Format:
1 Online-Ressource(XXXIV, 338 p.)
Edition:
1st ed. 2000.
ISBN:
9780387218489
Content:
Why Life Might Be Widespread in the Universe -- Habitable Zones of the Universe -- Building a Habitable Earth -- Life’s First Appearance on Earth -- How to Build Animals -- Snowball Earth -- The Enigma of the Cambrian Explosion -- Mass Extinctions and the Rare Earth Hypothesis -- The Surprising Importance of Plate Tectonics -- The Moon, Jupiter, and Life on Earth -- Testing the Rare Earth Hypothesis -- Assessing the Odds -- Messengers from the Stars.
Content:
In November 12, 2002, Dr. John Chambers of the NASA Ames Research Center gave a seminar to the Astrobiology Group at the University of Washington. The audience of about 100 listened with rapt attention as Chambers described results from a computer study of how planetary systems form. The goal of his research was to answer a deceptively simple question: How often would newly forming planetary systems produce Earth-like planets, given a star the size of our own sun? By “Earth-like” Chambers meant a rocky planet with water on its surface, orbiting within a star’s “habitable zone. ” This not-too-hot and not-too-cold inner region, relatively close to the star, supports the presence of liquid water on a planet surface for hundreds of million of years—the time-span probably necessary for the evolution of life. To answer the question of just how many Earth-like planets might be spawned in such a planetary system, Chambers had spent thousands of hours running highly sophisticated modeling programs through arrays of powerful computers. The results presented at the meeting were startling. The simulations showed that rocky planets orbiting at the “right” distances from the central star are easily formed, but they can end up with a wide range of water content. Earth seems to be quite a gem—a rocky planet where not only can liquid water exist for long periods of time, but where water can be found as a heathy oceanful—not too little and not too much. Our planet seems to reside in a benign region of the Galaxy, where comet and asteroid bombardment is tolerable and habitable-zone planets can commonly grow to Earth size. Such real estate in our galaxy—perhaps in any galaxy—is prime for life. And rare as well.
Note:
Description based upon print version of record
,
Contents; Preface to the Paperback Edition; Preface to the First Edition; Introduction: The Astrobiology Revolution and the Rare Earth Hypothesis; Dead Zones of the Universe; Rare Earth Factors; 1 Why Life Might Be Widespread in the Universe; 2 Habitable Zones of the Universe; 3 Building a Habitable Earth; 4 Life's First Appearance on Earth; 5 How to Build Animals; 6 Snowball Earth; 7 The Enigma of the Cambrian Explosion; 8 Mass Extinctions and the Rare Earth Hypothesis; 9 The Surprising Importance of Plate Tectonics; 10 The Moon, Jupiter, and Life on Earth
,
11 Testing the Rare Earth Hypotheses12 Assessing the Odds; 13 Messengers from the Stars; References; Index;
Additional Edition:
ISBN 9780387952895
Additional Edition:
ISBN 9781475781137
Additional Edition:
ISBN 9780387987019
Additional Edition:
Erscheint auch als Druck-Ausgabe ISBN 9780387952895
Additional Edition:
Erscheint auch als Druck-Ausgabe ISBN 9781475781137
Additional Edition:
Erscheint auch als Druck-Ausgabe ISBN 9780387987019
Language:
English
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