Talking About Life: Conversations on Astrobiology Chris Impey Index More Information

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Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-51492-7 - Talking about Life: Conversations on Astrobiology Chris Impey Index More information

Index

2001: A Space Odyssey, 206, 369 Ancestor simulation, 345 Artiﬁcial intelligence, 330, 331, Anderson, Donald, 115 335, 338, 346 A Brief History of Time, 348 Andretti, Mario, 368 Artiﬁcial signal, 309, 313, 318 Abell, George, 255 Animal Asimov, Isaac, 28, 72, 179, 366 Acasta gneiss formation, 83 behavior, 144, 148, 155 Asteroid, 206, 211, 220, 222 Accretion, 204, 245, 249, 250, brain size, 157 Astounding Stories of Super Science, 252 cognition, 145, 156 367 Acetylene, 184 communication, 152 Astrobiology: A Multidisciplinary Acetylene cycle, 184 consciousness, 163 Approach, 190 Agassis, Louis, 179 culture, 160 Astronaut, 42, 43, 56, 57, 372 ALH 84001 meteorite, 26, 27, intelligence, 155 Astronomer Royal, 365 51, 91, 94, 112, 127, 180, language, 156 Atacama desert, 174, 175, 238 189, 212, 340, 350 learning, 147, 151 ATP, 108 Allen, David, 294 memory, 150 Augmented reality, 332 Allen, Paul, 313 self-awareness, 156, 163 Avatar, 332 Allen Telescope Array, 311, 312, social behavior, 159 313, 315, 322 transmitted knowledge, Bacteria, 18, 28, 63, 88, 89, 90, Allende meteorite, 221 160 91, 99, 105, 106, 119, 120, Alpha Centauri, 264, 268, 272, Antarctic dry valleys, 103, 127, 128, 129, 131, 139, 273 169 164, 175, 271, 297, 301, Alternative biologies, 173, 195, Antarctica, 176 351, 375, 384 353 Anthropic principle, 60, 334, Bains, William, v, viii, 69 Alvarez hypothesis, 114, 117 337, 343, 354 Barite, 90 Alvin submersible, 104 Anthropic reasoning, 335, 342, Baross, John, v, viii, 73, 102 Amino acid, 64, 126, 139, 211, 344, 364 Bayesian probability theory, 271, 351 Apollo program, 36, 37, 47, 55, 342 Ammonia, 61, 64, 77, 108, 111, 193, 371, 372 Behavioral ecology, 144, 157 184, 192 Archean era, 82, 105 Belief systems, 186 Amoeba, 162 Aristotle, 10, 23, 24 Bell, Alexander Graham, 372 Analog Science Fiction Magazine, Arrhenius, Svente, 351 Bell Burnell, Jocelyn, 311, 367 Arthropod, 135 320

