scholarly journals From cosmos to intelligent life: the four ages of astrobiology

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 345-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcelo Gleiser

AbstractThe history of life on Earth and in other potential life-bearing planetary platforms is deeply linked to the history of the Universe. Since life, as we know, relies on chemical elements forged in dying heavy stars, the Universe needs to be old enough for stars to form and evolve. The current cosmological theory indicates that the Universe is 13.7 ± 0.13 billion years old and that the first stars formed hundreds of millions of years after the Big Bang. At least some stars formed with stable planetary systems wherein a set of biochemical reactions leading to life could have taken place. In this paper, I argue that we can divide cosmological history into four ages, from the Big Bang to intelligent life. The physical age describes the origin of the Universe, of matter, of cosmic nucleosynthesis, as well as the formation of the first stars and Galaxies. The chemical age began when heavy stars provided the raw ingredients for life through stellar nucleosynthesis and describes how heavier chemical elements collected in nascent planets and Moons gave rise to prebiotic biomolecules. The biological age describes the origin of early life, its evolution through Darwinian natural selection and the emergence of complex multicellular life forms. Finally, the cognitive age describes how complex life evolved into intelligent life capable of self-awareness and of developing technology through the directed manipulation of energy and materials. I conclude discussing whether we are the rule or the exception.

Author(s):  
Max Pettini

Astronomers now have at their disposal telescopes and instruments that allow them to look back in time over most of the history of the Universe, from the present epoch to less than a billion years after the Big Bang, when the Universe was still in its infancy. Using quasars (the bright nuclei of distant galaxies) as background sources of light, we can follow the evolution of galaxies and of the matter between them from the First Stars to the rich diversity of the Universe today. In this article, I focus on recent developments in the study of the most metal-poor gas seen in the spectra of quasars, whose properties can be used to infer the nature of the First Stars and, in some cases, even determine the universal fraction of baryons.


Author(s):  
Francisco César de Sá Barreto ◽  
Luiz Paulo Ribeiro Vaz ◽  
Gabriel Armando Pellegatti Franco

The standard cosmological model suggests that after the “Big Bang”, 14 billion of years ago, the universe entered a period of expansion and cooling. In the first one millionth of a second appear quarks, glúons, electrons and neutrinos, followed by the appearance of protons and neutrons. In this paper, we describe the “cosmic battle” between gravitation and energy, responsible for the lighter chemical elements and the formation of the stars. We describe the thermodynamics of irreversible processes of systems which are far away from equilibrium, a route that is followed by the universe, seen as a living system.


Author(s):  
Abraham Loeb ◽  
Steven R. Furlanetto

This chapter considers the emergence of the complex chemical and radiative processes during the first stages of galaxy formation. It studies the appearance of the first stars, their feedback processes, and the resulting ionization structures that emerged during and shortly after the cosmic dawn. The formation of the first stars tens or hundreds of millions of years after the Big Bang had marked a crucial transition in the early Universe. Before this point, the Universe was elegantly described by a small number of parameters. But as soon as the first stars formed, more complex processes entered the scene. To illustrate this, the chapter provides a brief outline of the prevailing (though observationally untested) theory for this cosmological phase transition.


1994 ◽  
Vol 159 ◽  
pp. 293-299
Author(s):  
G. Burbidge ◽  
F. Hoyle ◽  
J.V. Narlikar

The standard big bang cosmology has the universe created out of a primeval explosion that not only created matter and radiation but also spacetime itself. The big bang event itself cannot be discussed within the framework of a physical theory but the events following it are in principle considered within the scope of science. The recent developments on the frontier between particle physics and cosmology highlight the attempts to chart the history of the very early universe.


KronoScope ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-111
Author(s):  
Christophe Bouton

Abstract This paper deals with the problem of the emergence of time in three different ways, at the intersection of the history of philosophy and the history of science: 1) the emergence of time with subjectivity examined on the basis of Kant’s idealism; 2) the emergence of time with life, considered in the light of the work of Bergson; 3) the emergence of time with the Universe, in relation to the notions of ‘The Big Bang’ and ‘The Planck Wall’. It concludes that the idea of the emergence of time is inconsistent in a diachronic sense, and problematic in a synchronic sense. One meaning could, however, be accorded to this notion: with life, a new relation to time has emerged and has attained one of its most developed forms with the human being.


