Lewis Dartnell - Life in the Universe: A Beginners Guide

ONEWORLD BEGINNERS GUIDES combine an original, inventive, and engaging approach with expert analysis on subjects ranging from art and history to religion and politics, and everything in between. Innovative and affordable, books in the series are perfect for anyone curious about the way the world works and the big ideas of our time.

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art

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fair trade

feminism

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life in the universe

literary theory

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mafia & organized crime

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NATO

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the northern ireland conflict

oil

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paul

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philosophy of science

planet earth

postmodernism

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quantum physics

the quran

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renaissance art

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the torah

sufism

volcanoes

LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE

A Oneworld Book
Published by Oneworld Publications 2007
Reprinted 2009
This ebook edition published in 2012

Copyright Lewis Dartnell 2007

All rights reserved
Copyright under Berne Convention
A CIP record for this title is available from the British Library

ISBN: 9781851685059
ebook ISBN: 9781780741635

Typeset by Jayvee, Trivandrum, India
Cover design by Two Associates

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For Vicky

I love you

You hold in your hands Life in the Universe: A Beginners Guide; thank you for picking it from the shelf. This book tells the story of our place in the cosmos and the prospects for finding life beyond the Earth, a field of scientific research that has come to be called astrobiology. It has been written as both a popular science book, for anyone curious about the existence of life out there, and also an entry-level primer for undergraduate or postgraduate students starting a course in astrobiology. A glossary and reading list have been included at the back of this book to help those starting afresh in this field.

Over the coming chapters well consider some of the most fundamental questions in science. What actually is life? How did it develop on our own world? In what way might the Earth be special, or the entire Universe be fortuitously set-up to allow life? Where else in the solar system or galaxy as a whole might the conditions for life be met? Well take a look at some of the hardiest life-forms known on Earth, how cells might be transferred between planets, and what dangers lurk out in the depths of space. Well travel through four billion years of our planets history and take a guided tour of the mostly likely abodes in our own solar system, before voyaging out to the pinprick stars that speckle our skies.

I encountered three main problems writing this book on astrobiology. The first was both a joy and a frustration. As astrobiology is such a fast-paced discipline, some information will have become out-dated even before the ink has dried on the page. For example, since completing the draft the first terrestrial planet orbiting another main sequence star has been discovered, a world only five times bigger than Earth. The planet is not thought able to bear life as it lies far beyond the habitable zone of its cool red dwarf star, but it does constitute the most Earth-like discovery so far. An equally ground-breaking finding has been made within our own solar system. Enceladus, a small moon of Saturn, has been discovered to be surprisingly active; spewing out a plume of water from an area of blue tiger stripes near its south pole. Astrobiologists have always over-looked this unimposing moon, but the realization now is that with pockets of liquid water there is the possibility of life even here. In support of this is the steadily amassing evidence that certain cold-tolerant cells on Earth remain active well below 20 C, the temperature previously thought to represent the lowest limit for life.

Second, this new discipline spans an enormous diversity of different research areas, each with their own extensive body of background knowledge and terminology. I have done my best to present all these facets equally, whilst being careful not to swamp the text with excessive jargon or peripheral detail.

Thirdly, astrobiology is still at an early stage of development, striving to secure its foundations in scientific bedrock. Much of the data collected so far is ambiguous and we have a very incomplete picture of many of the most crucial areas, resulting in fierce controversy and debate over correct interpretations. I have tried to fairly present all sides of an argument, but been careful not to lose the reader in an intricate and bewildering web of conflicting evidence, claims and counter-arguments. Despite discussing many of these ideas with the leaders in the field and rigorously checking every fact, misrepresentations and factual errors will still invariably have crept into the text. For these I apologise.

It goes without saying that this book would have been impossible without the selfless efforts of many people, offering me their time to comment on the evolving drafts and help check facts and theories, as well as countless fascinating conversations in conference coffee rooms, corridors and staircases. A few deserving special mention include Alan Aylward, Emily Baldwin, Tom Bell, Andrew Coates, Ian Crawford, Chris Lintott, Nicola McLoughlin, John Parnell, Andrew Pomiankowski, Dave Waltham, John Ward, and Julian Wimpenny. Great thanks also to my expert illustrator Piran Sucindran, copy editor Ann Grand and the hard-working team at Oneworld Publications; Marsha Filion, Kate Smith, and Mike Harpley.

But perhaps the most important acknowledgements are for those who dont realise how valuable their influence has been. I speak here of my friends and family that have hauled me through the rough patches of this project, and especially my grandfather who bought a young schoolboy his first popular science book, and opened my mind to the marvels of the Universe. I owe you all an incalculable debt of gratitude.

Lewis Dartnell

London, 2007