398

Index 399

Benner, Steve, v, viii, 58, 101, Callisto, 201 Computational chemistry, 67 182, 189, 195 Cambrian era, 144 Computational methods, Billingham, John, 306 Cambrian explosion, 112, 244, 245 Binary star, 247, 253 115, 132, 137, 171 Computers, 12, 68, 124, 195, Biochemical unity, 107 Campbell, John, 367 244, 245, 259, 267, 273, Bioengineering, 327 Carbon dioxide, 77 327, 330, 331, 359 Biological landscape, 74 Carbon isotope, 116, 126 Condensation sequence, Biological system, 74 Carbon nanotubes, 372 210 Biomarker, 7, 37, 73, 126, Carr, Bernard, 363 Consolmagno, Guy, vi, viii, 263, 291, 295, 296, 297, Carter, Brandon, 342 217 298 Cassini, Giovanni, 199 Contact, 28, 36, 314, 315, Biomineralization, 138 Cassini-Huygens spacecraft, 320 Biot, Jean-Baptiste, 223 184, 201, 203 Convergence Biotechnology, 61, 70 Catalytic reactions, 107 in biology, 139, 140, 141, Bird song, 153 Catalytic system, 74 144, 159, 307, 341 Black hole, 349 Catling, David, 131 Copernican revolution, 24, Black smoker, 104 Celestial Worlds Discovered, 54 29, 261, 276, 283, 302 Bode’s law, 245, 246, 270 Cephalopod, 141, 143, 144, Copernicus, Nicklaus, 25 Boltzmann brain, 365 145, 149, 150, 335 Coral reef, 144, 149, 153, Boron, 60 Cephalopod Behaviour, 144 238 Boss, Alan, vi, viii, 243 Cetacean, 140, 155, 156, 157 Core accretion, 249, 251, Bostrom, Nick, vi, viii, 337 Chambers, John, 270 252, 270 Bova, Ben, vi, ix, 366, 366, Chaos theory, 76 Coronagraph, 282, 296 370 Charbonneau, David, vi, viii, Cosmic imperative, 352, 353, Bowyer, Stuart, 306 278, 284 354 Boynton, Bill, 234 Chimpanzee, 163, 335 Cosmic parameters, 360 Brain Chlorophyll, 301, 302, 349 Cosmos, 32, 34, 35 capability, 365 Cholesterol, 63, 88, 89, 126 Counterfactuals, 60, 362 energy cost of, 159 Chromatophore, 146 Creationists, 14 structure, 145, 159, 161 Cicero, 384 Crick, Francis, 357 Brenner, Sidney, 357 Clarke, Arthur C., 28, 310, Crisp, David, 294 Briggs, Derek, 138 323, 359, 366, 369, 372 Cryogenic biosphere, 78 Broker, Wally, 190 Cocconi, Giuseppe, 308, Cryovolcanism, 184, 192 Brown, Tim, 287 317 Cultural evolution, 163 Brown dwarf, 306 Cochran, William, 247 Cuttleﬁsh, 152 Brownlee, Donald, 172 Comet Cyanobacteria, 119, 125 Bruno, Giordano, 354 life in, 301 Cyclops report, 306 Buick, Roger, v, viii, 81, 84, Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, 87, 90 294 Dark energy, 52, 362 Burgess Shale formation, Comet Tempel-1, 200 Dark matter, 317 134, 135, 136, 137, 139 Coming of Age in the Milky Way, Darwin, Charles, 16, 17, 135 Butler, Paul, 231, 247, 248, 3, 4 Darwinian evolution, 161, 257, 264, 265, 266, 268, Complex systems, 355 182 273 Complexity, 62, 75, 132, 172, Davies, Paul, vi, viii, 347 Butterﬁeld, Nicholas, 136 344, 355 Davis, Sumner, 230

400 Index

Dawkins, Richard, 35 formation of life, 194 bottleneck, 334, 335, de Duve, Christian, 21 future of life, 11 380 Deep Impact spacecraft, 200, habitability, 190 burst of, 116 203 history of life, 125 chemical, 59 Deinococcus radiodurans, 96, 97 impacts by asteroids, cosmic, 34 Denning, Kathryn, 155 222 cultural, 379 Diatom, 138 moment of inertia, 115 Darwinian, 59, 140 Dick, Steven, v, viii, 22 nitrogen atmosphere, environmental Dickens, Charles, 384 220 inﬂuences on, 95 Dinosaurs, 53, 125 oldest rocks, 84 ﬁlter, 339, 340 Disk instability, 243, 250, oxygen atmosphere, 119 human, 338 251, 252 plate tectonics, 190 mass extinction, 67 DNA, 18, 20, 33, 52, 59, 60, prebiotic, 63 molecular, 20 63, 64, 65, 74, 95, 96, snowball episode, 117 of brain size, 157, 158 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 111, spectrum of, 299 of complexity, 129, 171 113, 128, 156, 173, 175, tectonics, 108 of eyes, 144, 383 194, 271, 349, 360, 381 Earth: Evolution of a Habitable of intelligence, 53, 132, Dolphin, 155, 156, 159 World, 189 140, 142, 157, 159, Doomsday scenario, 335, Ediacara era, 137 162, 323, 354, 357, 341, 342 Edison, Thomas, 372 365 Doppler method, 290 Electromagnetic radiation, of life, 16 Doppler shift, 255, 256, 257, 153, 325 post-biological, 334, 343, 259, 260, 268, 277, 286, Elephant, 161, 382 346, 359 313 Emergent phenomena, 354 rate of, 330, 339, 340 Doyle, Laurance, 156 Enceladus, 193, 196, 201, 202 technological, 332, 333, Dr. Strangelove, 369 geysers on, 202 380 Dragon’s Egg, 28 water on, 193 ExoMars spacecraft, 175 Dragons of Eden, 189 Encephalization quotient. Exoplanet Drake equation, 291, 344, 359 See Encephalization ratio 47 Ursa Majoris, 259 Drake, Frank, 7, 29, 180, 306, Encephalization ratio, 150, 51 Pegasus, 247, 259, 314, 317, 323, 340, 380, 159, 160, 161, 323 275, 286 384 Enzyme, 20, 62, 63, 76, 111, 55 Cancri, 261, 262 Druyan, Ann, v, 31, 35, 314 328 70 Virginis, 259, 260 Duck Creek formation, 130 Epistemology, 343 architectures, 220 Dyson, Freeman, 7, 189, 350, Ethogram, 152 atmospheres, 133, 275, 357 Eukaryote, 99, 131, 195 280, 288, 295 Europa biosignatures, 283 Earth analog, 226 composition, 281, 287, as a planet, 190 life on, 68, 109, 164, 302 biomass, 302 180, 192, 218, 339 cores, 291 cosmic perspective, 47 ocean, 218 density, 279, 286 early atmosphere, 18 Evolution, 129 detecting Earths, 268 extreme environments, 8 and contingency, 307 detection of, 7, 256, 259, formation of, 14, 82, 191 and diversity, 76 358

