The Biological Universe: Life in the Milky Way and Beyond

ISBN-13: 9781108836944 / Angielski / Twarda / 2020 / 358 str.

Galway) Wallace Arthur (National University of Ireland

Opis

This book is for everyone with an interest in whether there is extraterrestrial life. Recent discoveries of planets beyond the solar system (more than 4000 of them) suggest that the question is not 'whether?' but 'where?'. This book enables general readers to understand current endeavours to answer this question and the related one of 'what kind?'

Recenzje

'Wallace Arthur addresses the most exciting question in science: 'Are we alone?' His brilliant exposition argues convincingly that we are likely to go through a Copernican revolution regarding the biological universe and discover that we are not at its centre.' Avi Loeb, Chair of the Harvard Astronomy department

Spis treści

Part I. Painting Big Pictures: 1. A tree with millions of twigs; 2. A galaxy with billions of planets; 3. The likelihood of other trees; Part II. Life Here, Implications for Elsewhere: 4. A thin sliver of existence; 5. Energy and life; 6. Habitats and life; 7. Skeletons and life; 8. Intelligence and life; Part III. Planetary Systems and Life: 9. Types of planetary system; 10. Habitable zones; 11. Other habitability factors; 12. How many inhabited planets?; Part IV. Discovering Life: 13. On the repeatability of evolution; 14. Candidate planets; 15. Atmospheric signatures; 16. Radio and life; 17. Sixty years of SETI; Part V. Beyond the Milky Way: 18. The physical universe; 19. The biological universe; 20. The intelligent universe; Bibliography; Acknowledgements.

O autorze

Arthur, Wallace Wallace Arthur is an evolutionary biologist who is fascinated by the possibility of evolution occurring on other planets. His first book on this subject was Life through Time and Space (2017), of which the Astronomer Royal Sir Arnold Wolfendale said: 'brilliant and thought-provoking in every way'. The Biological Universe is the sequel.