Current Trends in Astrobiology

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Current Trends in Astrobiology Current Trends in Astrobiology Current Trends in Astrobiology By C Sivaram, Kenath Arun and Kiren O V Current Trends in Astrobiology By C Sivaram, Kenath Arun, Kiren O V This book first published 2018 Cambridge Scholars Publishing Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2018 by C Sivaram, Kenath Arun, Kiren O V All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-5275-1418-8 ISBN (13): 978-1-5275-1418-8 CONTENTS Preface ........................................................................................................ ix Chapter I ...................................................................................................... 1 Wonders of Life on Earth 1. Advanced technology practiced by ‘primitive’ biological systems 2. Subterranean life 3. How early did life begin on Earth? 4. Naica crystal caves host long dormant life 5. Tardigrades could exist in hostile alien environments 6. Did terrestrial terraforming by algae transform life on Earth? 7. Trees as a dominant form of life 8. Biological Big Bang and oxygen levels 9. The ‘biological dark matter’ problem 10. Our optimal organs 11. Heart power and brain power 12. Fastest flying animals: some interesting features 13. Dinosaurs: endotherms or ectotherms? 14. Universal bioluminescence 15. Universality of mass to area ratio: from biological to astronomical structures 16. Large numbers in biology 17. Loudest noise emitted by living systems 18. Damuth’s law 19. A century of drifting continents and plate tectonics 20. World Asteroid Day – June 30 21. Earth’s weakening magnetic field 22. Would the whole Earth end up as a ‘Dead Sea’ after two billion years? Chapter II ................................................................................................... 23 Possibilities of Life in the Solar System beyond Earth 1. Water found on Ceres 2. Geysers on Enceladus, Triton, and Earth 3. Evidence of oceans everywhere in the solar system 4. Titian’s oceans and lakes and sea of Enceladus vi Contents 5. Salt water on Mars 6. Pluto – an icy mountain world 7. Subsurface frozen ocean on Pluto’s moon Charon 8. Ocean beneath Pluto’s surface 9. Saturn’s moon Dione could also have an ocean 10. Exploring Europa 11. Two comets currently of interest 12. Enceladus may host alien life 13. Atmospheric alterations may make Mars more habitable 14. New planet X 15. Snow White: a new dwarf planet found Chapter III ................................................................................................. 41 Exoplanets: Suitability of Life 1. Potentially habitable planets in the galaxy could number billions 2. Varying and fluctuating habitable zones 3. Does being in a habitable zone guarantee that a planet is suitable for evolution of life? 4. Do exoplanets follow a Titius-Bode like law? 5. Detectability of biosignatures on exoplanets 6. Searching suitable atmospheres around exoplanets 7. Earth’s twin need not necessarily host biological life 8. Nearest star Proxima Centauri has Earth-like planet 9. Seven Earth-size planets orbiting TRAPPIST-1 10. TRAPPIST-1 system ten times older than thought earlier 11. Habitable planets orbiting white dwarfs 12. Potentially habitable planet orbiting nearby star 13. Kepler finds ten Earth-like planets 14. Eight exoplanets around Kepler-90 15. Kepler-186f: an Earth twin? 16. Kepler-10c: Earth’s much older big cousin 17. Kepler-452b: implications for Earth’s future 18. Jupiter-like planet (Kepler-1647b) discovered orbiting two stars 19. Ross 128b, possible new exohabitat 20. Magnetic fields may make planets habitable 21. Planet hotter than many stars 22. Free-floating homeless exoplanets 23. The not-so surprising free-floating planets Current Trends in Astrobiology vii Chapter IV ................................................................................................. 73 Space Missions: Present and Future 1. Nuclear-powered submarine to explore Titan’s Kraken Mare 2. Need for a Pluto Orbital Probe 3. Lasers may propel a multitude of miniature spacecraft to nearest star 4. Schiaparelli probe proves futile as with the observations of its namesake astronomer 5. OSIRIS-REX mission to asteroid Bennu 6. Juno’s close observation of Jupiter – by Jove 7. PLATO mission to be launched 8. New Horizons’ rendezvous with MU69 9. UAE’s Mars probe Chapter V .................................................................................................. 82 Environment and Life II. 1. On the longevity of advanced extra-terrestrial intelligence 2. White dwarf system contains life’s building blocks 3. First chiral organic molecule found in space 4. Methyl isocyanate detected around infant stars 5. Possible astrobiological effects of Poynting – Robertson drag 6. Can Usain Bolt fly on Titan? 