Index 401

Dinky, 266 Experimental science, 248 Fieldwork, 83, 95, 113, 124, discovery of, 180, 189, Exponential change, 328 136, 148, 149, 153, 174, 255 Extraterrestrial life 175, 176 diversity, 290 and popular culture, 38, Fine-tuning arguments, 343, Earth-like, 273, 277, 299, 40, 186, 349 344, 359 349 and religion, 227 Fischer, Debra, vi, viii, 262, eccentric orbits, 261, belief in, 186 264, 266 269, 271 civilizations, 310, 334, Focal animal sampling, 149 eclipses, 278, 286 335, 339, 344, 359 Forward, Robert, 28, 360 first discovery of, 231, colonization, 310, 325, Fossil, 86, 100, 115, 124, 129, 246, 285 334, 339, 345 133, 135, 136, 157, 212 Fourpiter, 266 contact with, 227 atomic, 89, 126 Gliese 876, 262 evidence for, 51, 127 body, 86 habitability, 190, 294 first discovery of, 196 molecular, 88 HD 149026, 262 history of idea, 23 trace, 87, 126 HD 209458, 287, 288 impact of discovery, 10, Foster, Jodie, 36, 37, 305, 314 hot Jupiters, 247, 250, 21, 173 Fractionation, 90 269, 275, 289 in an infinite universe, Frost, Robert, 6 imaging, 275 344 Fry, Iris, v, viii, 13 incidence of, 191 intelligent, 10, 307, 314, Fundamentalism, 38 Jupiter analogs, 261 318, 323, 375, 376 Future of Humanity life on moons of, 219 nature of, 380, 381 Institute, 338 mass distribution, 269 probability of, 338, 357, microlensing, 277 384 Gaia hypothesis, 66, 172, multiple-planet systems, sense of humor, 385 180, 190 266, 270 speculation about, 24 Galaxy Quest, 369 pulsar, 279 technology, 310, 323, Galilei, Galileo, 25, 180 rocky cores, 262 324, 325 Gamma ray burst, 311 size, 289 the search for, 349 Ganymede, 201 spectra, 299 world view, 29 Geochemical cycling, 103 super-Earths, 191, 260, Extra-vehicular activity, 45 Geological mapping, 84 261, 276, 283, 295 Extremophile, 64, 95, 96, Goldilocks principle, 8, 341 super-Jupiters, 191, 219, 100, 180, 183, 358 Goldin, Daniel, 180 276, 290 Eye Goldreich, Peter, 198, 247, survival in binary convergent evolution 248 system, 272 of, 162 Gould, Stephen Jay, 15, 132, temperature, 281 162, 307, 375 terrestrial, 268, 277, Fermi paradox. See Fermi Grand Tour of the Solar System, 291, 295 question 369 transiting, 276, 278, 279, Fermi question, 29, 53, 141, Gravity 281, 287, 290 310, 325, 333, 334, 335, strength of, 359, 360 Twopiter, 266 341, 344, 358, 359, 365 Grey goo scenario, 331 Upsilon Andromedae, Ferris, Timothy, v, viii, 3, Grinspoon, David, vi, viii, 266, 267, 270 6, 33 178

