Astronomy, astrophysics and planetary science are testimony of humankind’s curiosity. A peculiar feature of this curiosity is that it is not satiated by a hypothetical or mythological explanation; on the contrary, any unconvincing explanation only adds fuel to the curiosity. Humankind doesn’t stop at contemplating the various possibilities, but explores and investigates the problem using whatever tools are available at its disposal — theoretical calculations, experimental measurements, or even space missions. Understandably, it doesn’t stop at finding answers to immediate problems, instead every resolved problem pushes the boundary to investigate further, farther, deeper, more. We haven’t yet completely understood the earth, our exploration of the planets is still an ongoing process, and we have already started seeking the boundaries of our solar system, and what lies beyond it.
The quest for exoplanets — the planets lying beyond our solar system — is fueled by two motivations. First, from pure academic interest. Our understanding of the universe and our place in it is is not complete unless we strive to understand the various components constituting it — of course, under the present constraints of human and instrumental capabilities. Just as we are not content with the knowledge of our planet Earth and want to understand other planets of our solar system, we also want to acquaint ourselves and understand the planets which lie beyond our solar system. The other motivation is partly academic and partly application — the quest for habitable planets, viz., the planets having environment suitable for life. On first glance, it might mean leaving our planet Earth in future in case of existential crises mostly caused by climate change, and moving to some other planet. Though not so far-fetched or emotional, another more strong motivation is to understand how life evolved on Earth, which even after so many years of investigation remains a mystery to a large extent.
The objective of the book Do Other Earths Exist by Jennifer Lombardo is to introduce the concept of exoplanets to children with the help of small paragraphs of scientific information and bright and colourful images. The title and the book cover are catchy, but common and not different from other similar books. According to details given on Amazon, the book is addressed to children 7-10 years old, but I have difficulty getting convinced that to be the case. In fact, I have no clue about the age group the book is aimed at. For example, certain words in the text are given in bold and their explanation or meaning is given in the Glossary section at the end of the book. The list includes words like — confirm, detect, launch, estimate, observable, but leaves out white dwarfs, red giants and so on.
I understand that exoplanets is a comparatively new and wide field, so it is very difficult to present all aspects of the subject in a short book of 32 pages, that too for children. However, whatever matter is included here, could have been presented in a systematic manner, the direct and simplest approach could have been — planets (maybe geology and atmosphere), solar system, exoplanets, habitable exoplanets, space exploration or instrumentation (Hubble, Chandra and James Webb). In fact, the finer details of instrumentation e.g., terrestrial and space telescopes, and experiment methodology e.g., spectroscopy could have been moved to the Appendix section, which would have brought continuity and order to the narrative. Images could have been more informative and colourful.
The layout of the book consists of text on one page and graphic illustration or images on the next. These are accompanied by a short note titled ‘Explore More’. The title suggest that the accompanying text gives clues to the reader to explore further information on the internet or by discussing with teachers. However, there is nothing of the sort, and it is meant only to present tidbits of information. To make it worse, the text is given in uppercase making it extremely difficult to read and comprehend.
Lastly, the book falls short at giving credits to people associated with this field and whose efforts brought us to the present stage of science. Consider the sentence ‘A scientist in 1990 found the first planet that orbits a sunlike star’. Science as it is done today, even more so in astrophysics, is rarely an individual task. If indeed this was the case for the discovery mentioned here, it would have been pertinent to give the researcher’s name. Lack of any names makes the book a passive study devoid of any human element. There was a lot of scope for mentioning scientists associated with this field within the scope of this book; for example, photographs and/or short biographies of Edwin Hubble, S. Chandrasekhar and James Webb could have been included.
By its scope, the book raises expectations but fails in fulfilling them. However, there are no typographical errors.
Title: Do Other Earths Exist?
Author: Jennifer Lombardo
Publisher: Enslow Pub. Inc.
Publication Date: 30 December, 2022
Print Length: 32 pages
Suitable for Age: 7 – 10 years
Price (Library Binding): $26.93
Price (Paperback): $5.88
My Rating: 
What Does It Mean?
Pradyot 
Very clear and objective review, Amit. Most children in the age group of 7-10 barely know about solar system and are not clear about the distinction between a planet and a star. A book on exoplanet has to work much harder to offer a story telling and gripping narrative that also does justice to scientific methods and attribution to original scientists. In fact, introducing them as characters in the theme can make it all the more interesting for kids.
Good review!
Yes Rishi! Various issues related to science communication were discussed during the India International Science Festival held at Bhopal earlier this year. Prof T.V. Venkateswaran (Vigyan Prasar) noted that it is very important for science writers to know their target audience and the purpose of their writing. In fact, nearly very discussion boiled down to these two factors — what is the purpose of your writing (e.g., teach people about science basics, inform them about latest developments in science, or make money by writing for science) and whom are you writing for (e.g., children, general audience, or science graduates).