Exoplanets: Worlds Beyond Our Solar System

Gr 7–10—Meet GJ 504b (the Pink Planet), 55 Cancri e (the Oozer), TrES-4 (the Cork Planet), and other exoplanets recently identified and now chronicled in this slim volume. This deceptively small book is packed with current information on exoplanets—those planets orbiting stars beyond our own solar system. Kenney gives a nuts and bolts account of how they came to be discovered. Before that, a brief history of astronomy, including the birth of the telescope, is discussed. The best hope for extraterrestrial life is the so-called Goldilocks zone, a habitable area that is neither too hot nor too cold for sustaining life. The author explains that while humans will not be able to visit an exoplanet anytime soon, as technology improves, scientists will be better able to understand exoplanets. While the hard science here can be a bit dense, charts, photos, and artists' renderings abound and help clarify the topic.