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This book provides a complete introduction and overview to the rapidly expanding field of extrasolar planets and brown dwarfs. The following topics are covered: observational techniques, surveys, studies of individual objects, theoretical properties of low-mass stars, brown dwarfs and giant planets, the contribution of these objects to the Galactic mass-budget, processes that lead to formation of planets versus white dwarfs, implication of such objects for the occurrence of Earth-like planets, and future prospects in the field. The book enables readers to gain a solid scientific background in all the essential aspects of this exciting new area of astronomical research.
With over 500 planets now known to exist beyond the Solar System, spacecraft heading for Mars, and the ongoing search for extraterrestrial intelligence, this timely book explores current ideas about the search for life in the Universe. It contains candid interviews with dozens of astronomers, geologists, biologists, and writers about the origin and range of terrestrial life and likely sites for life beyond Earth. The interviewees discuss what we've learnt from the missions to Mars and Titan, talk about the search for Earth clones, describe the surprising diversity of life on Earth, speculate about post-biological evolution, and explore what contact with intelligent aliens will mean to us. Covering topics from astronomy and planetary science to geology and biology, this book will fascinate anyone who has ever wondered 'Are we alone?'
This work is aimed at the upper-level astrobiology course and places a strong emphasis on the astronomy perspective.
Astrobiology is an exciting interdisciplinary field that seeks to answer one of the most important and profound questions: are we alone? In this volume, leading international experts explore the frontiers of astrobiology, investigating the latest research questions that will fascinate a wide interdisciplinary audience at all levels. What is the earliest evidence for life on Earth? Where are the most likely sites for life in the Solar System? Could life have evolved elsewhere in the Galaxy? What are the best strategies for detecting intelligent extraterrestrial life? How many habitable or Earth-like exoplanets are there? Progress in astrobiology over the past decade has been rapid and, with evidence accumulating that Mars once hosted standing bodies of liquid water, the discovery of over 500 exoplanets and new insights into how life began on Earth, the scientific search for our origins and place in the cosmos continues.
This is an outstanding overview of the history of the Earth from a unique planetary perspective for introductory courses in the earth sciences. The book approaches Earth history as an evolution, encompassing the origin of the cosmos through the inner working of living cells. Earth: Evolution of a Habitable Planet tells how the Earth has come to its present state, why it differs from its neighboring planets, what life's place is in Earth's history, and how humanity affects the processes that make our planet livable. Today's human influences are contemplated in the context of natural changes on Earth. This book brings a fresh perspective to the study of the Earth for students who wish to learn how our planet evolved to its present form.
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Traces NASA’s torturous journey to Mars from the fly-bys of the 1960s to landing rovers and seeking life today. Mars has captured the human imagination for decades. Since NASA’s establishment in 1958, the space agency has looked to Mars as a compelling prize, the one place, beyond the Moon, where robotic and human exploration could converge. Remarkably successful with its roaming multi-billion-dollar robot, Curiosity, NASA’s Mars program represents one of the agency’s greatest achievements. Why Mars analyzes the history of the robotic Mars exploration program from its origins to today. W. Henry Lambright examines the politics and policies behind NASA's multi-decade quest, illuminatin...
"The book tells the story of how an upstart planetary laboratory in Tucson, the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL), would help create the field of planetary science, breaking free from traditional astronomical techniques to embrace a wide range of disciplines necessary to study planets"--Provided by publisher.
Ecology calls to mind nature “out there”—trees, rivers, oceans, animals, birds, the air, distinct ecosystems. But as Benjamin Wiker argues, an obvious part of nature has been mysteriously left out of the environmental movement: our own nature—human nature, especially its essential moral aspects. In Defense of Nature shows that while both nature and human nature are equally important, there is a significant obstacle threatening the acceptance of this expanded account of ecology. The Left understands the exquisite, delicate harmony of the natural order, and why environmental pollution is harmful. The Right understands the exquisite, delicate harmony of the human moral order, and why moral pollution is harmful. Each side will tell you how very little a deviation it takes to cause disaster to the natural or to the moral order. But each refuses to see the other’s argument. In Defense of Nature allows both the Left and the Right to see what the other sees so clearly, and how it all fits together, from toxic landfills and global warming, to internet addiction and human trafficking.