A look into how new technology has allowed scientists to explore exoplanets. Analyzing how
planet Earth has evolved over the years allows scientists to apply that knowledge to other
planets. The universe is vast and there is still so much to explore and learn.
A fascinating read
#AlienAEarths #NetGalley

This is a very enjoyable look at the possibility of life on other planets, Written in an easy to understand style that makes the book particularly accessible to general readers, I never got lost as Ido with many other books about the universe

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for giving me the opportunity to review this ARC.

I found the book to be very informative and well written. The author writes in a very easily understandable manner, explaining at times complex issues in a very relatable manner. Perhaps this is a result of her experience as an educator as well as scientists. The content gives the reader a great perspective on our minuscule place in the universe and time. It also helps the reader understand the complexity of answering such basic questions as what is life, how do you find Target planets, and how would you spot life on those planets. I also found her explanation of space as a Time Machine based on distance, time and light. Overall, I found this book a great education on the topic and highly recommend it.

There is no thinner line than the one between talking down to people about science and explaining it in a way that everyone can understand. Lisa Kaltenegger wonderfully stays on the latter side in her book, Alien Earths. It is also possible that I am the lowest common denominator and it's impossible to insult my intelligence when it comes to science. No matter!

Kaltenegger tells an engaging story which revolves around a basic idea. Is there any earths out there like ours? Her answer: maybe! So what do we need the book for? Well, Kaltenegger to take the next steps to explain what are the conditions needed for those earths, what would it be like on those planets, and do we even have any indication they exist. Along the way, she gets in some good jokes and her love for this subject truly shines through.

Depending on your love of science, you may find this to be a must read or it may lose some steam by the end. While I enjoyed all of it, the concluding chapters start to feel a bit repetitive. There are also some memoir type tangents that range from perfectly placed to completely misplaced. These are small issues and the good of the book well outweighs any faults.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and St. Martin's Press.)

Lisa Kaltenegger’s Alien Earths is a great introductory book to astrobiology, the evolution of the universe and the possibilities of space exploration. This book wouldn’t be for someone with extensive knowledge of the subject matter, but she does a great job explaining concepts in a way that is familiar to the average person that might be curious about the potential for extraterrestrial life that would find denser books overwhelming. Even as someone with a fascination for outer space that regularly reads and listens to astronomy news, I found this helpful in the way it pulled information together. The majority of the book is about how life evolved or could have evolved on Earth, and what different circumstances could allow life to form. While I understand the concept of space and time, and how the light we see on Earth was emitted in the past from its origin, this takes on increased meaning in the search for life. Most stars observing the light from our sun are doing so from far enough away that we didn’t have the technology we do now - a time in their future. So it is for us to when we’re observing alien planets in our quest to find other life.

Several other impactful observations she makes that I want to highlight are the diversity of input in the search for life. In this she means both the value people in a variety of disciplines can contribute, and the variety of different genders, cultures, religions, etc. I found it so impressive that the head of her research team (a man) turned down her offer to go make copies of their PowerPoint presentation and delayed the presentation so he could do it himself and not put her as a woman in a position to be viewed as a secretary incredibly powerful, and a thing that often gets overlooked.

The other thing is that when you think about it and view Earth from the universal perspective and not the lowly human standing on the Earth’s surface, it really is like we’re on a spaceship hurtling through the universe and we are lucky enough that our spaceship sustains us rather well. But as any astronaut could tell you, they spend a lot of time doing maintenance to avoid crucial things breaking, something we should consider on our journey on Spaceship Earth.

Lisa Kaltenegger unveils the enigma of extraterrestrial existence and cosmic revelations. Examining Earth's evolution across a billion years, Kaltenegger simplifies the science and makes it as approachable as she can for the average Joe. The text explores Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, the Moon, and more, tackling inquiries about alien life, scientific collaboration, and the hurdles of dwelling on distant planets.

Offering insights from her role as Director at the Carl Sagan Institute, Kaltenegger emphasizes her accomplishments and envisions safe space travel. Despite the absence of visuals, the book remains accessible, catering to those intrigued by life-sustaining planets beyond our solar system.

