Galaxy Explorer

Category: Review

  • Book Review: Alien Earths

    When I first peered through my backyard telescope at the faint smudge of the Andromeda Galaxy, I wasn’t just looking outward. Instead, I was searching inward, wondering whether somewhere in that sea of stars, another child might be gazing back, asking the same question: Are we alone? Lisa Kaltenegger’s Alien Earths: The New Science of Planet Hunting and the Search for Life Beyond Earth doesn’t just answer that question, it reframes it, transforming cosmic wonder into a rigorous, hopeful, and deeply human scientific quest.

    Kaltenegger, a leading astrophysicist and director of the Carl Sagan Institute, writes with the clarity of a teacher and the passion of a pioneer. She guides readers through the evolution of exoplanet science – from the first wobbles detected in distant stars to the atmospheric fingerprints of potentially habitable worlds. What makes Alien Earths exceptional is not just its scientific depth, but its narrative arc: it’s the story of how humanity learned to see planets we cannot visit, using light bent by gravity and spectra split by prisms, all to answer an ancient question with modern tools.

    Reading this book felt like a conversation with a mentor who understands both equations and emotions. Kaltenegger doesn’t shy away from uncertainty; she embraces it as the engine of discovery. When she describes how the James Webb Space Telescope might one day detect bio-signatures – oxygen, methane, or even industrial pollutants – in an exoplanet’s atmosphere, she doesn’t promise aliens. Instead, she offers something more profound: a methodology for hope grounded in evidence.

    This resonated deeply with my own journey. Like Kaltenegger, I began with awe – a six-year-old mesmerized by black holes at the Air and Space Museum – and gradually learned that wonder must be paired with work. In my high school astronomy club, I’ve tried to emulate her spirit: not just showing Saturn’s rings, but explaining how we know they’re there. Similarly, while analyzing public datasets on detecting Baryon Acoustic Oscillations at high redshift range, I’ve wrestled with noise, calibration, and false results —experiences Kaltenegger vividly recounts from the front lines of planet hunting. Her book validated that frustration is part of the process; every ambiguous signal is a step toward clarity.

    One of Alien Earths’ most compelling insights is its emphasis on Earth as a template – and a warning. Kaltenegger shows how studying Earth’s own atmospheric evolution helps us interpret alien skies, but also reminds us that habitability isn’t guaranteed. A planet in the “Goldilocks zone” may still be barren, just as Earth itself has teetered on the edge of catastrophe. This duality struck me as I stood on a golf course last spring, watching a thunderstorm roll in: even our stable-seeming world is dynamic, fragile, and rare. Kaltenegger’s vision isn’t just about finding Earth 2.0—it’s about understanding what makes Earth 1.0 worth protecting.

    Alien Earths is more than a science book; it’s a call to participate. Kaltenegger writes not as a distant authority, but as an explorer inviting us aboard. For students like me – tutoring in math, coding simulations, or organizing telescope nights – her message is empowering: the search for life beyond Earth belongs to all of us. It requires coders, educators, engineers, and dreamers.

    In the end, this book is a perfect reflection of why I keep looking up. The night sky is a laboratory, a testing ground, and a community. Lisa Kaltenegger’s Alien Earths is an essential guide to that cosmos, reminding us that the search for other worlds is, ultimately, a profound journey to understand our own. It is a compelling, hopeful, and brilliantly accessible work that will leave you gazing at the stars with a renewed sense of purpose and wonder.

  • Book Review: What If?

    Have you read What If?  by Randall Munroe, the creator of the famous xkcd comics?

    This book is unlike any traditional science text. Munroe takes the strangest, funniest, and sometimes downright ridiculous questions—like “What would happen if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at 90% the speed of light?”—and answers them with real science, math, and a healthy dose of humor. What makes it special is that you don’t need to be a professional physicist or mathematician to enjoy it. The explanations are written in an approachable way, with clever stick-figure illustrations that keep things light while still making you think.

    Whether you’re a nerd who is deeply serious about STEM, or someone who leans more toward the arts and humanities, What If?  is the kind of book that works for everyone. It’s perfect to pick up during a study break, when you’re bored, or when you just want to see how science can be used to explore the absurd. It’s entertaining, thought-provoking, and strangely inspiring—it reminds us that curiosity, no matter how odd the question, can lead to fascinating insights about the universe.

    I’ve had this book since 6th grade, and it’s still one of my favorites on the bookshelf. No matter how many times I read it, I always stumble upon something new—whether it’s a quirky detail in the illustrations, a fresh perspective in the explanations that I didn’t catch before, or even a “what if” question that I come up with myself, like what would it be like to play golf on Mars?

