Download or read book Planets and Life written by Woodruff T. Sullivan, III and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2007-09-13 with total page 1240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Astrobiology involves the study of the origin and history of life on Earth, planets and moons where life may have arisen, and the search for extraterrestrial life. It combines the sciences of biology, chemistry, palaeontology, geology, planetary physics and astronomy. This textbook brings together world experts in each of these disciplines to provide the most comprehensive coverage of the field currently available. Topics cover the origin and evolution of life on Earth, the geological, physical and chemical conditions in which life might arise and the detection of extraterrestrial life on other planets and moons. The book also covers the history of our ideas on extraterrestrial life and the origin of life, as well as the ethical, philosophical and educational issues raised by astrobiology. Written to be accessible to students from diverse backgrounds, this text will be welcomed by advanced undergraduates and graduates who are taking astrobiology courses.
Download or read book The Search for Life s Origins written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1990-02-01 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The field of planetary biology and chemical evolution draws together experts in astronomy, paleobiology, biochemistry, and space science who work together to understand the evolution of living systems. This field has made exciting discoveries that shed light on how organic compounds came together to form self-replicating molecules-the origin of life. This volume updates that progress and offers recommendations on research programs-including an ambitious effort centered on Mars-to advance the field over the next 10 to 15 years. The book presents a wide range of data and research results on these and other issues: The biogenic elements and their interaction in the interstellar clouds and in solar nebulae. Early planetary environments and the conditions that lead to the origin of life. The evolution of cellular and multicellular life. The search for life outside the solar system. This volume will become required reading for anyone involved in the search for life's beginnings-including exobiologists, geoscientists, planetary scientists, and U.S. space and science policymakers.
Download or read book How Molecular Forces and Rotating Planets Create Life written by Jan Spitzer and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2021-02-09 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A reconceptualization of origins research that exploits a modern understanding of non-covalent molecular forces that stabilize living prokaryotic cells. Scientific research into the origins of life remains exploratory and speculative. Science has no definitive answer to the biggest questions--"What is life?" and "How did life begin on earth?" In this book, Jan Spitzer reconceptualizes origins research by exploiting a modern understanding of non-covalent molecular forces and covalent bond formation--a physicochemical approach propounded originally by Linus Pauling and Max Delbrück. Spitzer develops the Pauling-Delbrück premise as a physicochemical jigsaw puzzle that identifies key stages in life's emergence, from the formation of first oceans, tidal sediments, and proto-biofilms to progenotes, proto-cells and the first cellular organisms.
Download or read book Lonely Planets written by David Grinspoon and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2009-03-17 with total page 482 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: PEN Literary Award Winner: “The best, most entertaining examination of the possibility of other life in the universe since [Carl] Sagan’s best work.” —Boulder Daily Camera It’s been decades since Carl Sagan first addressed the general public about the possibility of extraterrestrial life from a scientist’s perspective. We’ve learned a lot in those years, and now planetary scientist David Grinspoon investigates the big questions: How widespread are life and intelligence in the cosmos? Is life on Earth an accident, or in some sense the “purpose” of this universe? And how can we, working from the Earth-centric definition of “life,” even begin to think about the varieties of life-forms on other planets? In accessible, lively prose, and using the topic of extraterrestrial life as a mirror with which to view human beliefs, evolution, history, and aspirations, Grinspoon takes us on a three-part journey—the history of our expanding awareness of other planets and our ideas on alien life dating back to the earliest days of astronomy; the science of cosmic evolution and the evolution of life on Earth, including a critique of the “Rare Earth hypothesis”; and the beliefs that humans hold, addressing the limits of our ability to conceptualize or communicate with intelligent aliens and the scientific and philosophical implications of far-future evolutionary possibilities. Rich in personal and often amusing anecdotes, Lonely Planets explores the shifting boundary between planetary science and natural philosophy, and reveals how the search for extraterrestrial life unites our spiritual and scientific quests for connection with the cosmos. Includes a new foreword about recent Mars discoveries “An outstanding introduction to cosmic evolution.” —San Jose Mercury News “[A] terrific book.” —San Diego Union-Tribune “A personable chat on life, the universe and everything.” —Publishers Weekly
