United States
£ GBP
This book offers an advanced introduction to the fields of extrasolar planets and astrobiology. The book contains over 150 images and illustrations; extensive bibliographies for each chapters; and, exercises for each chapter, ranging from straightforward calculation problems to more far-ranging research-oriented exercises. This book offers an advanced introduction to the increasingly robust fields of extrasolar planets and astrobiology. No other text currently available applies this level of mathematics and physics, while also providing an extensive grounding in key issues of chemistry, biology, and geophysics.
Introduction, Background, and Preview; Star Formation and Proto-Stellar Collapse; Planet Formation; Exoplanets; Life: A Brief History and its Boundaries; Planetary Radiation, Comparative Planetology, Biosignatures and Daisyworld; Cosmochemistry, Dust and Prebiotic Molecules; Comets, Meteorites and Proto-Planetary Disk Structure; Habitable Zones.
CALEB A. SCHARF was born and educated in England. He received his B.Sc. in Physics from Durham University, and his PhD in Astronomy from the University of Cambridge. Following postdoctoral work in X-ray astronomy and observational cosmology at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the Space Telescope Science Institute in Maryland, he has been a research scientist at Columbia University, New York. He is currently Director of the multidisciplinary Columbia Astrobiology Center. His research interests include the study of exoplanets, exomoons, and the nature of environments suitable for life.
Scharf's coverage of exoplanets is quite wonderful and will be very valuable for classes. I enjoyed reading this presentation. - Geoff Marcy, University of California, Berkeley.
"I like this book very much. The writing style is clear and engaging and it provides more physics than most texts on astrobiology." - Debra Fischer, San Francisco State University