2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl H. Gibson ◽  
Rudolph E. Schild ◽  
N. Chandra Wickramasinghe

AbstractThe origin of life and the origin of the Universe are among the most important problems of science and they might be inextricably linked. Hydro-gravitational-dynamics cosmology predicts hydrogen–helium gas planets in clumps as the dark matter of galaxies, with millions of planets per star. This unexpected prediction is supported by quasar microlensing of a galaxy and a flood of new data from space telescopes. Supernovae from stellar over-accretion of planets produce the chemicals (C, N, O, P, etc.) and abundant liquid-water domains required for first life and the means for wide scattering of life prototypes. Life originated following the plasma-to-gas transition between 2 and 20 Myr after the big bang, while planetary core oceans were between critical and freezing temperatures, and interchanges of material between planets constituted essentially a cosmological primordial soup. Images from optical, radio and infrared space telescopes suggest life on Earth was neither first nor inevitable.


Author(s):  
Rodney Bartlett

This hypothesis is the result of my conviction that science will oneday prove everything in space and time is part of a unification. In "A Brief History of Time", Stephen Hawking wrote, "If everything in the universe depends on everything else in a fundamental way, it might be impossible to get close to a full solution (of the universe's puzzles) by investigating parts of the problem (such as general relativity and quantum mechanics) in isolation." The goal: to establish a “proof of concept” to which equations can be added. It’s concluded the Steady State, Big Bang, Inflation and Multiverse theories all ultimately fail and a topological model including bits (binary digits), Mobius strips, figure-8 Klein bottles and Wick rotation works better. The failed cosmologies have impressive points leading to the idea that they’re all necessary stepping-stones. For example, the Big Bang is seen here as violation of the 1st Law of Thermodynamics but its supposed origin from quantum fluctuations is reminiscent of bits switching between 1 and 0. The topological hypothesis has potential to explain dark matter, dark energy, and electromagnetic-gravitational union. Finally, the article introduces what is called vector-tensor-scalar geometry - and extensions of Einstein's Gravity and Maxwell's Electromagnetism.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 126-133
Author(s):  
Minakshi Rajput Singh

The uniqueness of His creation is reflected in different fields of life by the great masters throughout the ages that have born with the formation of the universe, from the big bang, till times still to come. Special ratio that can be used to describe the proportions of everything from nature’s smallest building blocks, such as atoms, to the most advanced patterns in the universe, such as unimaginably large celestial bodies. One of the key evidences presented for creation is the recurring appearance of the Divine proportion, or golden section, throughout the design of the human body and other life forms. An attempt has been made to relate Sri yantra and golden ratio and the various forms that seem to exemplify in the plan and elevation of the Indian temple. The yantra which is a complex geometry has been perfected to be used for the development of temple forms of different eras. The following paper will be a tool for the researchers to use the yantra in deriving the spaces of Indian temples.


DIALOGO ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 233-251
Author(s):  
Andreas May

"A synthesis of research results of modern natural sciences and fundamental statements of the Christian faith is attempted. The creation of the universe is addressed. Four important events in the history of the Earth as well as the diversity of living beings are shortly discussed. There are good reasons to believe that the universe was created by a transcendent superior being, which we call God, and that this superior being intervened in evolution and Earth history to promote the development of intelligent life. Furthermore, it can be concluded that intelligent life is very rare in the universe. This is the explanation for the “Fermi paradox”. Intelligent life on planet Earth has cosmic significance. The overabundance of this universe inspires the hope for participating in the fulfilled eternity of the Creator in transcendence. Prehistoric humans had long had hope for life after biological death. While scientific speculation about the end of the universe prophesies scenarios of destruction, the Christian faith says that humanity is destined to be united with Jesus Christ. Furthermore, all evolution will be completed with the Creator in transcendence. Then the whole of creation will “obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God”. From the first primitive living cell, an abundance of the most diverse living beings has evolved. Comparably, humanity has differentiated into a plethora of different cultures. This entire abundance will find its unification and fulfilment in transcendence with the Creator of the universe, without its diversity being erased."


2021 ◽  
pp. 47-75
Author(s):  
Raymond T. Pierrehumbert

‘What are planets made of?’ assesses what planets are made of, beginning by looking at the life cycle of stars, and the kinds of stars which populate the Universe. Although the first stars of the Universe could not have formed planetary systems, the process did not take long to get under way. The Milky Way galaxy formed not long after the Big Bang and has been building its stock of heavy elements ever since. Thus, our Solar System incorporates ingredients from a mix of myriad expired stars, most of which have been processed multiple times through short-lived stars.


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