Donald a Goldsmith, Tobias Owen

The Search for Life in the Universe

• Gebundenes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

The Search for Life in the Universe is now available in a completely updated Third Edition. This book presents astronomy from the standpoint of estimating the likelihood of extraterrestrial life and the possibilities of finding it. Thus the text covers the fundamentals of astronomy, the origins and evolution of life on Earth, the formation and present state of the sun's family of planets and moons, and the opportunities and limitations on interstellar travel and communication. The book's final chapters deal with the issue of UFO reports and with Enrico Fermi's famous question, 'Where is Everybody?' The book is suitable for college freshmen with no background in mathematics.

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This book presents astronomy from the standpoint of estimating the likelihood of extraterrestrial life and the possibilities of finding it. It covers the fundamentals of astronomy, origins and evolution of life on Earth, the formation and present state of the sun's family of planets, and the limitations on interstellar travel and communication. Long recognized as the "Gold Standard" text for astrobiology courses, The Search for Life in the Universe now appears in a completely revised and updated Third Edition. This book engages students in astronomy by presenting a great, unsolved mystery: How likely is life beyond earth, and how can we find it if it exists? The text covers the fundamentals of astronomy and astrophysics, including the discovery of more than 55 planets around other stars, and also provides an overview of biology, geology, evolution, and the possibilities of interstellar travel and communication. Written for readers with no background in mathematics, the book includes 24 color insert pages and brilliantly rendered illustrations by Jon Lomberg.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: MIT Press / University Science Books
• 3rd Revised edition
• Seitenzahl: 580
• Erscheinungstermin: 25. Oktober 2001
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 260mm x 195mm x 33mm
• Gewicht: 1324g
• ISBN-13: 9781891389160
• ISBN-10: 1891389165
• Artikelnr.: 22071687

