Worlds Beyond the Sun: Planets, Moons and Search for Life in Space: 3

Beyond Earth lies an astonishing family of worlds. There are planets hot enough to melt metal, moons hiding enormous oceans beneath their frozen surfaces, storms larger than Earth and rivers filled with liquid methane. Mars preserves the remains of ancient lakes. Europa may conceal a salty ocean beneath its cracked ice. Enceladus sprays material from its hidden sea directly into space, while Titan possesses clouds, rain, rivers and vast hydrocarbon seas beneath an orange sky. In Worlds Beyond the Sun, young readers will journey across the Solar System and beyond, discovering how planets form, why neighbouring worlds can become completely different and how spacecraft investigate places that humans cannot yet visit. They will explore the Sun, rocky planets, gas giants, ice giants, asteroids, comets, dwarf planets and the strange moons that have transformed scientists' understanding of where habitable environments might exist. The journey then continues beyond the Solar System to the thousands of planets discovered around other stars. Readers will learn how astronomers detect these almost invisible worlds, study their atmospheres and search for possible signs of life across enormous distances. Written in clear and engaging language for readers aged 8 to 12, this scientifically accurate guide separates confirmed discoveries from hypotheses and imaginative possibilities. It does not assume that alien life exists. Instead, it reveals the evidence scientists have gathered, the questions that remain unanswered and the extraordinary missions bringing humanity closer to the truth. Worlds Beyond the Sun is Book Three of the five-volume From Stardust to Us series-a journey through the universe, our planet and the remarkable history of life.