Twenty worlds : the extraordinary story of planets around other stars / Niall Deacon.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Deacon, Niall, author.

Series:

Universe (London, England).

Universe

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Exoplanetes.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (208 pages) : illustrations (black and white, and colour).

Place of Publication:

London, England : Reaktion Books, Limited, [2020]

Summary:

Thirty years ago, the only planets we knew were the ones orbiting our own sun; we now know of thousands of other worlds orbiting distant stars. In this book, astronomer Niall Deacon journeys to twenty of these globes: from giant, blisteringly hot planets orbiting close to their parent stars to planets that float through the cold wilderness of space alone, and from dead stars shredding asteroids to worlds made of diamond--and even planets that may be similar to the Earth. Deacon also takes in the latest exoplanet discoveries and explains how astronomers have come to learn so much about these strange and distant worlds. Twenty Worlds tells a sweeping story, of real planets around other stars, and it will fascinate a universe of fans of popular science and astronomy.

Contents:

World beyond expectation

World obscuring

Tempestuous world

Glimmer of atmosphere

World in reverse

Flash from darkness

World you can't set your watch by

Contrasting sibling

World like ours?

Unseen embryo

World through the blur

Ember spat from a fire

Lonely planet

Dreich world?

Cursed world

World that's just right?

World bombarded

Dark cloak of death

World torn asunder

Diamond born from death

Epilogue: yet more worlds

Appendix: Twenty worlds.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781789143393

178914339X

OCLC:

1191051222