Life in the Universe

by Bennett, Jeffrey O.; Shostak, Seth

• ISBN13: 9780805385779
• ISBN10: 0805385770
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-01-01
• Publisher: Benjamin Cummings

Summary

This pioneering book offers an exciting and rigorous introduction to a wide range of sciences, including astronomy, biology, chemistry, geology, and cosmology. Life in the Universe captures the reader's imagination by exploring fundamental pan-scientific questions, such as: "How did life begin on Earth?", "What are the most extreme forms of life currently known?", "How likely is life in our solar system and beyond?", and "What are the challenges of trying to colonize another planet?" The book motivates readers to develop an understanding of the nature and process of science through skillfull writing and a wealth of features. An award-winning author and contributor team spanning the sciences ensures that coverage is complete, authoritative, and accessible. Interdisciplinary coverage and a wealth of exciting topics engage non-science students, introduce them to a range of sciences, and motivate them to explore the nature of science itself. Readers interested in astronomy and life in the universe.

Table of Contents

A Universe of life?	1	(26)
Life Elsewhere	2	(2)
Worlds Beyond Imagination	4	(5)
The Stuff of Life	9	(13)
Could Biology Be Universal?	22	(1)
The Science of Astrobiology	23	(4)
The Big Picture	24	(1)
Review Questions	24	(1)
Discussion Questions	25	(1)
Problems	25	(1)
Web Projects	25
Movie Madness: Cinema Aliens	2	(4)
Basic Astronomical Definitions	6	(2)
How Far Is a Light-Year?	8	(4)
The Extent of the Universe	12	(4)
Basic Properties of Atoms	16	(11)
The Science of life in the Universe	27	(24)
The Ancient Roots of Science	28	(6)
The Copernican Revolution	34	(5)
The Nature of Modern Science	39	(6)
The Tools and the Methods of the Search	45	(3)
The Golden Age of Astrobiology	48	(3)
The Big Picture	48	(1)
Review Questions	49	(1)
Discussion Questions	49	(1)
Problems	49	(1)
Web Projects	50
Greek Thought on Extraterrestrial Life	31	(7)
Geocentrism and the Church	38	(3)
Is There Absolute Truth in Science	41	(3)
Movie Madness: Alien Autopsy	44	(7)
The Nature of life	51	(28)
What is Life?	52	(8)
Cells: The Basic Units of Life	60	(9)
Metabolism: The Chemistry of Life
DNA and Heredity	69	(5)
Life at the Extreme	74	(5)
The Big Picture	77	(1)
Review Questions	77	(1)
Discussion Questions	77	(1)
Problems	78	(1)
Web Projects	78
Creationism and Evolution	54	(2)
Charles Darwin	56	(8)
Key Biological Definitions	64	(8)
Movie Madness: The Andromeda Strain	72	(7)
The Geological History of the Earth	79	(34)
Reading the Earth's History	80	(10)
The Formation of the Earth	90	(3)
The Hadean Earth	93	(4)
The Earth's Ongoing Active Geology	97	(4)
Climate Regulation and Change	101	(8)
Geology and Life	109	(4)
The Big Picture	109	(1)
Review Questions	109	(1)
Discussion Questions	110	(1)
Problems	110	(1)
Web Projects	111
Key Geological Definitions	85	(18)
Basic Characteristic of Light	103	(5)
Movie Madness: Flintstones and Dinosaurs	108	(5)
The Origin and Evolution of life on Earth	113	(32)
Searching for Life's Origins	114	(5)
How Did Life Begin?	119	(5)
Early Evolution and the Rise of Oxygen	124	(3)
Eukaryotic Evolution: From a Slow Start to an Explosion of Diversity	127	(3)
Impacts and Extinctions	130	(8)
Human Evolution	138	(7)
The Big Picture	141	(1)
Review Questions	142	(1)
Discussion Questions	142	(1)
Problems	142	(1)
Web Projects	143
Common Misconceptions: Ozone-Good or Bad?	118	(13)
Movie Madness: Armageddon	131	(14)
Searching for life in Our Solar System	145	(24)
Environmental Requirements for Life	146	(4)
Exploring the Solar System	150	(10)
