This is the second in a series of posts that takes a closer look at the 2014 Finalists for the AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize. Mary Kay Carson's Beyond the Solar System: Exploring Galaxies, Black Holes, Alien Planets, and More (Chicago Review Press, 2013) is sure to be a big hit with history of science buffs like me. She hooked me right away with the first few sentences of the Introduction: "The next time you look up at the 3,000 or so stars visible in the night sky, put yourself in the place of a prehistoric person. Looking up at all those little lights in the darkness, imagine what you think they are. Tiny, faraway campfires that never burn out? Flying creatures carrying torches?"...      Read more...