Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Exoplanet, extrasolar planet, exoEarth, exojupiter: neologisms still absent from many dictionaries. These terms are, however, current among astronomers, and are heard in their answers to a question already two millennia old: are there planets like ours elsewhere in the Universe? Greek atomists such as Epicurus were convinced of the existence of an infinite number of solar systems like our own, but it was only in 1995 that a real answer began to emerge. An extrasolar planet had been detected... a planet orbiting another star... a star like the Sun. So, the solar system was not unique! By mid- 2006 more than 200 giant exoplanets had been discovered. At this rate of discovery it seems that Earth-like planets may be found within a decade. The discovery of exoplanets held some surprises, in that they exhibited very different characteristics from what might have been expected. Although most of them are gas giants of masses comparable to Jupiter's mass, as a result of the rather insensitive nature of current detection methods, why are they from ten to fifty times closer to their stars than is Jupiter? How were these 'hot Jupiters' formed? Another surprise about exoplanets is that many of them have very elliptical orbits, while the planets of the solar system have much more circular orbits.

Extrasolar planets. --- Stars with planets. --- SWP (Stars with planets) --- SWPs (Stars with planets) --- Stars --- Extrasolar planets --- Exo-planets --- Exoplanets --- Extra-solar planets --- Planets --- Stars with planets --- Astronomy. --- Astrobiology. --- Popular Science in Astronomy. --- Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology. --- Astronomy, Observations and Techniques. --- Astrobiology --- Biology --- Habitable planets --- Life --- Origin --- Astrophysics. --- Observations, Astronomical. --- Astronomy—Observations. --- Astronomical observations --- Observations, Astronomical --- Astronomical physics --- Astronomy --- Cosmic physics --- Physics

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

The detection and exploration of extrasolar planets is one of the most exciting and fast moving areas of astronomical research at the present time. With over forty research programmes ongoing, and just as many planned, the search for these new worlds has become the main objective for a new generation of giant ground-based telescopes as well as many future space missions. Experimental methods and observational techniques are pushing existing instruments to their limits. The most exciting possibility offered by this research is the discovery of Earth-like extrasolar planets, with a mass comparable to that of Earth, located at the right distance from its star to host liquid water in other words, a place where life could evolve. The authors tackle this challenging field of research by first looking at early searches for extrasolar planets, the very first discoveries and the observational techniques involved. They then examine the very wide range of extrasolar planets that have been discovered during the past ten years and look at what we can learn about such planets by studying the bodies in our own solar system. The formation of planetary systems, the way in which such systems may evolve and the final systems of planets that result are then discussed. Finally Drs Casoli and Encrenaz examine the possibilities for life on extrasolar planets, again using our own solar system as a model, and look to the plans for future extrasolar planet searches. A number of Appendices summarise the extrasolar planet discoveries to date.

Extrasolar planets. --- Stars with planets.

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Science --- Space research --- Cosmology --- Astrophysics --- Biology --- astrofysica --- popularisering wetenschap --- biologie --- ruimte (astronomie) --- astronomie --- kosmologie

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

La 4e de couv. indique : "Comprendre l'évolution climatique de la Terre et des autres planètes est un enjeu majeur. Le Terre est la seule planète du Système solaire dont les conditions tempérées autorisent aujourd'hui la présence d'eau liquide à sa surface, eau qui paraît nécessaire à une vie évoluée. Ses soeurs Vénus et Mars sont extrêmement différentes. pourquoi ces trois planètes, nées dans des conditions assez comparables, ont-elles évolué vers les conditions que nous observons aujourd'hui ? Mettre en évidence les facteurs, physiques ou chimiques qui sont à l'origine de ces évolutions si divergentes est une première étape à franchir pour mieux comprendre comment la vie a pu apparaître sur la Terre et s'y développer. Cette interrogation prend une nouvelle dimension avec la découverte de milliers de planètes extrasolaires, les exoplanètes, dont certaines pourraient ressembler à la Terre. Peuvent-elles abriter la vie ? Avec leur découverte, la question "Sommes-nous seuls dans l'Univers ?", vieille comme l'humanité, ne se cantonne plus à notre Système solaire, mais voit le champ des possibilités s'ouvrir à l'infini. nous avons aujourd'hui les moyens d'aborder le problème sous un angle scientifique et pas seulement philosophique, comme c'était le cas dans le passé. Dans cette perspective, il est plus que jamais nécessaire de comprendre l'évolution des planètes et de mieux cerner les facteurs qui permettent l'émergence et le développement de la vie : c'est un des buts de ce livre. L'engouement du public pour le sujet se traduit parfois par des annonces sensationnelles et prématurées. Le livre rappelle qu'il reste un long chemin à parcourir avant que l'on parvienne à détecter la vie sur une exoplanète ; en conclusion, il trace aussi les pistes d'une future exploration des exoplanètes habitables."

Life on other planets. --- Extrasolar planets. --- Inner planets. --- Life --- Vie extraterrestre. --- Exoplanètes. --- Planètes telluriques. --- Origine de la vie. --- Origin. --- Exobiology. --- Exoplanètes. --- Planètes telluriques.

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

The Earth is the only planet in the Solar System where liquid water is present on the surface, a condition that seems necessary for the development of life. Its sisters Venus and Mars are extremely different. Why did these three planets, born under fairly comparable conditions, evolve to the conditions we observe today? Understanding the physical or chemical factors that are at the origin of such divergent evolutions is a first step in an approach to the problem of the origin of life on Earth.

Astrophysics.