A Biological Tour of the Solar System	160	(9)
The Big Picture	166	(1)
Review Questions	166	(1)
Discussion Questions	166	(1)
Problems	166	(1)
Web Projects	167
Movie Madness: 2001-A Space Odyssey	162	(7)
Mars	169	(34)
Fantasies of Martian Civilization	170	(2)
A Current Assessment of the Habitability of Mars	172	(16)
Searching for Life on Mars	188	(2)
Martian Meteorites	190	(6)
Future Exploration of Mars	196	(7)
The Big Picture	201	(1)
Review Questions	201	(1)
Discussion Questions	202	(1)
Problems	202	(1)
Web Projects	202
Movie Madness: Missions to Mars	171	(2)
The Face on Mars	173	(30)
Life on Jovian Moons	203	(24)
Icy Moons of the Outer Solar System	204	(6)
Europa: The Water World?	210	(8)
Ganymede and Callisto	218	(2)
Titan and Beyond	220	(7)
The Big Picture	225	(1)
Review Questions	225	(1)
Discussion Questions	225	(1)
Problems	225	(1)
Web Projects	226
Movie Madness: 2010: The Year We Make Contact	210	(6)
A Crazed and Cracked World	216	(11)
The Nature and Evolution of Habitability	227	(18)
The Concept of a Habitable Zone	228	(1)
Comparative Planetary Evolutions: The Case of Venus	229	(4)
Surface Habitability Factors	233	(2)
The Sun's Habitable Zone	235	(4)
The Future of Life on Earth	239	(6)
The Big Picture	243	(1)
Review Questions	243	(1)
Discussion Questions	243	(1)
Problems	244	(1)
Web Projects	244
Movie Madness: The: Time Machine	233	(7)
Five Billion Years	240	(5)
The Search for Habitable Worlds	245	(28)
Are Habitable Planets Common?	246	(1)
Distant Suns	247	(7)
Extrasolar Planets: Discoveries and Implications	254	(12)
Signatures of Habitability and Life	266	(1)
Are Earth-like Planets Rare or Common?	266	(7)
The Big Picture	270	(1)
Review Questions	270	(1)
Discussion Questions	270	(1)
Problems	271	(1)
Web Projects	272
The Development of Solar System Formation Theory	246	(2)
Movie Madness: Star Wars	248	(7)
What Is a Planet?	255	(18)
The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence	273	(24)
What is SETI Searching For?	274	(4)
The Question of Intelligence	278	(9)
The SETI Context	287	(2)
SETI Today	289	(4)
Considerations of SETI Success	293	(4)
The Big Picture	295	(1)
Review Questions	295	(1)
Discussion Questions	295	(1)
Problems	296	(1)
Web Projects	296
Frank Drake and His Equation	276	(6)
Movie Madness: Contact	282	(5)
How Will We Decode an Alien Message?	287	(10)
Interstellar Travel	297	(26)
The Challenge of Interstellar Travel	298	(4)
Leaving Earth	302	(2)
``Conventional'' Interstellar Spacecraft	304	(5)
Relativistic Rocketry	309	(4)
Wormholes and Hyperspace	313	(2)
Are Aliens Already Here?	315	(8)
The Big Picture	319	(1)
Review Questions	319	(1)
Discussion Questions	320	(1)
Problems	320	(1)
Web Projects	321
Relativity and the Cosmic Speed Limit	300	(10)
Movie Madness: Star Trek	310	(13)
The Fermi Paradox	323	(14)
Where Is Everybody?	324	(1)
The Age of Civilization	325	(3)
Galactic Colonization	328	(3)
Possible Solutions to the Paradox	331	(3)
The Astonishing Implications of the Fermi Paradox	334	(3)
The Big Picture	335	(1)
Review Questions	335	(1)
Discussion Questions	335	(1)
Problems	335	(1)
Web Projects	336	(1)
Contact---Implications of the Search and Discovery	337	(1)
Is There Life Elsewhere?	338	(2)
Extraterrestrial Life and the Human Condition	340	(5)
The Big Picture	345	(1)
Essay or Discussion Questions	345
Extraterrestrial Life and Religion	342
Movie Madness: ET	344
APPENDIXES
Appendix A Useful Numbers	1	(1)
Appendix B A Few Mathematical Skills	2	(9)
Appendix C The Periodic Table of the Elements	11	(1)
Appendix D Chemical Energy for Life	12	(5)
Appendix E Planetary Data	17	(4)
Appendix F Selected Astrobiology Web Sites	21
Glossary	1	(1)
References and Bibliography	1	(1)
Credits	1	(1)
Index	1