Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography

Beaulieu, J. P., and G. Tinetti. "Probing The Atmosphere Of Transiting Extrasolar Planets." EAS Publications Series 33. (2008): 165-173. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Apr. 2014.

            This article is by two professors of astrophysics from Europe. This paper was published at astrophysics’ conference where other scientists were able to dispute the findings and or add to the text to qualify the findings. This article focuses on characterizing extrasolar planets rather than identifying them. This is important because there are many extrasolar planets discovered, but none have been classified as far as how habitable they are, or what kind of atmosphere they support. This article is beneficial because it shows where the study of extrasolar planets is headed in the future. The disciple is headed to knowing more about these planets and if they are a viable source of life, or if they have life of their own we do not know about. This article is different because it does not discuss discovery, but the classification and understanding of these new planets. This article also addresses the future problems with this topic they might encounter.

Boss, Alan. The Crowded Universe: The Search For Living Planets. New York: Basic Books, 2009. (2, 206). eBook. Academic Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 4 Apr. 2014.

Alan boss who is an astrophysicist and NASA scientist writes The Crowded Universe. He graduated from the University of South Florida and the University of California, Santa Barbra. He is one of the main scientists studying extrasolar planets and planetary system information. These sections of the book are helpful because they explain how we came to know about extrasolar planets. The later section is helpful in explaining the opposing side’s statement of “if there was intelligent life out there, why haven’t they contacted us yet.” This will be helpful to my paper when I address the opposing sides. This book is different than the other articles because it gives the basic information and continues to give additional information regarding the timeline of understanding extrasolar planets.

Cain, Fraser. "How Long Will Life Survive on Earth." Universe Today (2013): 1. Http://www.universetoday.com/25367/how-long-will-life-survive-on-earth/. 30 Sept. 2013. Web. 4 Apr. 2014.

Fraser Cain is a publisher for Universe Today and is also a co-host of Astronomy Cast with Dr. Pamela Gay. He has written about four articles about various universe topics in April of 2014 alone. His editors and doctors in the field of astrology review his work. This article is different from the others because it includes a video as well as text explaining the topic. This article will be helpful when address the idea of moving planets if the need arises. This information will help people understand that the earth will not be along forever, but it is not likely to die out in a matter of 100 years either. This article is from a respected magazine that astronomers and enthusiasts can subscribe to and read online for free. I believe this information is credible because it comes from a reviewed source and there are doctors in astonomy that are involved with the magazine.

Dvorak, Rudolf. "Extrasolar Planets—A Challenge For Astronomy." AIP Conference Proceedings 1076.1 (2008): 43-52. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Apr. 2014.

            This article by Rudold Dvorak, which was written for the Institute for Astronomy, University of Vienna, is subject to peer-review and scrutiny to any unreliable information. As for the author, Dvorak has written over 100 publications in the last 20 years and has been a collaborator on over 400. He is seen as an expert on astrophysics and space science from the University of Vienna. This article is helpful to my paper because it discusses how the extrasolar planets are similar to planets in our own solar system. The article also goes into brief discussion about extrasolar planets that are considered in the “habitable-zone” which means it may house life. Earth is in the “habitable-zone” and there are carbon-based life forms there. This article is different from the others because it compares our planetary system to those observed in extrasolar planetary systems. The article does say there is no reason why these similarities exist, only that they do. This helps the argument of these extrasolar planets possibly being habitable, or at the very least similar to our own planetary system, which houses life.

Lammer, H., et al. "What Makes A Planet Habitable?." Astronomy & Astrophysics Review 17.2 (2009): 181-249. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Apr. 2014.

            All of the authors of this article are either doctors in astrobiology, or part of European Universities and institutes of space and the sciences. They are all subject to peer-review and with 17 authors to this article; the information is deemed reliable because 17 minds in similar fields have all come to one consensus. This article is important to my essay because it breaks down the qualities that make Earth home to carbon-based life forms. This article is needed for my research because if one is trying to examine a possible habitable planet, they need to know the criteria for life in the first place. This article is different from the others because it does not focus as much on the extrasolar planets, but more on what would be needed for the extrasolar planets to be as close to Earth as possible. This is needed to compare what is seen in the atmospheres of the extrasolar planets in the “habitable-zone” to even consider the idea of moving Earth’s population to a new planet, which some suggest is the ultimate end.

---, et al. "Exoplanet Status Report: Observation, Characterization And Evolution Of Exoplanets And Their Host Stars." Solar System Research 44.4 (2010): 290-310. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Apr. 2014.

            This article has 27 contributors, many of the same in the article named above. They are all from institutes or universities that study space and the sciences around space and can speak to an expert level on these subjects. This article is different from the others, but similar to the first one, because these scientists are attempting to classify over 400 extrasolar planets that have been discovered up to 2010 when this article was published. The collaborators also attempt to classify the host start of these planetary systems, which is vital to the understanding of the planet and star interactions. This will help my research because it supports the first entry in this bibliography, but also, it goes beyond the first article by classifying the star and how these stars affects their planetary system.

Penn State. "Water Detected in a Planet outside Our Solar System." Science Daily (n.d.): 1. Http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140225101737.htm. 25 Feb. 2014. Web. 4 Apr. 2014.

            Collaborators of Penn state wrote this article, found on Science Daily. The website claims that their entries are from universities, journals, and other organizations. Universities, such as Penn State, are subject to peer review and extensive overlooking of research before publication. This article is important to this paper because it relates to the article that states what aspects of Earth make it habitable, one being water. What is different from the other articles is that it discusses water found on Mars, which is not an extrasolar planet. This however gives hope that water can be found on other planets outside of the solar system. The discovery on Mars helped scientists figure out what equipment was needed to find this information and they can then apply it to extrasolar planet once space travel technologies are able to venture out that far. 

Sasselov, Dimitar D. The Life Of Super-Earths : How The Hunt For Alien Worlds And Artificial Cells Will Revolutionize Life On Our Planet. New York: Basic Books, 2012. (87-98) eBook. Academic Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 4 Apr. 2014.

            Dimitar D. Sasseelov, a professor of astronomy at Harvard University and is the director of The Harvard Origins of Life Initiative writes the book The Life of Super-Earths. His work is subject to peer-review and his position at Harvard grants him access to funds to do his research. This portion of the book talks about life in general, as well as, how other galaxies are cosmically so close to the Milky Way we live in. This is important to my paper because it shows how close possible habitable planets are to Earth if the technology ever was developed for deep space travel. It also talks about animals are their temperatures being close to their chemical body energy temperature; meaning, if scientists could discover the temperature of certain extrasolar planets, they could possibly determine, or at least speculate, if life existed on these extrasolar planets.