Alien Earths: The New Science of Planet Hunting in the Cosmos
Written by Dr. Lisa Kaltenegger
Narrated by Dr. Lisa Kaltenegger and Cassandra Campbell
4/5
()
About this audiobook
This program features an introduction and epilogue read by the author.
"In the grand tradition of Carl Sagan and Neil deGrasse Tyson, we now have a new tour guide to the cosmos."―Charles Cockell, Professor of Astrobiology, University of Edinburgh
"Absorbing, informative, and entertaining."―Kirkus (starred)
Riveting and timely, a look at the research that is transforming our understanding of the cosmos in the quest to discover whether we are alone.
For thousands of years, humans have wondered whether we're alone in the cosmos. Now, for the first time, we have the technology to investigate. But once you look for life elsewhere, you realize it is not so simple. How do you find it over cosmic distances? What actually is life?
As founding director of Cornell University's Carl Sagan Institute, astrophysicist Lisa Kaltenegger has built a team of tenacious scientists from many disciplines to create a specialized toolkit to find life on faraway worlds. In Alien Earths, she demonstrates how we can use our homeworld as a Rosetta Stone, creatively analyzing Earth's history and its astonishing biosphere to inform this search. With infectious enthusiasm, she takes us on an eye-opening journey to the most unusual exoplanets that have shaken our worldview - planets covered in oceans of lava, lonely wanderers lost in space, and others with more than one sun in their sky! And the best contenders for Alien Earths. We also see the imagined worlds of science fiction and how close they come to reality.
With the James Webb Space Telescope and Dr. Kaltenegger’s pioneering work, she shows that we live in an incredible new epoch of exploration. As our witty and knowledgeable tour guide, Dr. Kaltenegger shows how we discover not merely new continents, like the explorers of old, but whole new worlds circling other stars and how we could spot life there. Worlds from where aliens may even be gazing back at us. What if we're not alone?
A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.
Dr. Lisa Kaltenegger
Lisa Kaltenegger is the Director of the Carl Sagan Institute to Search for Life in the Cosmos at Cornell and Associate Professor in Astronomy. She is a pioneer and world-leading expert in modeling potential habitable worlds and their detectable spectral fingerprint. Kaltenegger serves on the National Science Foundation's Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee (AAAC), and on NASA senior review of operating missions. She is a Science Team Member of NASA's TESS Mission as well as the NIRISS instrument on James Webb Space Telescope. Kaltenegger was named one of America’s Young Innovators by Smithsonian Magazine, an Innovator to Watch by TIME Magazine. She appears in the IMAX 3D movie "The Search for Life in Space" and speaks frequently, including at Aspen Ideas Festival, TED Youth, World Science Festival and the Kavli Foundation lecture at the Adler Planetarium which was live-streamed to six continents.
Related to Alien Earths
Related audiobooks
The Possibility of Life: Science, Imagination, and Our Quest for Kinship in the Cosmos Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Under Alien Skies: A Sightseer's Guide to the Universe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Little Book of Exoplanets Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Impact: How Rocks from Space Led to Life, Culture, and Donkey Kong Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Things That Go Bump in the Universe: How Astronomers Decode Cosmic Chaos Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlack Holes: The Key to Understanding the Universe Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Interstellar: The Search for Extraterrestrial Life and Our Future in the Stars Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Elephant in the Universe: Our Hundred-Year Search for Dark Matter Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Exoplanets (Goldsmith): Hidden Worlds and the Quest for Extraterrestrial Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs: The Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Light in the Darkness: Black Holes, the Universe, and Us Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mission: A True Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gravity's Engines: How Bubble-Blowing Black Holes Rule Galaxies, Stars, and Life in the Cosmos Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Planets Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Spaced Out: A Casual Approach to the Cosmos Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Just Six Numbers: The Deep Forces That Shape the Universe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Alien Perspective: A New View of Humanity and the Cosmos Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ad Astra: An Illustrated Guide to Leaving the Planet Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lightness Being: Mass, Ether, and the Unification of Forces Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Look Up: Our story with the stars Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Equations of Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Origins of the Universe: The Cosmic Microwave Background and the Search for Quantum Gravity Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Little Book of Aliens Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Last Days of the Dinosaurs: An Asteroid, Extinction, and the Beginning of Our World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Before The Big Bang: The Origin of Our Universe from the Multiverse Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The World Behind the World: Consciousness, Free Will, and the Limits of Science Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beyond Measure: The Hidden History of Measurement from Cubits to Quantum Constants Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Astronomy & Space Sciences For You
Interstellar: The Search for Extraterrestrial Life and Our Future in the Stars Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The End of Everything: (Astrophysically Speaking) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cosmos: A Personal Voyage Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Holographic Universe: The Revolutionary Theory of Reality Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Six: The Untold Story of America's First Women Astronauts Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Extraterrestrial Species Almanac: The Ultimate Guide to Greys, Reptilians, Hybrids, and Nordics Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Secret Lives of Planets: Order, Chaos, and Uniqueness in the Solar System Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Darwin's Doubt: The Explosive Origin of Animal Life and the Case for Intelligent Design Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5When the Heavens Went on Sale: The Misfits and Geniuses Racing to Put Space Within Reach Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Science of Interstellar Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Invisible College: What a Group of Scientists Has Discovered About UFO Influences on the Human Race Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Theory of Everything: The Origin and Fate of the Universe Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Peregrine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Read Nature: An Expert's Guide to Discovering the Outdoors You've Never Noticed Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a New World View Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dark Matter & Dark Energy: The Hidden 95% of the Universe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Chasing the Sun: How the Science of Sunlight Shapes Our Bodies and Minds Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Creator and the Cosmos: How the Latest Scientific Discoveries Reveal God Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Apollo 11: The Inside Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beginning and the End of Everything: From the Big Bang to the End of the Universe Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Under Alien Skies: A Sightseer's Guide to the Universe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Theories of the Universe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black Holes: The Key to Understanding the Universe Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Book of the Moon: A Guide to Our Closest Neighbor Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Alien Earths
1 rating1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This engaging, easy-to-read book explores the quest to discover life beyond Earth, fueled by modern technology. Using Earth as a Rosetta Stone, it draws insights from its rich history and diverse biosphere. From exoplanets challenging our preconceptions, to science fiction’s imagined realms, this book offers a fascinating journey into the cosmos and our evolving understanding of life’s potential elsewhere.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.