"Alien Earths" by Lisa Kaltenegger is a captivating journey into the cosmos that feels like a modern-day exploration akin to Carl Sagan and Neil deGrasse Tyson. The endorsement by Charles Cockell, Professor of Astrobiology at the University of Edinburgh, sets high expectations, and this book certainly delivers.

Kaltenegger, as the founding director of Cornell University's Carl Sagan Institute, takes us on an absorbing exploration of the cosmos, addressing the age-old question of whether we are alone. With the technology at our disposal, she dives into the complexities of finding life beyond our planet and challenges our understanding of what life may be.

What makes this book stand out is Kaltenegger's infectious enthusiasm and her ability to make the science accessible. From exoplanets with oceans of lava to those with multiple suns in their sky, she introduces us to the extraordinary and diverse possibilities in our universe. The inclusion of science fiction elements and their proximity to reality adds an intriguing layer to the narrative.

The imminent James Webb Space Telescope and Kaltenegger’s groundbreaking work usher us into a new epoch of exploration. As a witty and knowledgeable tour guide, Kaltenegger not only expands our understanding of the cosmos but also sparks the imagination about the potential for life beyond Earth.

I’ve always been interested in space, so any time I see an interesting book on space travel or space in general, I know I have to read it. This time around, I spotted this book on space and looking at possible life on other planets. If we’re here, there has to be intelligent life somewhere out there, right? That’s what I’ve always believed, anyway! Technology has taken us a long way, but there’s only so far in space that we can see. The further away a planet is, the further back in time we’re viewing where that planet is on that adventure. It’s quite interesting, but it’s hard to tell whether or not there’s intelligent life out there because we’re looking at them in the past just as they would see Earth long in our past.

This was an excellent read. Lisa takes a lot of fascinating information and tells us about it in a way that’s easy for a non-scientist to understand. There’s a lot of interesting facts on other planets, how Earth is believed to have formed, and what is known based on scientific knowledge as it’s known today. I also really liked reading about her own journey, questions she gives her classes, and her own struggles as a woman in the science field. All in all, this was a wonderful read and I look forward to checking out anything she publishes in the future.

They say that it's proof of how well you understand something when you are able to explain it clearly. Dr. Kaltenegger can explain insanely complicated topics in a way that I could understand, even though this is an area where my science is severely lacking.
That's wonderful and amazing, but what makes this book even better is her musings throughout the book regarding her topic. I had never thought someone could dedicate their life to the possibility of other alien earths, but there are so many practical things we learn in trying to figure it out. In the end, there was a fantastic scene where she and her young daughter watched a rocket take off to go get her information. Brilliant

Great science book on the search for extraterrestrial planets and the possibilities of life on those planets. Easy to read and understand even if you don't know much about astronomy. Ms. Kaltenegger uses simple concepts to explain the science behind the search. Absolutely fascinating read. I received an arc from Netgalley but the opinions expressed are solely my own.

They say that it's proof of how well you understand something when you are able to explain it clearly. Dr. Kaltenegger can explain insanely complicated topics in a way that I could understand, even though this is an area where my science is severely lacking.
That's wonderful and amazing, but what makes this book even better is her musings throughout the book regarding her topic. I had never thought someone could dedicate their life to the possibility of other alien earths, but there are so many practical things we learn in trying to figure it out. In the end, there was a fantastic scene where she and her young daughter watched a rocket take off to go get her information. Brilliant.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

I was able to read an early digital ARC courtesy of NetGalley and boy am I glad I was afforded the opportunity. I love shows with similar topics on the Discovery or Science channel and reading this book felt like watching a very engaging show. Dr. Lisa Kaltenegger explains things in a way that feel easy to understand.

