The Quest for Extraterrestrial Life: A Book of Readings and Strategies for the Search for Life in the Universe and Life beyond Earth: The Intelligent Earthling's Guide to Life in the Universe

Physics Today ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-73
Author(s):  
D. Goldsmith ◽  
M. D. Papagiannis ◽  
G. Feinberg ◽  
R. Shapiro ◽  
Michael J. Crowe
Keyword(s):  
Extraterrestrial Life ◽  
The Universe

The Cosmic Mystery Tour

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Mee
Keyword(s):  
Science Fiction ◽  
Particle Physics ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Big Bang ◽  
Galactic Centre ◽  
Red Giants ◽  
Extraterrestrial Life ◽  
Modern Physics ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
The Universe

The Cosmic Mystery Tour is a brief account of modern physics and astronomy presented in a broad historical and cultural context. The book is attractively illustrated and aimed at the general reader. Part I explores the laws of physics including general relativity, the structure of matter, quantum mechanics and the Standard Model of particle physics. It discusses recent discoveries such as gravitational waves and the project to construct LISA, a space-based gravitational wave detector, as well as unresolved issues such as the nature of dark matter. Part II begins by considering cosmology, the study of the universe as a whole and how we arrived at the theory of the Big Bang and the expanding universe. It looks at the remarkable objects within the universe such as red giants, white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes, and considers the expected discoveries from new telescopes such as the Extremely Large Telescope in Chile, and the Event Horizon Telescope, currently aiming to image the supermassive black hole at the galactic centre. Part III considers the possibility of finding extraterrestrial life, from the speculations of science fiction authors to the ongoing search for alien civilizations known as SETI. Recent developments are discussed: space probes to the satellites of Jupiter and Saturn; the discovery of planets in other star systems; the citizen science project SETI@Home; Breakthrough Starshot, the project to develop technologies to send spacecraft to the stars. It also discusses the Fermi paradox which argues that we might actually be alone in the cosmos

On the parallels between cosmology and astrobiology: a transdisciplinary approach to the search for extraterrestrial life

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 251-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Morphy D. Santos ◽  
Leticia P. Alabi ◽  
Amâncio C. S. Friaça ◽  
Douglas Galante
Keyword(s):  
Extraterrestrial Life ◽  
Transdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Copernican Revolution ◽  
Scientific Status ◽  
Intrinsic Complexity ◽  
Experimental Approaches ◽  
The Universe

AbstractThe establishment of cosmology as a science provides a parallel to the building-up of the scientific status of astrobiology. The rise of astrobiological studies is explicitly based on a transdisciplinary approach that reminds of the Copernican Revolution, which eroded the basis of a closed Aristotelian worldview and reinforced the notion that the frontiers between disciplines are artificial. Given the intrinsic complexity of the astrobiological studies, with its multifactorial evidences and theoretical/experimental approaches, multi- and interdisciplinary perspectives are mandatory. Insulated expertise cannot grasp the vastness of the astrobiological issues. This need for integration among disciplines and research areas is antagonistic to excessive specialization and compartmentalization, allowing astrobiology to be qualified as a truly transdisciplinary enterprise. The present paper discusses the scientific status of astrobiological studies, based on the view that every kind of life, Earth-based or not, should be considered in a cosmic context. A confluence between ‘astro’ and ‘bio’ seeks the understanding of life as an emerging phenomenon in the universe. Thus, a new epistemological niche is opened, pointing to the development of a pluralistic vision for the philosophy of astrobiology.

Does extraterrestrial life have intrinsic value? An exploration in responsibility ethics

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 304-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ted Peters
Keyword(s):  
Intrinsic Value ◽  
Naturalistic Fallacy ◽  
Moral Norm ◽  
Extraterrestrial Life ◽  
Responsibility Ethics ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Ethical Quandary

AbstractIf space explorers discover a biosphere supporting life on an off-Earth body, should they treat that life as possessing intrinsic value? This is an ethical quandary leading to a further question: how do we ground a universal moral norm to which the astroethicist can appeal? This article closely analyses various forms of responsibility ethics and finds them weak because they commit the naturalistic fallacy – that is, they ask nature to definethe good. The good, however, is self-defining and not derivable from nature. Even so, a revised responsibility ethic could ground its universal norms on the fact that life and only life can experience and appreciate the good. Conclusion: living creatures possess intrinsic value both on Earth and elsewhere in the Universe.

scholarly journals Life under another Sun: From Science Fiction to Science

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-39
Author(s):  
Michaël Gillon
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Science Fiction ◽  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Life Science ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Major Theme ◽  
Extraterrestrial Life ◽  
Copernican Revolution ◽  
The Universe