Download or read book Planetary Astrobiology written by Victoria Meadows and published by University of Arizona Press. This book was released on 2020-07-07 with total page 593 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Are we alone in the universe? How did life arise on our planet? How do we search for life beyond Earth? These profound questions excite and intrigue broad cross sections of science and society. Answering these questions is the province of the emerging, strongly interdisciplinary field of astrobiology. Life is inextricably tied to the formation, chemistry, and evolution of its host world, and multidisciplinary studies of solar system worlds can provide key insights into processes that govern planetary habitability, informing the search for life in our solar system and beyond. Planetary Astrobiology brings together current knowledge across astronomy, biology, geology, physics, chemistry, and related fields, and considers the synergies between studies of solar systems and exoplanets to identify the path needed to advance the exploration of these profound questions. Planetary Astrobiology represents the combined efforts of more than seventy-five international experts consolidated into twenty chapters and provides an accessible, interdisciplinary gateway for new students and seasoned researchers who wish to learn more about this expanding field. Readers are brought to the frontiers of knowledge in astrobiology via results from the exploration of our own solar system and exoplanetary systems. The overarching goal of Planetary Astrobiology is to enhance and broaden the development of an interdisciplinary approach across the astrobiology, planetary science, and exoplanet communities, enabling a new era of comparative planetology that encompasses conditions and processes for the emergence, evolution, and detection of life.
Download or read book Life Beyond Earth written by Athena Coustenis and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2013-09-12 with total page 331 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An engaging account of our quest for habitable environments, recounting fascinating recent discoveries and providing insight into future space missions.
Download or read book Imagined Life written by James Trefil and published by Smithsonian Institution. This book was released on 2019-09-17 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The captivating possibilities of extraterrestrial life on exoplanets, based on current scientific knowledge of existing worlds and forms of life It is now known that we live in a galaxy with more planets than stars. The Milky Way alone encompasses 30 trillion potential home planets. Scientists Trefil and Summers bring readers on a marvelous experimental voyage through the possibilities of life--unlike anything we have experienced so far--that could exist on planets outside our own solar system. Life could be out there in many forms: on frozen worlds, living in liquid oceans beneath ice and communicating (and even battling) with bubbles; on super-dense planets, where they would have evolved body types capable of dealing with extreme gravity; on tidally locked planets with one side turned eternally toward a star; and even on "rogue worlds," which have no star at all. Yet this is no fictional flight of fancy: the authors take what we know about exoplanets and life on our own world and use that data to hypothesize about how, where, and which sorts of life might develop. Imagined Life is a must-have for anyone wanting to learn how the realities of our universe may turn out to be far stranger than fiction.
Download or read book Exoplanets written by Michael E. Summers and published by Smithsonian Institution. This book was released on 2017-03-14 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The past few years have seen an incredible explosion in our knowledge of the universe. Since its 2009 launch, the Kepler satellite has discovered more than two thousand exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system. More exoplanets are being discovered all the time, and even more remarkable than the sheer number of exoplanets is their variety. In Exoplanets, astronomer Michael Summers and physicist James Trefil explore these remarkable recent discoveries: planets revolving around pulsars, planets made of diamond, planets that are mostly water, and numerous rogue planets wandering through the emptiness of space. This captivating book reveals the latest discoveries and argues that the incredible richness and complexity we are finding necessitates a change in our questions and mental paradigms. In short, we have to change how we think about the universe and our place in it, because it is stranger and more interesting than we could have imagined.
Download or read book What is Life On Earth and Beyond written by Andreas Losch and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2017-07-13 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume explores the questions and answers surrounding the 'secret of life', combining approaches from the sciences, philosophy and theology, including the emerging discipline of astrobiology.
Download or read book Meet the Planets written by John McGranaghan and published by Arbordale Publishing. This book was released on 2011-02-10 with total page 18 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents an introduction to the Solar System and the physical features of the eight planets that revolve around the Sun, in a text that includes learning activities.
