Exoplanets : finding, exploring, and understanding alien worlds

Preface . . vii
About the Author . . xi
Acknowledgements . . xiii

1. Because We Live on One! - or - Why Planets and Exoplanets Are Important . . 1
2. A Quick Tour of the Exoplanet Menagerie . . 7
3. An Exoplanet Retrospective . . 15
4. In the Beginning - The First Exoplanet Discoveries . . 45
5. On the Track of Alien Planets - The Radial Velocity or Doppler Method (~70% of All Exoplanet Primary Discoveries) . . 71
6. On the Track of Alien Planets - The Transit Method (~23% of All Exoplanet Primary Discoveries) . . 77
7. On the Track of Alien Planets - Direct Imaging and Observation (~2.9% of All Exoplanet Primary Discoveries or ~6% if Free Floating Planets are Included) . . 119
8. On the Track of Alien Planets - Gravitational Microlensing (~2.3% of All Exoplanet Primary Discoveries) . . 119
9. On the Track of Alien Planets - Timing (~1.9% of All Exoplanet Primary Discoveries) . . 127
10. On the Track of Alien Planets - Other Approaches (0% of All Exoplanet Primary Discoveries) . . 133
11. Where Do We Go from Here? - Future Approaches to Exoplanet Detection and Study . . 143
12. Exoplanets Revealed - What They Are Really Like . . 157
13. Exoplanets and Exoplanetary Systems: Pasts and Futures . . 191
14. Future Homes for Humankind? . . 203

Appendix I Nomenclature - or - What's in a Name? . . 233
Appendix II Note on Distances, Sizes and Masses, etc. . . 239
Appendix III Further Reading . . 243
Appendix IV Technical Background - Some of the Mathematics and Physics Involved in the Study of Exoplanets . . 247
Appendix V Names, Acronyms and Abbreviations . . 269

Index . . 273