THE BIG BACKYARD

A rare look at our astronomical neighborhood’s outermost reaches.

Even top-tier solar system tours seldom devote more than glances beyond the known planets to the outlying Kuiper belt and the Oort cloud. But as Miller reports in enough specific detail to satisfy even demanding young sky watchers, recent observations have revealed quite a lot going on out there—from new dwarf planets and excitingly strange interstellar visitors like ‘Oumuamua to immense swirling waves caused by interactions between solar winds and cosmic dust. The author threads in recaps of the solar system’s formation and the history of our search for the outer planets (persuasively explaining the position of most planetary scientists that Pluto is a regular, not a dwarf, planet) and closes with annotated lists of helpful print and web resources to launch further investigations. All of this he enhances with a mix of astrophotos and his own schematic diagrams of orbits and magnetic fields as well as photorealistic depictions of space probes, comets, and relevant celestial phenomena. There are no human figures in view, but all of the dwarf planets found to date line up for (as it were) star turns. This inviting work is perspective adjusting, particularly for readers who haven’t imagined much beyond a star, a handful of planets, and a few extra rocks.

Tantalizingly introduces readers to far-flung scientific wonders.