  • Dream of Strings: The Elegant Universe

    After finishing the last page of The Elegant Universe, I looked up at the night sky, and the stars seemed to shine brighter than usual. As a high school student deeply interested in physics and astronomy, Brian Greene’s book not only guided me through the world of modern physics but also inspired me to reflect on humanity’s place in the cosmos.

    What attracted me most about this book is the way it explains relativity, quantum mechanics, and string theory, turning difficult science into something both exciting and inspiring. String theory—an idea that once confused me—becomes an elegant ballet of mathematics through Greene’s writing. He uses vivid comparisons to illuminate nearly incomprehensible concepts: the universe as a grand symphony, with fundamental particles as musical notes vibrating on strings, and the extra dimensions as the hidden stage where the performance unfolds. These analogies allowed me to glimpse the profound depth of modern physics.

    This book did more than just expend my knowledge. It changed my perspective on overcoming toward challenges. Physicists have been striving to find the grand unified theory of physics for many decades, and faced many failures but do not give up. This spirt of seeking truth of the universe inspire me, a student that may give up when facing difficult situation , to reignite the courage of seeking new knowledge.

    Closing the book, I realized that I may never become a theoretical physicist, but it gave me something even more valuable: an unquenchable curiosity. Gazing at the night sky, the universe still feels full of mysteries, and as Greene describes, it is these unanswered questions that make scientific exploration so captivating. Perhaps the key to understanding the universe lies hidden right before our eyes…🌌🪐💫

  • Book Review: Visions

    Over the past few years, I have consistently found myself returning to Visions: How Science Will Revolutionize the 21st Century by Michio Kaku, an eye-opening book published in 1998 which discusses how breakthroughs in scientific fields including nanotechnology, biotechnology, astronomy, and space exploration will change the course of humanity for the better.

    My favorite part of Visions is Kaku’s discussion of space exploration toward the end of the book, where he explains imaginative and complicated pieces of technology in a simple fashion. For instance, his mentioning of a futuristic form of interstellar space travel, the Bussard ramjet, was particularly interesting as Kaku explained how it functions by comparing it to a conventional jet engine. Despite some of these technologies being closer to science fiction than reality, Kaku does not indulge in wishful thinking; instead, he specifically describes the prerequisites needed for the creation of these advanced systems, such as advancements in energy production and materials science, which would need to precede any serious attempts at interstellar travel.

    Perhaps the most interesting part of Visions does not come from its content; instead, it comes in the form of the accuracy of Kaku’s predictions. As the book was written over 25 years ago, it reflects the prospective ideals of the late 20th century and imagines what life may be like today. For instance, Kaku’s prediction of the proliferation of gene therapy as a valid treatment for certain diseases and the creation of artificial intelligence are surprisingly correct: gene therapy was first approved in 2003 and has expanded to treat numerous previously-untreatable diseases, and ChatGPT was developed over the past three years.

    Overall, I would highly recommend Visions for readers particularly interested in seeing where humanity may be in the future. While the book is a product of its time, its optimism, depth of insight, and thought-provoking scenarios continue to inspire and fuel discussions on what science might bring to our generation and beyond.

  • Apollo 13: Book Review

    It is not often when one finds a piece of history that almost seems like something straight out of a Hollywood movie; however, the Apollo 13 mission from 1970, condensed into a book by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger, is one of those rare instances. Apollo 13 launched astronauts Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert on a mission to explore the Moon. However, just two days in, an oxygen tank exploded, crippling the spacecraft and making the lunar landing impossible. The book novelizes the stressful days that followed, focusing not only on the crew’s efforts to survive, but also on the coordinated efforts of NASA’s Mission Control, engineers, and support staff to bring the astronauts safely home.

    While reading Apollo 13, I noticed plenty of peculiar events that occurred throughout the mission that I had not seen before. For example, the mentioning of Jack Swigert taping a large “NO” on the lunar module jettison switch was particularly interesting, as it showed me the ingenuity and proactivity of the crew despite the stressful situation at hand. Another surprising detail I saw was the quote by Lovell predicting that Apollo 13 would be the last mission to the moon for a long time, which contrasted the long-standing belief that the crew members were optimistic about their return for the majority of the mission.

    I would highly recommend Apollo 13 to anyone interested in space exploration or history. While filled with technical details about the mission, these provide insight into the dynamics of 1960s-era astronauts and NASA. Lovell and Kluger skillfully weave together the personal experiences of the astronauts and ground crew to create a novel-like experience: whether you’re a space enthusiast or simply someone looking for an inspiring story of teamwork and survival, Apollo 13 is an excellent read.