elizabethtasker, 1 month ago

From worlds where stars do not twinkle, to lands where you must outrun the sun-rise to survive, "Alien Earths" by Lisa Kaltenegger is packed with truly delicious visuals of what we might find on the surface of an exoplanet.

Kaltenegger gives a personal account of what it's like working at the cutting edge of uncovering the nature of these alien worlds, with many amusing anecdotes such the perils of interdisciplinary work!

My book review is here in Science Magazine 🔗! https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ado1465

Computer graphics visualisation of a planet seemingly made of glass. The text is an anecdote from "Alien Earths", saying: "When geologists talk about glass, they mean a cooled magma. When astronomers talk about glass, we mean the see-through material that comprises the vessels we pour liquid into. When I called it a 'Cinderella glass-slipper planet' the geologists understood what the astronomers were thinking. A lot of teasing ensued."