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J. Brit. Astron. Assoc., 109, 2, 1999, p.102
Wiley/Praxis 1998. ISBN 0-471-97633-4 (hbk), 0-471-97634-2 (pbk). Pp xix + 218, £50.00/19.99).
reviewed by Roger O'Brien
Stuart Clark is a friend and colleague: it was both a pleasure and a rather daunting prospect to review his book. In an easy fluent style, each chapter lays the ground for the next. By the time we read how Mayor and Queloz discovered 51 Pegasi B, we understand the method and appreciate the skill that went into it. The ingenuity and diligence of the searches emerges with equal force, as he goes on to detail the work of Marcy and Butler, who racked up another four.
Starting from the 48 constellations of Ptolemy, Stuart takes us through stellar types, leading to spectroscopic binaries and brown dwarfs. A thorough discussion of stellar types even spills over to include the formation of white dwarfs and the dramatic chain of events leading to a massive star exploding as a supernova. He tackles planetary formation to introduce ideas of the types of planets one might hope to find. The overall outline is chronological and ends with 'Habitable planets and extraterrestrial intelligence', where he brings in the famous 'Drake Equation' and the plans for space missions to search for signals from extraterrestrial civilisations. I was intrigued by the Bracewell nulling interferometer - a wonderful device which enables you to eliminate the bright thing you are looking at in the hope of seeing smaller fainter things near it.
Deciding where to start is always tough in astronomy and I wonder if Stuart really needed to go all the way back to Ptolemy. Doing so means that the titular material does not enter until the second half of the book. Although I liked the provision of 'References' and 'Exercises' at the end of chapters, I think most readers would expect answers to the latter. On the back cover, Stuart specifies a range of potential readers so wide as to imply incompatibility, but the combination of basic and technical material usually works well. In general, the book is well presented and accurate. I did not like to see the term 'centrifugal force' used. '..the death of Ptolemy in 180 AD coincided with the decline of the Roman Empire,' struck me as a touch sweeping, and was Copernicus persecuted by the Church? The solar chromosphere is rather more than 100km deep.
Stuart Clark has provided us with a good summary of the current crop of extrasolar planets and an intriguing look at the prospects for further discoveries - a 'good read'.
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