Initiated in the sixteenth century, the Copernican revolution toppled our Earth from its theological pedestal, revealing it not to be the centre of everything but a planet among several others in orbit around one of the zillions of stars of our Universe. Already proposed by some philosophers at the dawn of this major paradigm shift, the existence of exoplanets, i.e. planets in orbit around stars other than our Sun, remained suspected but unconfirmed for centuries. It is only in the last decade of the twentieth century that the first of these extrasolar worlds were found. Their seminal discoveries initiated the development of more and more ambitious projects that led eventually to the detection of thousands of exoplanets, including a few dozen potentially habitable ones, i.e. terrestrial exoplanets that could harbour large amounts of liquid water – and maybe life – on their surfaces. Upcoming astronomical facilities will soon be able to probe the atmospheric compositions of some of these extrasolar worlds, maybe performing in the process the historical detection of chemical signs of life light-years away. But while the existence of extraterrestrial life remains pure speculation for now, it has been a major theme of science fiction for more than a century. By creating countless stories of encounters between humans and alien forms of life, science-fiction authors have pursued, in a sense, the Copernican revolution, confronting us with the idea that not only could life be widespread in the Universe, but also that our species may be far from the Cosmic pinnacle in matters of intelligence and technological development.

scholarly journals Astroecology, cosmo-ecology, and the future of life

2014 ◽  
Vol 83 (4) ◽  
pp. 449-464
Author(s):  
Michael N. Mautner
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Extraterrestrial Life ◽  
Solar Sails ◽  
Dwarf Stars ◽  
Nutrient Contents ◽  
Solar Systems ◽  
System A ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
Red Dwarf Stars ◽  
The Universe

Astroecology concerns the relations between life and space resources, and cosmo-ecology extrapolates these relations to cosmological scales. Experimental astroecology can quantify the amounts of life that can be derived from space resources. For this purpose, soluble carbon and electrolyte nutrients were measured in asteroid/meteorite materials. Microorganisms and plant cultures were observed to grow on these materials, whose fertilities are similar to productive agricultural soils. Based on measured nutrient contents, the 10<sup>22</sup> kg carbonaceous asteroids can yield 10<sup>18</sup> kg biomass with N and P as limiting nutrients (compared with the estimated 10<sup>15</sup> kg biomass on Earth). These data quantify the amounts of life that can be derived from asteroids in terms of time-integrated biomass [<em>BIOTA</em><sub>int</sub> = biomass (kg) × lifetime (years)], as 10<sup>27</sup> kg-years during the next billion years of the Solar System (a thousand times the 10<sup>24</sup> kg-years to date). The 10<sup>26</sup> kg cometary materials can yield biota 10 000 times still larger. In the galaxy, potential future life can be estimated based on stellar luminosities. For example, the Sun will develop into a white dwarf star whose 10<sup>15</sup> W luminosity can sustain a <em>BIOTA</em><sub>int</sub> of 10<sup>34</sup> kg-years over 10<sup>20</sup> years. The 10<sup>12</sup> main sequence and white and red dwarf stars can sustain 10<sup>46</sup> kg-years of <em>BIOTA</em><sub>int</sub> in the galaxy and 10<sup>57</sup> kg-years in the universe. Life has great potentials in space, but the probability of present extraterrestrial life may be incomputable because of biological and ecological complexities. However, we can establish and expand life in space with present technology, by seeding new young solar systems. Microbial representatives of our life-form can be launched by solar sails to new planetary systems, including extremophiles suited to diverse new environments, autotrophs and heterotrophs to continually form and recycle biomolecules, and simple multicellulars to jump-start higher evolution. These programs can be motivated by life-centered biotic ethics that seek to secure and propagate life. In space, life can develop immense populations and diverse new branches. Some may develop into intelligent species that can expand life further in the galaxy, giving our human endeavors a cosmic purpose.

scholarly journals Commission 51: Search for Extraterrestrial Life

1985 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 713-723
Author(s):  
M. D. Papagiannis ◽  
F. D. Drake ◽  
N. S. Kardashev ◽  
R. D. Brown ◽  
P. Connes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Techniques ◽  
Extraterrestrial Life ◽  
Origin And Evolution ◽  
Whole Process ◽  
Cosmic Evolution ◽  
Lay People ◽  
The Universe

The possibility that life, primitive or advanced, might exist in other places of the Universe has occupied the minds of scientists and lay-people for thousands of years. It is only in the last 25 years, however, that we have finally begun to search for answers to this profound question using experimental techniques. The goal of Astronomy is to understand the origin and evolution of planets, stars, galaxies and of the Universe as a whole. The appearance of life is an integral part of this whole process and our picture of the Universe will never be complete until we will comprehend also the significance of life in the process of Cosmic Evolution.

scholarly journals Fermi's paradox, extraterrestrial life and the future of humanity: a Bayesian analysis

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-18
Author(s):  
Vilhelm Verendel ◽  
Olle Häggström
Keyword(s):  
Bayesian Analysis ◽  
Conditional Probability ◽  
Prior Distribution ◽  
Bad News ◽  
Extraterrestrial Life ◽  
Observable Universe ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Intelligent Life

AbstractThe Great Filter interpretation of Fermi's great silence asserts thatNpqis not a very large number, whereNis the number of potentially life-supporting planets in the observable universe,pis the probability that a randomly chosen such planet develops intelligent life to the level of present-day human civilization, andqis the conditional probability that it then goes on to develop a technological supercivilization visible all over the observable universe. Evidence suggests thatNis huge, which implies thatpqis very small. Hanson (1998) and Bostrom (2008) have argued that the discovery of extraterrestrial life would point towardspnot being small and therefore a very smallq, which can be seen as bad news for humanity's prospects of colonizing the universe. Here we investigate whether a Bayesian analysis supports their argument, and the answer turns out to depend critically on the choice of prior distribution.

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