402 Index

Habitable zone, 65, 96, 180, Inertial Interchange True Late Heavy Bombardment, 201, 219, 270, 273, 277, Polar Wander, 115 90 294, 358 Inflationary cosmology, 362, Late veneer, 219 Haldane, J. B. S., 17, 18, 20 364 Lateral gene transfer, 194 Hanlon, Roger, v, viii, 143, Information technology, 322, Latham, David, 287 148 328, 330 Laughlin, Greg, 268 Hart, Michael, 325 Intelligent Life in the Universe, 6, Laws of nature, 363 Hawking, Stephen, 348 23, 318 Laws of physics, 51 Hayden Planetarium, 50, Interferometer, 296 Lederberg, Joshua, 179 317, 366 Interferometry, 318 Leshin, Laurie, vi, viii, 207, Hecht, Jennifer Michael, vi, International Space Station, 209 ix, 377 180, 371 Leslie, John, 342 Hemoglobin, 139 Io, 182, 185 Levinson, Hal, 270 Heraclitus, 38 life on, 185 Lewis, John, 179, 218 High Frontier, 119 Iodine, 257, 267, 268 Life Historical science, 353 Isotopic ratio, 219 alternative forms, 174 History of science, 33, 379 Issua rock formation, 86 and cosmic graininess, Homeobox genes, 117 360, 361 Horowitz, Paul, 307, 309 Jane Goodall, 35 and disequilibrium, 360 Howard, Andrew, 310 Joy, Bill, 327 and plate tectonics, 172 Hoyle, Fred, 343, 352, 359 Joyce, Gerald, 59 and thermodynamics, Hubble Space Telescope, 46, Jupiter 195 287, 297 core, 291 camouflage, 144, 145, Human enhancement, 338, life on, 77, 183 147, 148, 151, 152 346 moons of, 218 carbon-based, 72, 182 Human genome, 62 clay-based, 66 Human Genome project, 328 Kant, Immanuel, 14, 22 common ancestor, 107, Human morality, 380 Kasting, James, 189 121 Huygens, Christian, 54 Kauffman, Stuart, 182 contingent evolution, Huygens probe, 192, 203, Kepler, Johannes, 23, 25, 270 15, 21, 162 229, 234 Kepler spacecraft, 30, 191, creation in the lab, 19 Hydrodynamics, 251 291, 292 defining complexity, Hydrogen fluoride, 257, 267 Kirschvink, Joe, v, viii, 112 99, 127 Hydrothermal vent, 103, Knoll, Andrew, v, viii, 94, dependence on stars, 52 104, 105, 108 123, 130 earliest evidence for, Hypatia, 36, 37 Kubrick, Stanley, 369 86, 125 Hypothetical biology, 360 Kurzweil, Ray, vi, viii, 326, earliest organisms, 106 Hypothetical universes, 359, 329 emergent phenomenon, 360 194 Lagerstätten, 135, 136 energy source, 65, 107 Ice Lagrange points, 310 environmental properties of, 60 Lake Vostok, 226 influences, 101, 114, If the Universe is Filled Language, 164 129, 181 with Aliens, Where is Laplace, Pierre, 251 evolution of, 136 Everybody?, 358 Last common ancestor, 194 gene expression, 131

