The Search For Life In The Universe

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.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"Quite possibly the best astrobiology text available…[it is] clear, interesting and captivating. I highly recommend The Search for Life in the Universe to anyone with a serious interest in astrobiology." --International Journal of Astrobiology

"Teachers and students everywhere of wildly popular courses on life in the universe should rejoice to see this update of the classic textbook by Don Goldsmith and Toby Owen." --Frank Shu, University of California at BerkeleyDonald A. Goldsmith (Author) Donald Goldsmith was the science editor and co-writer of the PBS television series The Astronomers and the co-writer of NOVA's Is Anybody Out There? with Lily Tomlin. He has written and edited 15 books on astronomy, including The Runaway Universe, Worlds Unnumbered, Supernova!, and The Hunt for Life on Mars. Donald Goldsmith received his Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of California, Berkeley, and has taught astronomy courses there and at other institutions, including Stanford University, Cornell University, and the University of California at Santa Cruz. He has received the lifetime achievement award in popularizing astronomy from the American Astronomical Society, the science writing award from the American Institute of Physics, and the Dorothea Klumpke-Roberts award for increasing public awareness of astronomy from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.Tobias Owen (Author) Tobias Owen ranks among the world's leading experts on the solar system. He was awarded the NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement for his work on the Martian atmosphere with the Viking Landers in 1976 and led the group of Voyager scientists who discovered the rings of Jupiter in 1979. He is currently a member of scientific teams on the Galileo, Nozomi, CONTOUR, DS-1 and Cassini-Huygens missions. With David Morrison, he co-authored a college text, The Planetary System, and has written over 250 scientific and popular articles. He is professor of astronomy at the University of Hawaii where he studies planets, satellites, and comets with the giant telescopes on Mauna Kea.