Based on the latest missions results and supported by commissioned artwork, this book explores the possible lessons we may learn from exoplanets. As the number of known Earth-like objects grows significantly, the author explores what is known about the growing roster of "pale blue dots" far afield. Aided by an increased sensitivity of the existing observatories, recent discoveries by Keck, the Hubble Space Telescope, and Kepler are examined. These findings, once thought to be closer to the realm of science fiction, have fired the imaginations of the general public as well as scientists. All of us are mesmerized by the possibility of other Earth-like worlds out there. Author Michael Carroll asks the tough questions of what the expected gain is from identifying these Earth analogs spread across the Universe and the reasons for studying them. Potentially, they could teach us about our own climate and Solar System. Also explored are the more remote options of communication between or even travel to these distant yet perhaps not so dissimilar worlds.

" ... Concise explanations and descriptions - easily read and readily understood - of what we know of the chain of events and processes that connect the Sun to the Earth, with special emphasis on space weather and Sun-Climate."--Dear Reader.

A beautifully descriptive story about love, self-sacrifice and the desperate battle to avoid extinction on a dying world.A massive cloud of hydrogen is traveling through space on a collision course with Earth. At a high-ranking meeting, two astronomers, Edward and Joseph, are sworn to secrecy when they reveal that in six months' time, as the gas envelops the planet, it will turn the atmosphere into a fireball. Their beautiful young prodigy, the resourceful Lauren, is initially kept in the dark, but soon discovers the destination of the cloud when she calculates its route. Two months before its encounter with Earth, the gas is captured and absorbed by the planet Jupiter. They think they have avoided disaster, but you can be looking the wrong way when the end of the world sneaks up on you.

The Earth is not the world it once was, and it is not the world it will always be. This book describes the exciting, complex, and occasionally baffling history of our own planet. Over the course of its 4.5 billion years, Earth has undergone astonishing changes to its surface and atmosphere, at times more closely resembling other planets in our Solar System than the habitable, teeming biosphere of today. Through these otherworldly analogs, author-illustrator Michael Carroll teaches readers about different aspects of our own planet’s past. Our nearest cosmic neighbor, Venus, offers insights into Earth’s own young atmosphere and surface, while Saturn’s moon Titan may offer a window into the genesis of life on Earth. Planet Earth, Past and Present explores these and many more connections. Original art accompanies each chapter, depicting major stages of the Earth’s evolution and providing vivid comparisons to other planets or moons. Come along on this journey through the Solar System—a journey that ultimately leads us home.

An insider's look at the cutting-edge science of today's planet hunters In Strange New Worlds, renowned astronomer Ray Jayawardhana brings news from the front lines of the epic quest to find planets—and alien life—beyond our solar system. Only in the past two decades, after millennia of speculation, have astronomers begun to discover planets around other stars—thousands in fact. Now they are closer than ever to unraveling distant twins of the Earth. In this book, Jayawardhana vividly recounts the stories of the scientists and the remarkable breakthroughs that have ushered in this extraordinary age of exploration. He describes the latest findings--including his own—that are challenging our view of the cosmos and casting new light on the origins and evolution of planets and planetary systems. He reveals how technology is rapidly advancing to support direct observations of Jupiter-like gas giants and super-Earths—rocky planets with several times the mass of our own planet—and how astronomers use biomarkers to seek possible life on other worlds. Strange New Worlds provides an insider's look at the cutting-edge science of today's planet hunters, our prospects for discovering alien life, and the debates and controversies at the forefront of extrasolar-planet research. In a new afterword, Jayawardhana explains some of the most recent developments as we search for the first clues of life on other planets.

Hip-hop evangelism--a compelling look at a rap subgroup that explores its musical, social, and political contexts.