“The Eyes of Earth” is my bigger, much-grander sequel to last year’s “Hitting the Moon.” It is the improbable story of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s robotic exploration of the solar system, and beyond. It spans 1936 to the present, and ranges from Pasadena to interstellar space. Yes, it is filled with incredible photos (most of which you’ve likely never seen) and also the findings of the state-of-the art instrumentation packed inside the JPL’s many intricate creations.    Most of the facts they gleaned about our solar system are truly incredible, including where hydrogen is a metal and conducts electricity, where it rains helium (that’s right), where enough sub-surface ice exists to fill a global ocean 100 feet deep if it melted, where a frigid -330F surface is topped by a +750F atmospheric layer, where there is persuasive evidence of alien life swimming in a liquid lake at a frigid -290 degrees, and…well, a whole lot more. Phil