Planets and Life

Planets and Life
Author: Woodruff T. Sullivan, III
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 1240
Release: 2007-09-13
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1316264912

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.

The Search for Life's Origins

The Search for Life's Origins
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 161
Release: 1990-02-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309042461

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.

How Molecular Forces and Rotating Planets Create Life

How Molecular Forces and Rotating Planets Create Life
Author: Jan Spitzer
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 249
Release: 2021-02-09
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0262362597

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.

Is There Life on Other Planets?

Is There Life on Other Planets?
Author: Gregory L. Vogt
Publisher: Lerner Publications
Total Pages: 44
Release: 2010-01-01
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 0761359451

There is no gravity in space. The North Star never changes its position in the sky. Earth’s shadow causes the phases of the moon. You may have heard these common sayings or beliefs before. But are they really true? Can they be proven using science? Let’s investigate seventeen statements about space and find out which ones are right, which ones are wrong, and which ones still stump scientists! Find out whether astronauts really landed on the moon! Discover whether it’s true that the same side of the Moon is always dark! See if you can tell the difference between fact and fiction with Is That a Fact?

Space & Planets

Space & Planets
Author: Time-Life Books
Publisher: Time Life Medical
Total Pages: 158
Release: 1992
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 9780809496501

Questions and answers explore various aspects of astronomy, including the plants, stars, and space exploration.

Imagined Life

Imagined Life
Author: James Trefil
Publisher: Smithsonian Institution
Total Pages: 270
Release: 2019-09-17
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1588346730

The captivating possibilities of extraterrestrial life on exoplanets, based on current scientific knowledge of existing worlds and forms of life 2023 Canopus Awards for Interstellar Writing Finalist 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.

Life Beyond Earth

Life Beyond Earth
Author: Athena Coustenis
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 331
Release: 2013-09-12
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1107026172

An engaging account of our quest for habitable environments, recounting fascinating recent discoveries and providing insight into future space missions.

Lonely Planets

Lonely Planets
Author: David Grinspoon
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 482
Release: 2009-03-17
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0061748617

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

Planets in Transit

Planets in Transit
Author: Robert Hand
Publisher: Whitford Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2002
Genre: Astrology
ISBN: 9780924608261

This book covers complete delineations of all the major transits - conjunction, sextile, square, trine and opposition - that occur between transiting Sun, Moon and all planets to each planet in the natal chart and the Ascendant and Midheaven, as well as complete delineations of each planet transiting each house of the natal chart. These 720 lucid delineations are full of insight for both the professional astrologer and the beginner.