Index 403

genetic code, 107 Lowell, Percival, 26, 27 ozone in atmosphere, inevitability of, 130 Lunine, Jonathan, vi, viii, 238 ingredients for, 200 64, 188 perchlorate on, 238 limits of, 8, 96, 174, 201 permafrost, 173 magnetic sensing, 120, M dwarf, 265, 277, 292, robotic missions, 374 121 298 sample return, 214, 226, migrating betweeen star Magnetic monopole, 308 236 systems, 351 Magnetic reversal, 114 snow on, 239 multicellular, 91, 99 Magnetic stratiography, soil composition, 238 natural selection, 146, 113 subsurface aquifers, 169, 149 Magnetite, 119, 121 173 number of genes, 128 Manned Manuvering Unit, subsurface water, 235 on Klingon, 64 45 surface of, 8, 9, 91, 104, on Vulcan, 64, 65 Marcy, Geoff, vi, viii, 231, 109, 201, 208, 214, origin of, 13, 15, 24, 59, 247, 254, 260, 264, 265, 231, 233 90, 92, 353, 358 266, 273, 276, 287 testing the rovers, 233 persistence of, 180 Marine biology, 103, 144 transfer of life from, 17 phosphorus-based, 74 Mariner 2 spacecraft, 182 travel to, 55 range of conditions for, Marino, Lori, v, viii, 154, 158, water content, 169 358 323 water on, 68, 168, 169, role of boron, 60 Mars 215, 235 role of intelligence, 53, alkaline soil, 238 Mars Exploration Rovers, 145 atmosphere, 170 214, 234, 236 role of oxygen, 131, 171 canals on, 26 Mars Global Surveyor role of water, 60 carbonates on, 171 spacecraft, 170, 299 sensory processing, 145 colony on, 48, 177, 206 Mars meteorite. See ALH silicon-based, 52, 66, 71, exploration of, 176, 373 84001 meteorite 72, 111, 195 failed mission, 232, 236 Mars missions, 175 smallest organism, 51 geological activity, 170 Mars Odyssey spacecraft, 234 source of organic geology, 236 Mars Opportunity Rover, 68 material, 220 habitability, 171 Mars Pathﬁnder spacecraft, spontaneous generation, hydrological cycle, 171, 233 16 239 Mars Phoenix spacecraft, tool use in animals, 150 ice on, 234, 238 234, 235, 236, 238 use of energy, 52 life on, 8, 68, 91, 168, Mars Polar Lander spacecraft, weird, 21, 106, 111, 182, 175, 180, 181, 192, 172, 213, 229, 232 184, 193, 354 196, 215, 226, 236, Mars rover, 233 Life Finder spacecraft, 300 239, 300, 340, 350, Mars Science Laboratory Life on a Young Planet, 130 353, 369 spacecraft, 167, 175, Lin, Douglas, 261, 266 liquid on surface, 239 207, 213, 214, 237, 238 Linde, Andrei, 364 meteorites, 170 Martian meteorite, 180, 212, Lissauer, Jack, 248 methane on, 109, 300 222 Livio, Mario, 189 missions to, 168 Marx, Karl, 39, 381 London, Jack, 369 oxygen on, 171 Mass extinction, 113, 117 Lovelock, James, 27, 172 Mayor, Michel, 247, 265