Digressive Ponderings About Aliens

I have reviewed several books in the sub-genre of the search for life on other planets. This is not a good example of this mostly scientific genre. The frontmatter is digressive as it turns over the same ponderings and repetitive philosophies regarding life elsewhere. The above blurb is half the size of the original because the original keeps repeating some of the same ideas with slight rephrasing. Even the first chapter “At the Brink of Finding Life in the Cosmos” opens with first-person ponderings about starting at “my computer screen” and watching NASA launch the James Webb Space Telescope, instead of opening with some clear history of who has been searching for these exoplanets, when and the like. A couple of paragraphs later she is still “glued to NASA TV”. Then, there is a brief moment of clarity as she explains: “The JWST is the first telescope capable of capturing just enough light with its 21.3 foot (6.5 meter) mirror to explore the chemical composition of the atmosphere of other rocky worlds.” But the next paragraph again digresses at the meaningless “cheering of the crew in the control room”. The next section leaps to ponderings on “UFO sightings”. Many paragraphs follow that explore alien theories. Then, suddenly there is another scientifically sound paragraph that describes the speed of light, and offers the distance to the nearest star.
It is as if there are two writers making this book, one is a scientist who provided a brief essay about searching in practice for life on other planets, and the second is a generalist who has a TV-watcher’s curiosity about aliens who has composed the babblings between these scientific sparks. This combination makes this book entirely unreadable both to scientists and to those who just like science fiction. Thus, I do not recommend for anybody to read this project.

Thanks to hte publisher for access to this book in exchange for a review. This book was accessible (but still substantive) - an argument for the importance of space exploration. Mind expanding at times!

I loved this book. Dr. Kaltenegger took a fascinating area of astronomy and brought it down to Earth with her conversational tone, great explanations of the science, and joyous enthusiasm. I loved reading about her own journey. There was also a good bit of information about the process of science and uniquely in my experience, the book discusses the role of scientific meetings, oral presentations, and posters, albeit briefly. And all of this is done with a good deal of humour. Even though I had already read books on the topic, this book is outstanding in that it made everything seem brand new. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance reader copy.

Are we really alone? This book makes you think about how far we have come with space exploration. Is there alien life out? So many questions to the unknown. Interesting read about what is out there makes you think that there could be another life form out there.
It doesn't matter what you believe as this book gives you a glimpse into the unknown. Lisa writes a good solid book that made me think about what could be out there.
Thank you Netgalley & the publisher for the copy. This is my voluntary review.

This book was very interesting. Dr. Kaltenegger wrote in a way that made complex science topics approachable and understandable
The book discusses the conditions that lead to life on this planet as well as what scientists are looking for when they look for life on other planets. It was very interesting to learn about how our research of the cosmos has truly turned into a multidisciplinary effort. She also discussed the difficulties women experience when working in the field of science.
The only thing that was missing from this book was some pictures and diagrams.

I was provided an ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Not what i was expecting. I expected this book to be about what we would experience when visiting Exoplanets, Kennedy Space Center has a fun ride that highlights this very thing, instead that type of description didn't occur until I was over 60% complete with the book and even then was brief. Dr Kaltenegger concentrates more on her own experiences working in academia, spoiler: she says Harvard A LOT (you could almost make a drinking game out of it but you would be sloshed after the first few chapters) If you want to learn about her journey from Austria and her path towards science and finding exoplanets it is a fascinating read but this is not a tour of other planets but more of a memoir of her thoughts and feelings.

Alien Ears by Dr. Lisa Kaltenegger is an excellent and informative non fiction read on a topic that is incredibly present in the current cultural zeitgeist..
This will be a good read for those interested in the topic of life supporting planets outside of our solar system looking for a great deal of information in a digestible format.

Remember how, in so many Sci-fi movies, in a blink of an eye, spacecraft traveled faster than the speed of light? Could what we deem Sci-fi be reality in today’s world? Author Lisa Kaltenegger, Director of the Carl Sagan Institute to Search for Life in the Cosmos at Cornell and Associate Professor in Astronomy, was presented with a suggestion from one of her students dealing with just that. Maybe the reason why we don’t have many alien visitors might be because the distances between habitable worlds are too vast to be travelled. Although traveling in this manner is beyond us currently, communicating with an alien species by collecting radio signals may be possible. You may recall the movie, “Contact”, based on a novel by Carl Sagan and his wife Ann Druyan. Thousands of exoplanets (planets around suns other than ours) have been found but which of these host life? If we were to find that we could communicate with another civilization, what would we say to them? Obviously, they would not speak any of the thousands of languages spoken here on Earth but perhaps we could learn a thing or two from the many scientists worldwide who study communication of species such as dolphins, chimpanzees, dogs, etc. about communicating. Keltenegger discusses interesting topics about the makeup of habitable worlds, what makes up life, searching for life in the Cosmos, and why. Don’t we all want to know if there is life (perhaps like us) somewhere else in the Universe? If not, put your head back in the ground.