Mirror Earth

June 18, 2012
Science writer Lemonick (The Georgian Star) offers readers an informal and accessible view into the work of “exoplaneteers”: astronomers dedicated to searching out not just planets orbiting distant worlds, but “Mirror Earths,” Earth-like planets that might harbor life. It’s not an easy task. Distance and stellar brightness relative to the exoplanets make them difficult to see directly. Astronomers must rely on techniques like measuring how much a star’s brightness dims as a planet passes in front of it, or how much the star appears to “wobble” due to the gravitational attraction between it and an orbiting planet. Lemonick introduces planet-hunting pioneers like mild-mannered Bill Borucki, indefatigable Geoff Marcy, former cosmologist Sara Seager, and nurse-turned-astrophysicist Debra Fischer, revealing personalities as well as research frustrations and successes. Exoplanets, it turns out, aren’t really rare at all; they’re just nothing like what we expected to find. Most are more like hot Jupiters than cozy Earths. Discoveries also raise questions about what habitable means; after all, there’s no rule that says life must be Earth-like. Today’s exoplanet discoveries are building the foundation for learning just what kind of life is possible out there. B&w illus. Agent: Cynthia Cannell, Cynthia Cannell Literary Agency.

September 15, 2012
The discovery of planets beyond our solar system has become almost commonplace. Veteran Time science writer Lemonick (Echo of the Big Bang, 2003, etc.) looks at the scientists who carry out the search. The author begins with a brief look at the time before planets had been found orbiting other stars. Astronomers thought such planets probably existed, but finding them entailed very precise measurements of the wobble caused by a body in orbit around a star or the dimming of light as it passed between the star and the observer. Attempts were made as far back as the 1960s, but it took until 1995 for Swiss astronomers Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz to make the first discovery, a body half the size of Jupiter orbiting the star 51 Pegasi every four days. This "hot Jupiter" confounded existing theories of planet formation, which assumed our solar system was somehow "typical." But when Geoff Marcy and Paul Butler of San Francisco State University found two more planets in observations they had been recording for six years, the game was on. New tools, notably space telescopes, made the task easier; so did the arrival of a generation of astronomers whose imaginations were fired by this grand new enterprise. Lemonick gives profiles of a number of these "exoplaneteers": Canadians Dave Charbonneau and Sara Seager, who learned their trade at Harvard; and Debra Fischer and Natalie Batalha of the University of California. Also central to the story is Bill Borucki, the driving force behind the Kepler space telescope. The chase is now focused on finding planets close to Earth in size. Do any of them have the conditions under which life could have arisen? That remains to be seen, but Lemonick makes it clear that the exoplaneteers are busily working to find ways to detect them. A solid overview of the cutting edge of astronomy and of the new breed of astronomers who are exploring it.

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September 15, 2012

Lemonick (contributor, Time magazine; Echo of the Big Bang) offers readers a glimpse into the rarefied world of exoplaneteers, the term for scientists who scour the sky for planets similar to Earth, capable of sustaining life. This is not science fiction: these astronomers infer from their observations of wobbling or blinking stars the presence of planets in orbit about them. Lemonick regales readers with the thrilling finds researchers have uncovered to date, especially within the last 15 years. He discusses the meaning of the term habitable, the constitution of alien atmospheres, and possible technologies that could expand the frontiers of scientific research. A chapter called "Invasion of the Female Exoplaneteers" is particularly noteworthy. VERDICT This is an enjoyable and enlightening read. Recommended for readers with even the slightest interest in astronomy (which is most of us); Lemonick's enthusiasm will absolutely catch hold.--Margaret F. Dominy, Drexel Univ. Lib., Philadelphia

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