Autorenporträt

Donald A. Goldsmith, Tobias Owen

Inhaltsangabe

Part One: Why Do We Search? Chapter 1 The Search from the Human
PerspectiveThe Quest for Life's OriginsThe Importance of MarsThe Scientific
View of the UniverseThe Laws of NatureApplying Scientific Thinking in
Everyday LifeThe Scientific Method in the Search for Extraterrestrial
LifeCosmic LonelinessA Conservative Approach to the Search for
LifeSummaryKey TermsQuestionsFurther ReadingPart Two: The UniverseChapter 2
The Universe Small and LargeThe Distances to Astronomical ObjectsThe Scale
of the Solar SystemMeasuring Stellar Distances with the Parallax
EffectEstimating Distances with the Inverse-Square Brightness LawThe
Spectra of StarsSummaryKey TermsQuestionsFurther ReadingChapter 3 The
Birthplaces of StarsProbing the Spaces Between the StarsRadio Waves from
Interstellar Hydrogen AtomsInterstellar Dust GrainsInterstellar
MoleculesMolecular CloudsThe Different Types of Molecules in Molecular
CloudsDid Life Begin in Interstellar Clouds?The Birth of StarsHow Many
Stars Form with Planets?SummaryKey TermsQuestionsFurther ReadingChapter 4
Energy Liberation in StarsTypes of StarsThe Temperature-Luminosity
DiagramRed Giants and White DwarfsStellar LifetimesHow Stars Liberate
EnergyThe Proton-Proton CycleThe Important of Temperature Inside StarsThe
Struggle Between Gravity and PressureThe Influence of Mass on Stellar
LifetimesSummaryKey TermsQuestionsFurther ReadingChapter 5 How Stars End
Their LivesNuclear Fuel Consumption in StarsThe Evolution of StarsThe
Red-Giant PhaseWhite DwarfsCould Civilizations Exist Around White
Dwarfs?Supernova ExplosionsThe Production of Heavy Elements in
SupernovaeThe Effects of Supernovae on Later Generations of StarsCosmic
RaysBlack HolesPulsars: Cosmic Lighthouses?Precise Pulsar Timing Reveals
the Existence of Planets!The Binary Pulsar and Gravity RadiationGamma-Ray
Bursters: Mysterious Powerhouses of the CosmosSummaryKey
TermsQuestionsFurther ReadingChapter 6 Galaxies and the Expanding
UniverseSpiral GalaxiesElliptical GalaxiesIrregular GalaxiesThe Formation
of GalaxiesStar ClustersRadio GalaxiesThe Doppler Shift and the Expanding
UniverseThe Big BangThe Cosmic Background of PhotonsThe Hypothesis of the
Inflationary UniverseDark Matter on the Largest Scales of DistanceIs the
Universe Finite or Infinite?Will the Universe Expand
Forever?QuasarsAccretion Disks and Supermassive Black HolesCould Quasars Be
Intergalactic Beacons?SummaryKey TermsQuestionsFurther ReadingPart Three:
LifeChapter 7 The Nature of Life on EarthWhat Is Life?Biologically
Important CompoundsThe Capacity to ReproduceDNA Does More than Govern
ReproductionEvolution and the Arrow of TimeEnergyThe Unity of
LifeSummaryKey TermsQuestionsFurther ReadingChapter 8 The Origin of LifeHow
Earth Got Its AtmosphereThe Evolution of the AtmosphereThe Effects of Life
on the Evolution of Earth's AtmosphereEarly Ideas About the Origin of
LifeThe Chemical Evolution Model for the Origin of LifeAn Experimental Test
of the Primordial-Soup ModelDid Life Really Originate in This Manner?An
External AlternativePolymerizationIs Our Starting Point Too Advanced?Beyond
PolymersSummaryKey TermsQuestionsFurther ReadingChapter 9 From Molecules to
MindsProkaryotesEukaryotesThe Great Leap ForwardSuitable Stars for LifeLife
on Other PlanetsEvolution and the Development of IntelligenceIs
Intelligence Inevitable?Future Evolution on EarthThe Web of LifeSummaryKey
TermsQuestionsFurther ReadingChapter 10 How Strange Can Life Be?The
Chemistry of Alien LifeThe Superiority of CarbonSolventsNonchemical
LifeBlack CloudsLife on Neutron StarsGravitational LifeThe Advantages of
Being AverageSummaryKey TermsQuestionsFurther ReadingPart Four: The Search
for Life in the Solar SystemChapter 11 The Origin and Early History of the
Solar SystemThe Formation of the Solar SystemCometsAsteroids, Meteoroids,
and MeteoritesBombardment of the Inner Planets: A Threat to
Life?MeteoritesAmino Acids in MeteoritesMercury and the MoonThe Early
History of the Earth and the MoonHuman Exploration of the MoonSummaryKey
TermsQuestionsFurther ReadingChapter 12 VenusThe Temperature and Rotation
of VenusThe Atmosphere of VenusThe Greenhouse EffectWhy Is Venus So
Different from Earth?Life on Venus?Exploration of Venus by
SpacecraftSummaryKey TermsQuestionsFurther ReadingChapter 13 MarsModern
Observations of MarsResults from Early Space Probes to MarsThe Viking
ProjectMars After VikingFurther Missions to MarsPhobos and DeimosSummaryKey
TermsQuestionsFurther ReadingChapter 14 Is There Life on Mars?How to Find
Martian MicroorganismsThe Viking Results: Atmospheric AnalysisThe Viking
Results: Soil AnalysisThe Viking Biology ExperimentsResults of the Viking
Biology ExperimentsDid the Vikings Land in the Wrong Places?An Ancient
Eden? Goals for Future ExplorationRocks from Mars! A Preview of Coming
AttractionsWhat Went Wrong on Mars?Epilogue: What About That Face on
Mars?SummaryKey TermsQuestionsFurther ReadingChapter 15 The Giant Planets
and Their SatellitesSpacecraft to the Outer Solar SystemThe Composition of
the Giant PlanetsChemistry on the Giant PlanetsCould Life Exist on the
Giant Planets?Rings and SatellitesTitanIapetus: An Intelligence Test for
Earthlings?Triton: Chemistry at Low TemperaturesCosmic MessengersSummaryKey
TermsQuestionsFurther ReadingPart Five: The Search for Extraterrestrial
IntelligenceChapter 16 Is Earth Unique?Which Characteristics Distinguish
Earth as an Abode of Life?Avoiding Regions of Cosmic ViolenceThe Need for
Heavy ElementsThe Importance of TemperatureThe Threat of ImpactsThe
Advantages of a Large MoonA Conservative Approach: Defining the Habitable
Zone Around a StarWhich Stars Offer Good Habitable Zones?Can Multiple-Star
Systems Provide Good Habitable Zones?Discovering Extrasolar Planets: Six
Promising Methods and One Highly Successful OneSummaryKey
TermsQuestionsFurther ReadingChapter 17 The Discovery of Extrasolar
PlanetsThe Great Success: Using the Doppler Effect to Discover Extrasolar
PlanetsWhat Does the Doppler-Shift Method Reveal About Extrasolar
Planets?The Doppler-Shift Technique Reveals New WorldsWhy Do So Many
Extrasolar Planets Orbit Extremely Close to Their Stars?The Importance of
Jupiter's DistanceThe Mystery of EccentricityHow Many Stars Have Planets
with the Right Conditions for Life?Alternative Possibilities for Habitable
PlanetsHow Many Habitable Planets Exist in the Milky Way?How Can We
Discover Earthlike Planets Around Other Stars?SummaryKey
TermsQuestionsFurther ReadingChapter 18 Extraterrestrial Civilizations: How
Many? How Distant?How Many Civilizations Exist?Estimating the Number of
Civilizations by Using the Drake EquationThe Importance of SurvivalHow
Eager are Civilizations for Contact?How Widely Separated Are Civilizations
in the Milky Way?Further Advances of Intelligent CivilizationsSummaryKey
TermsQuestionsFurther ReadingChapter 19 Interstellar SpaceflightSending
Information: Photons Versus RocketsInterstellar SpaceshipsFaster, Larger,
More ExpensiveWhen Time Slows DownThe Difficulties of High-Velocity
SpaceflightAutomated Message ProbesSummaryKey TermsQuestionsFurther
ReadingChapter 20 Interstellar Radio and Television MessagesWhere Should We
Look?What Frequencies Should We Search?What Frequency Bandwidth and Total
Frequency Range to Examine?How Can We Recognize Another Civilization?The
Present State of Radio Searches for other CivilizationsWhat Messages Could
We Send or Expect to Receive?A Crucial Difference: Beamed Signals versus
EavesdroppingDo SETI Searches Limit Themselves Too Severely by Relying on
Radio Waves?SummaryKey TermsQuestionsFurther ReadingChapter 21
Extraterrestrial Visitors to Earth?What Evidence Do We Seek?Four
Representative UFO SightingsDifficulties in Verifying the Spacecraft
HypothesisClassification of UFO ReportsArguments for the Spacecraft
HypothesisSome Conclusions About UFOsWhat About a Government Conspiracy?Von
Daniken: Charlatan of the Gods?SummaryKey TermsQuestionsFurther
ReadingChapter 22 Where Is Everybody?We May Be Alone, or Nearly SoAdvanced
Civilizations May Have Little Interest in CommunicationWe Are Still a
Primitive CivilizationEpilogue: The Search ContinuesFurther
ReadingAppendixGlossaryIndex