404 Index

Mayr, Ernst, 28 Miller–Urey experiment, 19, follow the water, 68, McCowan, Brenda, 156 20, 27, 92 235 McKay, Chris, vi, viii, 167, Molecular diversity, 73 foundation of, 28 179, 189, 234 Molecular machine, 338 funding, 202 McKay, David, 127 Molecular system, 62 future missions, 205 McMillan, Robert, 247 Monte Carlo code, 244 Historical Reference Meadows, Vikki, vi, viii, 293 Moon Collection, 30 Melosh, Jay, 350 lack of water, 220 missions, 172 Meridiani Planum, 236 Moon, Mars, and Beyond road map, 307 Messenger, John, 143, 144 commission, 56, 193, secrets, 48 Metabolism, 76, 90, 107, 158, 215 support of astrobiology, 184, 300 Moons 28 primitive, 20 subsurface oceans, 201 support of SETI, 28, Metamorphism, 83, 125, 126 Moore’s law, 329 306 Metaphor Morris, Simon Conway, v, NASA Astrobiology Institute, for life, 28 viii, 134, 137, 307 81, 102, 155, 293, 295 in ﬁlm, 5 Morrison, Philip, 11, 308, National Academy of Meteorite, 208, 209 310, 315, 317, 357 Sciences, 35, 307, 348 amino acids in, 211, 212 Multicellularity, 53, 91, 100, Natural selection, 132 chemical composition, 131, 162, 195 Nebular lifetime, 210 210, 221 Multiverse, 24, 343 Nelson, George, v, viii, 41, chondrite, 208 Multiverse theory, 344, 362, 44, 46 Ensisheime, 223 363, 364 Neptune ﬂux per year, 224 Murmurs of Earth, 6, 7 rings of, 199 hunting in Antarctica, Musgrave, Story, 44 Neutron star, 28, 360 224, 225 Mutation, 132 New York Post, 53, 4 iron, 220, 224 Mysticism, 32 Newton, Isaac, 25, 52, 199, Kabbah, 223 244 L’Aigle, 223 N-body calculation, 245 Noyes, Bob, 285, 287 lunar, 225 Nanobot, 330, 331, 332, 335 Martian, 212 Nanotechnology, 328, 331, O’Neill, Gerard K., 119 organic material, 210 335 Observational selection, 338, primitive, 211 NASA, 371 343 stony, 223, 224 and descoping, 203 Occam’s razor, 343 Methane, 107, 281, 297, 301 and human exploration, Octopus, 53, 141, 143, 144, Methanogen, 116, 297 215 145, 146, 148, 149, 150, Microbes and SETI funding, 307 151, 152, 163, 381 culturing in the lab, 99 astrobiology program, Oliver, Barney, 306 survival in space, 351 168 Olympus Mons, 170 Microbial community, 95 astronaut program, 43 On the Origin of Species, 79, Microbiology, 94, 103 beaurocracy, 169 Oparin, Alexander, 17, 18, Microfossil, 126 budget history, 55, 297 20 Miller, Stanley, 18, 19, 20, Chief Historian, 22, 30 Orbital resonance, 270 27, 59, 92, 130 exobiology program, 27 Orgel, Leslie, 101

Index 405

Origins of Life, 350 Planetary exploration, 200 Radio astronomy, 312, 317 Oxygen, 297 Planetesimal, 210, 244, 272 Radioactive isotopes, 209, Ozone, 108, 176, 238, 263, Plato, 10 221 281, 298, 299, 300, 301, Plurality of Worlds, 23 Ramona, 332 314 Plurality of worlds idea, 23 Rare Earth, 21, 132, 172 Pluto Express spacecraft, 369 Rare Earth hypothesis, 8, Pace, Norman, 72 Poetry, 377, 378 119, 132, 182, 190, 192, Pale Blue Dot, 36 Polar Lander spacecraft, 234 340, 341, 384 Paleocene era, 116 Polarization, 152 Raymond, Sean, 190 Paleomagnetics, 113, 115 Pollack, James, 168, 179 Rees, Martin, vi, viii, 350, Paleontology, 82, 117, 127, Polycyclic aromatic 356, 357 135 hydrocarbons, 127 Reference class, 341, 342, Paleozoic era, 124 Polymerase Chain Reaction, 343 Panspermia, 16, 17, 100, 196, 175 Religion, 227 350, 351, 352 Pompeii, 88 Return to Mars, 370 Parrot, 161 Popular science, 327, 348 Reynolds number, 141 Pasteur, Louis, 16, 17, 379 Popularization, 35, 348 Ribose, 60, 65 Pathﬁnder spacecraft, 9, 229, Porco, Carolyn, vi, viii, 37, Rio Tinto mine, 64 232, 233, 234 197 RNA, 20, 59, 60, 63, 66, 98, Pathogen, 328 Porpoise, 155 101, 111, 194, 271 Payne, Roger, 7 Post hoc fallacy, 8 RNA World hypothesis, 59 Peel, Stanley, 244 Prebiotic chemistry, 78, 184, Robotic intelligence, 332 Pepperberg, Irene, 161 201, 210, 215 Robotics, 234, 327, 331 Perchlorate, 238 Precambrian era, 131 Rolling Stone, 3, 4, 6 Permian–Triassic boundary, Predeterminism, 352 Roosevelt, Eleanor, 37 113 Primordial soup, 18 Rothschild, Lynn, v, viii, 93 pH, 64, 96, 238 Privatization of space, 169, Russell, Maria Doria, 29 Pheromone, 161 371, 375 Russell, Michael, 73 Phosphorus, 220 Project OZMA, 306, 309, 312, Photosynthesis, 66, 95, 107, 317 Safronov, Victor, 244, 250 171, 301, 302 Prokaryote, 339 Sagan, Carl, 6, 23, 28, 32, 33, Pioneer 11 spacecraft, 230 Protein structure, 67 35, 51, 137, 138, 172, Pioneer Venus spacecraft, Proteomics, 194 178, 179, 180, 183, 189, 230 Protist, 94 254, 298, 305, 313, 314, Planet Pulsar, 320 318, 348, 357, 358, 374, deﬁnition of, 228 Pyrimidine, 77 375 dynamism, 181 Salpeter, Ed, 183, 358 formation, 191, 244, Quasar, 320 Saturn 246, 249 Queloz, Didier, 247, 265 moons of, 204 geological activity, 182 Quinn, Tom, 190 rings of, 198, 199, 204, habitability, 192 247 migration, 191, 247, Racemic mixture, 211 Schmidt, Otto, 244 248, 250, 261, 271, Radial velocity, 254, 256, Schrodinger, Edwin, 350, 276, 279, 290 267, 279, 283, 289 357

