BOOKS

The latest great reads to cross the Astronomy Now editorial desk.

The Telecoms Coast:

A History of Terrestrial, Sub Sea and Space Communication in Cornwall

The Telecoms Coast by Geoff Varrall is a detailed historical account of the development of Britain’s coastal communications infrastructure. It has a particular focus on the evocative coastal region around Land’s End in Cornwall. Despite frequently quoting technical measurements and details, Varrall’s style is easy to read. The story moves at pace as Varrall traces how this stretch of coastline became a critical interface between the United Kingdom and burgeoning global communication networks.

Presenting the narrative in chronological fashion, the book begins in the 19th century with the early telegraphy and submarine cable systems, before progressing through radio, radar, microwave links and fibre-optic systems. Varrall is careful to place the technological developments within their wider contexts, including military requirements, commercial pressures and regulatory change. This makes the book a more satisfying read.

Although not a book about astronomy, it is a compelling read because of the way these developments all lead to the modern Goonhilly tracking station. This unique landmark is now an integral part of ESA’s deep space communications network with its planetary probes and space telescopes.

The final chapter piques the excitement factor by delving into the world of communications and espionage. It also includes an understated little titbit about Elizabeth I’s spymaster John Dee that may just explain where the fictional James Bond gets his famous agent’s number from.

While not written as a guide book, you could also use it as the basis for planning out a roughly 45-mile walk around the Cornish coast, starting from Pendeen.

Author: Geoff Varrall Publisher: Whittles Publishing ISBN-10: 1849956111 ISBN-13: 978-1849956116 Print length: 192 pages Price: £18.99

Habitable Exoplanets for Extra-Terrestrials

Habitable Exoplanets for Extra-Terrestrials by C. R. Kitchin is a rare combination: academically impeccable but also happy to be playfully speculative about the nature of possible extraterrestrial life. The book begins with a concise survey of how astronomers identify and characterise planets that might support life, but what elevates the book from others tackling the same subject is what comes next. Kitchin reframes the question of what environments would be ‘habitable’ from a non-Earth-life perspective. This allows him to interrogate our assumption that habitability must closely mirror Earth, which in turn opens up a whole new range of possibilities.

The book outlines the physical and astrophysical constraints on habitability, including stellar type, orbital stability, atmospheric chemistry and energy sources, with clear explanations that do not rely on advanced mathematics. Kitchin draws on current exoplanet detection methods and catalogues, using them to illustrate how broad the options for potentially life-supporting worlds may be.

This is a weighty tome that rewards close reading rather than casual perusal. For the reader with a general astronomy background who wants a clear assessment of potential habitability beyond traditional Earth-centric thinking, it cannot be beaten.

Author: CR Kitchin Publisher: CRC Press ISBN-10: 1032159480 ISBN-13: 978-1032159485 Print length: 352 pages Price: £55.99 Hardback

MEET THE AUTHOR Radio Universe:

How to Explore Space Without Leaving Earth

Author: Publisher: ISBN-10: ISBN-13: Print length: 352 pages Price:

Emma Chapman John Murray 1529398975 978-1529398977

£22.00

Dr Emma Chapman is an award-winning astrophysicist and Royal Society Research Fellow at the University of Nottingham. She is also an accomplished science communicator, writing frequently about the early Universe and radio astronomy, revealing how invisible light has transformed our understanding of the cosmos. Her latest book is Radio Universe: How to Explore Space Without Leaving Earth.

Who is your book aimed at? Anyone who is curious about space and open to seeing it differently. You don’t need a science background, just a sense of wonder and a willingness to look beyond the astronomical images we’re most familiar with.

Why did you decide on this subject? Radio astronomy rarely gets the credit it deserves, despite reshaping almost every area of astronomy, because it just isn’t what we’ve evolved to see. I feel people are missing out! It’s like living in a monochrome world and suddenly being handed colour vision: once you’ve seen it, you want everyone else to see it, too. So, I decided to write about all the parts of radio astronomy that have blown my mind over the years.

What is the greatest result to come from radio astronomy? If I may, I’ll pick two. The discovery of pulsars (spinning neutron stars) by Jocelyn Bell Burnell in 1967 opened astronomy up as a laboratory to physicists interested in cold, dense matter, as well being of great interest to astronomers. More recently, the first image of a black hole by the Event Horizon Telescope in 2019 was a great demonstration of how radio astronomy can turn all our assumptions upside down. Black holes, so elusive in visible light, reveal themselves readily in radio wavelengths!

What is your desert-island astronomy book (the one book you can’t imagine never being able to read again)? Oh no, I have so many, I have astronomy books lining my bedroom walls! I think I’ll have to go with “Is Anyone Out There?” by Frank Drake and Dava Sobel. It isn’t a huge tome, but I don’t think I will ever tire of Drake’s down-to-earth attitude towards seeking out radio signals from extraterrestrial life, and Sobel is so confident and composed in her writing - the perfect author to tell that wild story.

What’s next for you? Personally, I am very excited about the total solar eclipse this Summer, during which I will be on a cruise ship around Iceland. It will be my first one, if you can believe it! Professionally, I’m still researching the first stars and getting ready for the big, new radio telescope, the upcoming Square Kilometre Array. And, of course, I’ve already started Book Three…and Book Four.