7. Earth Day – April 22 Chapter VI ................................................................................................. 90 Life and the Universe III. 1. When did life first originate in the Universe? 2. Earliest possible life in the Universe 3. Implications of a dark energy dominated universe for astrobiology 4. A universe with hardly any antimatter 5. Astrobiological implications of neutrinos 6. Detection of gravitational waves – any effect of a powerful blast of GW on biological life? 7. Oxygen detected in very distant (ancient) galaxy 8. First extra-galactic hot molecular core discovered 9. CR 7, football, population III stars and implications for early life in the Universe 10. Bioenergetics and stellar luminosities 11. Can primordial black holes sustain long-lived living systems? 12. Cocksure about the origin of the Universe, but quite uncertain about our own origin viii Contents Chapter VII .............................................................................................. 109 Detection of Alien Technology IV. 1. Detection of ETs by their advanced alien technology 2. Can Colossus detect Dyson spheres? 3. Possibility of detection of radio (radar) reflected signals (echoes) from ET artefacts (lurking in the solar system) using 500m FAST telescope 4. Detection of dead ETs resulting from alien apocalypse 5. Replacing the Drake equation 6. Alternative standard frequencies for interstellar communication 7. Interstellar asteroid to be checked for signs of alien technology 8. Biomolecules that could provide unique signatures of alien life Chapter VIII ............................................................................................ 121 Advanced Alien Technology V. 1. Search for Extraterrestrial Artificial Intelligence (SETAI) 2. Can advanced ETIs create sub-Hubble lifetime PBHs? 3. Possible triggering of gamma ray bursts by advanced ETIs 4. FAST: planned world’s largest non-steerable radio telescope 5. Alien mega-structure 6. Can we convey to advanced ETs when a spacecraft is launched? Chapter IX ............................................................................................... 127 Human Influence on Life VI. 1. Four hundred years of logarithmic power 2. Human heat release 3. Man, the exterminator 4. Paris accord on climate change 5. Hawking’s warning about humanity’s future Problems of Astrobiological Interest ...................................................... 135 Hints to Selected Problems ...................................................................... 141 Index ........................................................................................................ 146 PREFACE Astrobiology has been rapidly emerging as a field of intense scientific and technological activity. The numerous recent space probes to various celestial objects, including comets and asteroids, to look for the possible existence of alien primeval life, have attracted much interest. It began with the Viking landings on Mars, followed by several other spacecraft. The Galileo Mission to Jupiter, and the Cassini Probe to Saturn, revealed that several of the moons of these giant planets could contain vast quantities of water beneath their surfaces. Europa, Ganymede, and Enceladus are all examples of this. Titan’s intriguing liquid methane atmospheric cycle appears similar to that of Earth’s water cycle. The icy worlds of Pluto, and the TNOs, beyond could also contain the crucial compound we know as water. So far, our own pale blue dot (terra firma) is the only celestial body known to definitely host life, and we do observe a wide diversity of life on Earth. It is of great interest to discuss the origin of life on Earth, including aspects such as the biological ‘Big Bang,’ large numbers in biology, the optimal design of several species, extremophiles, etc. The possibility of life on other objects in our solar system, especially on the satellites of the giant planets, is also of current interest. The existence of over 3000 exoplanets has thrown up a menagerie of possible abodes for exotic life. Several of them are in their star’s habitable zone; many suspected to hold more water than Earth. There are several planetary space missions currently in operation, and plenty are planned for the future. Several aspects of the suitability of life on exoplanets include: discussion on habitable zones, searching for suitable atmospheres, and biosignatures. Recent discoveries of Earth-like planets
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