With the discovery of planets beyond our solar system 25 years ago, exoplanet research has expanded dramatically, with new state-of-the-art ground-based and space-based missions dedicated to their discovery and characterisation. With more than 3,500 exoplanets now known, the complexity of the discovery techniques, observations and physical characterisation have grown exponentially. This Handbook ties all these avenues of research together across a broad range of exoplanet science. Planet f...

Exoplanet research is one of the most explosive subjects in astronomy today. More than 500 exoplanets are now known, and groups world-wide are actively involved in a broad range of observational and theoretical efforts. This book ties together these many avenues of investigation - from the perspectives of observation, technology and theory - to give a comprehensive, up-to-date review of the entire field. All areas of exoplanet investigation are covered, making it a unique and valuable guid...

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTUREA mission to Mars. A freak accident. One man’s struggle to survive. From the author of Project Hail Mary comes “a hugely entertaining novel that reads like a rocket ship afire” (Chicago Tribune).“Brilliant . . . a celebration of human ingenuity [and] the purest example of real-science sci-fi for many years . . . utterly compelling.”—The Wall Stre...

This volume provides an overview of current research and recent advances in the area of energetic materials, focusing on decomposition, crystal and molecular properties. The contents and format reflect the fact that theory, experiment and computation are closely linked in this field. Since chemical decomposition is of fundamental importance in energetic performance, this volume begins with a survey of the decomposition processes of a variety of energetic compounds. This is followed by deta...

Over the past decade, asteroids have come to the forefront of planetary science. Scientists across broad disciplines are increasingly recognizing that understanding asteroids is essential to discerning the basic processes of planetary formation, including how their current distribution bespeaks our solar system’s cataclysmic past. For explorers, the nearest asteroids beckon as the most accessible milestones in interplanetary space, offering spaceflight destinations easier to reach than the...

One of the major experimental difficulties in studying materials at extreme temperatures is unwanted contamination of the sample through contact with the container. This can be avoided by suspending the sample through levitation. This technique also makes metastable states of matter accessible, opening up new avenues of scientific enquiry, as well as possible new materials for technological applications. This book describes several methods of levitation, the most important being aerodynami...

Must-have reference for processes involving liquids, gases, and mixturesReap the time-saving, mistake-avoiding benefits enjoyed by thousands of chemical and process design engineers, research scientists, and educators. Properties of Gases and Liquids, Fifth Edition, is an all-inclusive, critical survey of the most reliable estimating methods in use today --now completely rewritten and reorganized by Bruce Poling, John Prausnitz, and John O’Connell to reflect every late-breaking dev...

Heliophysics is a fast-developing scientific discipline that integrates studies of the Sun's variability, the surrounding heliosphere, and the environment and climate of planets. This volume, the fourth in the Heliophysics collection, explores what makes the conditions on Earth 'just right' to sustain life, by comparing Earth to other solar system planets, by comparing solar magnetic activity to that of other stars, and by looking at the properties of evolving exoplanet systems. By taking ...

Seismology is a highly effective tool for investigating the internal structure of the Earth. Similar techniques have also successfully been used to study other planetary bodies (planetary seismology), the Sun (helioseismology), and other stars (asteroseismology). Despite obvious differences between stars and planetary bodies, these disciplines share many similarities and together form a coherent field of scientific research. This unique book takes a transdisciplinary approach to seismology...

Nanodust and nanometer-sized structures are important components of many objects in space. Nanodust is observed in evolved stars, young stellar objects, protoplanetary disks, and dust debris disks. Within the solar system, nanodust is observed with in-situ experiments from spacecraft. Nanometer-sized substructures are found in the collected cometary and interplanetary dust particles and in meteorites. Understanding the growth and destruction of dust, its internal evolution, as well as the ...

Organic materials with extraordinary magnetic properties promise a wide range of light, flexible, and inexpensive alternatives to familiar metal-based magnets. Individual organic molecules with high magnetic moments will be the foundation for design and fabrication of these materials.This book provides a systematic understanding of the structure and properties of organic magnetic molecules. After a summary of the phenomenon of magnetism at the molecular level, it presents a survey of the c...

In The Earth as a Distant Planet, the authors become external observers of our solar system from a distance and try to determine how one can understand how Earth, the third in distance to the central star, is essentially unique and capable of sustaining life. The knowledge gained from this original perspective is then applied to the search for other planets outside the solar system, or exoplanets.Since the discovery in 1992 of the first exoplanet, the number of planet dete...