The Search for Life in the Universe - Donald a Goldsmith

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Résumé :
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....

Biographie:
Donald A. Goldsmith, Tobias Owen...

Sommaire:
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 Fo...