Current trends in astrobiology / by C Sivaram, Kenath Arun and Kiren O V.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sivaram, C., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Exobiology.

Extrasolar planets.

Life--Origin.

Life.

Life on other planets.

Astronautics.

Outer space--Exploration.

Outer space.

Physical Description:

xi, 147 pages ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK : Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2018.

Contents:

Chapter I Wonders of Life on Earth p. 1

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 Possibilities of Life in the Solar System beyond Earth p. 23

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

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 Exoplanets: Suitability of Life p. 41

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

Chapter IV 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 Environment and Life p. 82

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 Life and the Universe p. 90

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

Chapter VII Detection of Alien Technology p. 109

1 Detection of ET's 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 Advanced Alien Technology p. 121

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 Human Influence on Life p. 127

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.

Notes:

Includes index.

ISBN:

9781527514188

1527514188

OCLC:

1047588872

Publisher Number:

99978190520