406 Index

Science and Greenstein Report, Snowball Earth, 115, 117, and popular culture, 369 307 118 apprenticeship, 256 and intelligence, 11 Social insect, 161 experimental, 14, 85, and pulsed lasers, 322 Socrates, 12 306 archeology of the future, Sodium, 67, 162, 280, 289 exponential growth 310 Solar Maximum spacecraft, of, 54 astroengineering, 324 43 historical, 14 blind search, 310 Solar nebula, 219 nature of, 198, 374 first detection, 324 Solar power satellite, 371 uncertainty in, 52 funding issues, 307, 313, Solar System Science education, 34 322 age of, 209, 221 Science fiction, ix, 25, 28, 29, Golden Fleece Award, dynamical state, 245, 38, 48, 71, 72, 73, 179, 306 269 186, 218, 293, 347, 359, optical, 11, 309, 321, 322 formation of, 208, 211, 360, 366, 367, 368, 369, parameter space, 308, 221 370, 375, 380 309, 312, 322 small bodies, 220 Science-fiction movies, 368 probability of detection, stable orbits, 245 Scientific discovery, 198 308 water, 219 Scientific method, 32, 34, radio, 309, 317, 321 Solvent, 66, 72, 111 223 search strategy, 358 Somnium, 25 Scout program, 234 sensitivity, 312, 319 Sonneborn, Tracy, 98 Seager, Sara, vi, viii, 274 signal bandwidth, 309, Soter, Steve, 34 Search for Extraterrestrial 320 Space Intelligence, 306, signal energy costs, 321 colonization of, 374 See SETI signal verification, 313, cost of missions, 205 Second genesis, 349, 353 319 elevator, 372, 373 Seeing in the Dark, 3, 5 signals, 309 habitat, 375 Selection effect, 341 Soviet scientists, 318 humans in, 46, 56, Self-sampling assumption, strategy, 29 216 342 targeted search, 309 missions, 230 Serkowski, Kristof, 231 targets, 312 our future in, 47 SETI, 133, 164, 186, 334, 349, transmitters, 323 privatization of, 56 358 Shadow biosphere, 353 program, 27, 43, 47, 48, “wow” signal, 319, 320 Shklovsky, Ivan, 6, 23, 318 54, 55, 173, 199, and anthropocentrism, Shostak, Seth, vi, viii, 312, 216, 371 313, 323 316 robots in, 46, 56 and anthropology, 30 Silane, 182 tourism, 47, 56 and anthropomorphism, Silicon chemistry, 70 travel, 54 11 Simulation hypothesis, 2420, walk in, 43 and astrophysics, 320 324, 333, 345, 365 Space exploration, 371 and communication, Singularity, 329, 334, 335 future of, 205, 375 152 Smith, Peter, vi, viii, 229, human, 373 and cultural preference, 233, 235 public support, 371 318 Smith, William, 135 robotic, 373

