Celebrating the publication of her new book
Alien Earths, Lisa Kaltenegger joins host Chris Wofford to spotlight groundbreaking research at Cornell University into exoplanets and the search for life in the cosmos. As Director of the Carl Sagan Institute, Dr. Kaltenegger leads a team of astronomers, engineers, and scientists who tirelessly strive to find a definitive answer to the question “Are we alone?”
About the book, published by Macmillan:
For thousands of years, humans have wondered whether we're alone in the cosmos. Now, for the first time, we have the technology to investigate. But once you look for life elsewhere, you realize it is not so simple. How do you find it over cosmic distances? What actually is life?As founding director of Cornell University's Carl Sagan Institute, astrophysicist Lisa Kaltenegger has built a team of tenacious scientists from many disciplines to create a specialized toolkit to find life on faraway worlds. In her book Alien Earths, she demonstrates how we can use our homeworld as a Rosetta Stone, creatively analyzing Earth's history and its astonishing biosphere to inform this search."In
Alien Earths, Lisa Kaltenegger, a skillful educator, offers first-hand access to her expertise on the search for planets in the universe, and the life they may contain. Along the way, Lisa's breezy narrative style invites you to experience with her the challenges and joys of being a scientist on the frontier of discovery."
—Neil deGrasse Tyson, Astrophysicist, American Museum of Natural History
"If you’ve ever wondered if we’re alone in the cosmos — and Dr. Kaltenegger is certain you have — start with
Alien Earths. With her combined degrees in astronomy and engineering, she presents a primer on the geology, physics, chemistry, biology, and ultimately mathematics of places just like Earth — which she sets about seeking every (Earth) day. She’ll show you; the answer is in the sky, our window on the cosmos. Read on!"
—Bill Nye, CEO, The Planetary Society (and former student of Carl Sagan)
