Preface
Part I: Introduction1. The Exoplanetary Landscape
Part II: Exoplanetary Detection and Spectroscopy2. The Demographics
of Exoplanets3. Transit Surveys4. Radial Velocity Surveys5. Direct
Imaging and Spectroscopy6. Small Star Opportunities7. Transit
Spectroscopy8. High-resolution Spectroscopy9. Space Missions for
Exoplanet Science10. Small Satellites for Exoplanet Science
Part III: Exoplanetary Theory and Characterisation11. Orbital
Dynamics and Architectures of Exoplanets12. Planet Formation13.
Planetary Migration14. Astrochemistry and Planet Formation15.
Debris Disks16. Exoplanetary Interiors17. Atmospheric Modeling and
Retrieval18. Atmospheric Chemistry19. Atmospheric Dynamics20.
Clouds in Exoplanetary Atmospheres21. Atomic and Molecular Line
data
Part IV: Habitability and Biosignatures22. Exoplanetary
Habitability23. Exoplanetary Astrobiology
Part V: New Horizons24. The Search for Spectroscopic Signs of Life
Nikku Madhusudhan is a Professor of Astrophysics and Exoplanetary Science at the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge. His research interests span a wide range of areas in exoplanetary science, including exoplanetary atmospheres, interiors, formation and habitability. His work has been recognised with various awards and honours, including the 2014 Vainu Bappu Gold Medal in Astrophysics by the Astronomical Society of India, the 2016 Young Scientist Medal by the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) Commission on Astrophysics, the 2019 MERAC Prize in Theoretical Astrophysics by the European Astronomical Society, and the 2019 Pilkington Prize for excellence in teaching at the University of Cambridge.
All (chapters) are well written, although in some cases the
particular agendas and projects of the authors are given plenty of
visibility. I found quite a few chapters to be particularly
informative and interesting, examples being (in page order):
Nikku's introduction; 'Radial Velocity Surveys', by Debra Fischer;
'Small Satellites for Exoplanet Science', by Fossatti, McCullough &
Parry; 'Orbital Dynamics and Architectures of Exoplanets', by Dan
Fabrycky; and 'Exoplanetary Habitability', by James Kasting.
Overall this book is a useful and informative addition to the
literature on extrasolar planets, and I foresee turning to it quite
often in search of particular ideas or references. The presentation
is also very good, with almost no typographical or grammatical
errors. The worst I could find was a reference within the text to
"Sydney (2003)" whereas the bibliography of that chapter had the
correct "Barnes (2003)". The paper quality is a bit lower than
expected, given the price, which is a problem in a few diagrams
where small fonts have become blurred. Which brings us to the fact
that it costs GBP120. At this price, it is unlikely to grace the
bookshelves of amateurs or students. However, it is more aimed at
professional astronomers who can put a book like this on expenses
or suggest it as a library purchase.
John Southworth, June 2022, The Observatory -- John
Southworth * The Observatory *
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