Index 407

Space Interferometry Terrestrial Planet Finder, Twain, Mark, 6, 372 Mission, 295 133, 193, 263, 272, 282, Tyson, Neil deGrasse, v, viii, Space Shuttle, 41, 43, 44, 45, 283, 295, 296, 298 50 180, 371 The Age of Spiritual Machines, Spatial dimensions 327 UFOs, 29, 54, 186, 313, 317, number of, 364 The Biological Universe, 23, 349, 350 Speed of light, 49, 310, 324, 27, 29 Ultramasic rock, 109 334, 345, 375 The Cosmic Connection, 189 Uniformity of nature, 25 Spirit and Opportunity Mars The Creation of the Universe, 3, Universal biochemistry, 72, rovers, 196 5, 10 140, 359 Spirituality, 38, 186 The Emergence of Life on Earth, Universe or Multiverse?, 363 Spitzer Space Telescope, 210, 13 Urey, Harold, 18, 19, 20, 27, 277, 281, 291 The Evolution of the 92, 189 Sputnik, 42, 218 Protoplanetary Cloud and Squyres, Steven, 68 the Formation of the Earth Vatican Observatory, 221 Star Trek, 66, 369, 383 and the Planets, 244 Venera 13 spacecraft, 183 Steele, Duncan, 350 The New Yorker, 194 Venus Stellar granulation, 260 The Red Limit, 5 atmosphere of, 294 Stevenson, David, 65 The Singularity is Near, 326, habitability, 192 Stoker, Carol, 234 330 life on, 111, 182 String theory, 364 The Sparrow, 29 nitrogen in atmosphere, Stromatolite, 87, 88, 89, 126, The War of the Worlds, 28 220 302 Tholins, 231 surface of, 61, 183 Structure formation, 360, Thomas, Lewis, 8 Verne, Jules, 54 361 Time travel, 349 Victoria Crater, 128 Substrate independence, 346 Timing argument, 164, 323, Viking spacecraft, 8, 9, 26, Sulfur, 77, 89, 90, 107, 111, 325, 335, 341, 345 27, 94, 103, 104, 137, 126, 127, 185, 192, 238, Titan, 231 138, 167, 168, 169, 174, 297, 301 atmosphere of, 231 175, 179, 208, 230, 239 Sulfur dioxide, 185 future missions to, Virtual Planetary Laboratory, Sulfuric acid, 183 205 293, 294, 295 Sun-like stars, 191, 256, 258, landing on, 204 Virtual reality, 49, 331, 332, 269, 277, 292, 298 life on, 73, 77, 173, 184, 372 Szostak, Jack, 59, 65 193 Vogt, Steve, 273 methane cycle, 184 von Braun, Werner, 48 Tardigrade, 97, 98 methane on, 184, 297 Von Neumann probes, 339, Tarter, Jill, vi, viii, 36, 37, surface of, 61, 193 345 305, 317 Tomasko, Martin, 230 Voyager record, 3, 6, 7 Taylor Valley, 174 Transit method, 278, 286, Voyager spacecraft, 3, 6, 7, TCA cycle, 108 290 36, 197, 198, 199, 200, Technological progress, Tree of life, 20, 100, 105, 203, 231 308 121, 129, 194, 353 Technology, 327, 329, 338 Tremaine, Scott, 247, Walker, James, 172 Telluric lines, 267, 268 248 Ward, Peter, 172

408 Index

Water Woese, Carl, 105, 106 Writing, 368, 378 delivery by comets, Women in science, 200, 265, 219 314 X-Prize Competition, 47 phase diagram, 61 World view Webb, Stephen, 358 ancient Greek, 23 Young Sun paradox, 172 Wells, Martin, 144 anthropocentric, 33, 39, Young, J. Z., 141 Wetherill, George, 244 359, 381, 382 Whale, 155, 157 Cartesian, 24 Zeeman effect, 256 What is Life?, 350, 357 Newtonian, 25 Zemekis, Robert, 36 Whittington, Harry, 135, pre-Copernican, Zero gravity, 44 138 33 Zircon crystal, 82, 115, 116 Wired magazine, 327 Wormhole, 349 Zubrin, Robert, 374