Product Description

The ultimate insider′s account of astronomy′s fantastic voyage in search of brave new worlds in faraway galaxies

"Highly recommended." –Science and Technology

"Full of humor, heartbreak, and a deep understanding of the ardor and luck that compose years of research. . . . The reader becomes not merely a receiver of Boss′s vision, but a fellow explorer." –Astronomy

"A rewarding account." –Scientific American

Are we alone in the universe . . . or are there other planets generating and sustaining life? The question may be as old as civilization, but in the twilight of a century marked by countless frustrated quests to find other solar systems, several teams of pioneering astronomers have at last discovered a rich crop of mammoth, Jupiter–sized gas planets –the first compelling evidence that there may indeed be life in other galaxies.

In Looking for Earths, a prominent planetary scientist takes us along on this thrilling hunt for new life, revealing the behind–the–scenes stories of scientific determination, frustration, and triumph. Ushering us to the mountaintop observatories that house the world′s most powerful telescopes, and into the tension–filled scientific meetings where new results are announced and old results overturned, Alan Boss brings the process of exploration vividly alive. Experience the roller–coaster ride as intricate observations of minuscule stellar wobbles raise hopes that at last a true planet has been found, only to be almost immediately shattered by more powerful observations. Boss also introduces the principal players whose dreams defied all odds and made the first major discovery possible.

Like no other book, Looking for Earths captures the lively tension between theory and observation that defines cutting–edge astronomical discovery, along with the heated battles that will determine the direction of big–ticket American astronomy for years to come.

"You will find no better introduction to one of the truly revolutionary developments in modern astronomy."–Natural History

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2354216 in Books
• Published on: 2000-03-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Alan Boss is a theoretical planetologist: he imagines how and where planets might form. Looking for Earth is his account of the first discoveries of planets around other stars, which he rightly calls "a step as significant as Neil Armstrong's first step onto the Moon." Because Boss is a leading theoretician and a member of various committees and advisory bodies, he had a trackside seat for the race but is free from the bias that comes from actually running. He is better (and much more honest) than most astronomers at describing the infighting, boredom, professional feuds, bad doughnuts, and hard work that go into doing Big (i.e. astronomically expensive) Science. Boss includes an acronym glossary, so you can wrap your brain around sentences such as "The SISWG agreed that Michael Shao's design for OSI met the requirements for AIM." And he proves that you can be a consultant for the government and still maintain a sense of humour, as when he says that "51 Pegasi's planet must have formed more or less at its predicted location, and then been dragged kicking and screaming inward toward its star".

The late 1990s have seen the start of one of the great ages of discovery, and Boss's excitement is palpable. "In the distant future, a thousand years or two from now, aliens will reach an Earth-like planet orbiting a star in the Sun's neighbourhood.... Our descendants will be those aliens." --Mary Ellen Curtin, Amazon.com

Review
"Boss traces the story chronologically, telling it from the viewpoint of an astrophysicist and incidentally providing a rewarding account of how astronomers and astrophysicists do their work."–Scientific American, October 1998

Chemistry in Britain, November 2000
"As an historical account of the long history of planet finding it is very good, and if you also want a detailed account of the workings of NASA committees then it is ideal."