability and the Exoplanet Zoo 77 8 Gas Giants 79 9 Ice Giants 87 10 Water Worlds 95 11 Earth Clones 107 12 Exomoons 117 13 Rogue Planets 127 III The Search for Life beyond Earth 137 14 The Solar System 139 15 Sniffing Biosignatures 151 16 Send in the Nanobots 163 17 E.T. Phone Home 173 18 Energy Footprints 183 19 The Drake Equation 193 20 The Fermi Question 203 IV The Promise of Space Exploration 213 21 Habitable Earth 215 22 Space Boom 227 23 How to Get to Space 237 24 Going to the Moon and Marc 249 25 Mining Asteroids 261 26 Living beyond Earth 271 Epilogue: Scenes from the Future 283 Acknowledgments 289 Notes 291 Index 347...

List of contents

Prologue: The Best of All Possible Worlds 1
I Searching for Distant Worlds 5
1 The Visionaries 7
2 Doppler Wobble 17
3 Chasing Shadows 27
4 Seeing Is Believing 37
5 Calling Pandora 47
6 The Next Wave 57
7 Milky Way Census 67
II Habitability and the Exoplanet Zoo 77
8 Gas Giants 79
9 Ice Giants 87
10 Water Worlds 95
11 Earth Clones 107
12 Exomoons 117
13 Rogue Planets 127
III The Search for Life beyond Earth 137
14 The Solar System 139
15 Sniffing Biosignatures 151
16 Send in the Nanobots 163
17 E.T. Phone Home 173
18 Energy Footprints 183
19 The Drake Equation 193
20 The Fermi Question 203
IV The Promise of Space Exploration 213
21 Habitable Earth 215
22 Space Boom 227
23 How to Get to Space 237
24 Going to the Moon and Marc 249
25 Mining Asteroids 261
26 Living beyond Earth 271
Epilogue: Scenes from the Future 283
Acknowledgments 289
Notes 291
Index 347

Report

A provocative and expansive introduction to the exciting new field of exoplanet science.
Kirkus Reviews

The electrifying account of planetary exploration in Worlds Without End is as enthralling as the best science fiction. Amazing in its scope and authority, this entertaining science book will appeal to anyone who has gazed into the night sky to imagine life beyond Earth . . . Combining the latest science with cultural references ranging from Shakespeare to the movie Avatar, Worlds Without End will captivate readers who dream of life in galaxies far, far away.  
Foreword Reviews

Product details

• Authors: Chris Impey, Impey Chris
• Publisher: The MIT Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 11.04.2023
• EAN: 9780262047661
• ISBN: 978-0-262-04766-1
• No. of pages: 376
• Dimensions: 162 mm x 235 mm x 29 mm
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Physics, astronomy > Astronomy; Social sciences, law, business > Sociology > Sociological theories; Science: general issues, SCIENCE / General