Download or read book Space Planets written by Time-Life Books and published by Time Life Medical. This book was released on 1992 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Questions and answers explore various aspects of astronomy, including the plants, stars, and space exploration.
Download or read book Strange New Worlds written by Ray Jayawardhana and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2013-04-21 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Describes the science of planet hunters, the prospects for the discovery of alien life, and discusses the controversies surrounding extrasolar-planet research.
Download or read book Probable Impossibilities written by Alan Lightman and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2022-04-19 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The acclaimed author of Einstein’s Dreams tackles "big questions like the origin of the universe and the nature of consciousness ... in an entertaining and easily digestible way” (Wall Street Journal) with a collection of meditative essays on the possibilities—and impossibilities—of nothingness and infinity, and how our place in the cosmos falls somewhere in between. Can space be divided into smaller and smaller units, ad infinitum? Does space extend to larger and larger regions, on and on to infinity? Is consciousness reducible to the material brain and its neurons? What was the origin of life, and can biologists create life from scratch in the lab? Physicist and novelist Alan Lightman, whom The Washington Post has called “the poet laureate of science writers,” explores these questions and more—from the anatomy of a smile to the capriciousness of memory to the specialness of life in the universe to what came before the Big Bang. Probable Impossibilities is a deeply engaged consideration of what we know of the universe, of life and the mind, and of things vastly larger and smaller than ourselves.
Download or read book Life on a Young Planet written by Andrew H. Knoll and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Knoll explores the deep history of life from its origins on a young planet to the incredible Cambrian explosion, with the very latest discoveries in paleontology integrated with emerging insights from molecular biology and earth system science. 100 illustrations.
Download or read book Other Planets written by Emanuel Swedenborg and published by New Century Edition. This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Building on the eighteenth-century fascination with the possibility of life on other worlds and with traveler's tales of other cultures, this work describes life on other planets in our solar system and elsewhere in the universe. Swedenborg undertook this work specifically to demonstrate that Jesus is God not just of planet Earth but also of the universe as a whole.
Download or read book Living with the Stars written by Karel Schrijver and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Living with the Stars tells the fascinating story of what truly makes the human body. The body that is with us all our lives is always changing. We are quite literally not who we were years, weeks, or even days ago: our cells die and are replaced by new ones at an astonishing pace. The entire body continually rebuilds itself, time and again, using the food and water that flow through us as fuel and as construction material. What persists over time is not fixed but merely a pattern in flux. We rebuild using elements captured from our surroundings, and are thereby connected to animals and plants around us, and to the bacteria within us that help digest them, and to geological processes such as continental drift and volcanism here on Earth. We are also intimately linked to the Sun's nuclear furnace and to the solar wind, to collisions with asteroids and to the cycles of the birth of stars and their deaths in cataclysmic supernovae, and ultimately to the beginning of the universe. Our bodies are made of the burned out embers of stars that were released into the galaxy in massive explosions billions of years ago, mixed with atoms that formed only recently as ultrafast rays slammed into Earth's atmosphere. All of that is not just remote history but part of us now: our human body is inseparable from nature all around us and intertwined with the history of the universe.
Download or read book Lucky Planet written by David Waltham and published by Icon Books Ltd. This book was released on 2014-05-01 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Science tells us that life elsewhere in the Universe is increasingly likely to be discovered. But in fact the Earth may be a very unusual planet – perhaps the only one like it in the entire visible Universe. In Lucky Planet David Waltham asks why, and comes up with some surprising and unconventional answers. Recent geological, biological, and astronomical discoveries are bringing us closer to understanding whether we might be alone in the Universe, and this book uses these to question the conventional wisdom and suggest, instead, that the Earth may have had ‘four billion years of good weather’ purely by chance. If Earth-like worlds don’t have natural stabilising mechanisms, then intelligent observers such as ourselves will only ever look out onto those rare planets where, like the Earth, all the bad things that could have happened to the climate have fortunately cancelled each other out. So before you prepare to meet the aliens, consider that we are probably alone ...
