Alien oceans : the search for life in the depths of space / Kevin Peter Hand.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hand, Kevin Peter, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Life on other planets.

Exobiology.

Physical Description:

xii, 281 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (black and white, and colour) ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2020]

Summary:

"Inside the epic quest to find life on the water-rich moons at the outer reaches of the solar system. Where is the best place to find life beyond Earth? We often look to Mars as the most promising site in our solar system, but recent scientific missions have revealed that some of the most habitable real estate may actually lie farther away. Beneath the frozen crusts of several of the small, ice-covered moons of Jupiter and Saturn lurk vast oceans that may have been in existence for as long as Earth, and together may contain more than fifty times its total volume of liquid water. Could there be organisms living in their depths? Alien Oceans reveals the science behind the thrilling quest to find out. Kevin Peter Hand is one of today's leading NASA scientists, and his pioneering research has taken him on expeditions around the world. In this captivating account of scientific discovery, he brings together insights from planetary science, biology, and the adventures of scientists like himself to explain how we know that oceans exist within moons of the outer solar system, like Europa, Titan, and Enceladus. He shows how the exploration of Earth's oceans is informing our understanding of the potential habitability of these icy moons, and draws lessons from what we have learned about the origins of life on our own planet to consider how life could arise on these distant worlds. Alien Oceans describes what lies ahead in our search for life in our solar system and beyond, setting the stage for the transformative discoveries that may await us." -- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: Prologue: The Bottom

ch. 1 Ocean Worlds on Earth and Beyond

ch. 2 The New Goldilocks

ch. 3 The Rainbow Connection

ch. 4 Babysitting a Spacecraft

ch. 5 How I Learned to Love Airport Security

ch. 6 Lady with a Veil

ch. 7 The Queen of Carbon

ch. 8 Oceans Everywhere

ch. 9 Becoming Inhabited

ch. 10 Origins in an Alien Ocean

ch. 11 Building an Ocean World Biosphere

ch. 12 The Octopus and the Hammer

ch. 13 A Periodic Table for Life

ch. 14 Seeking Signs of Life

ch. 15 A New Age of Ocean Exploration.

ISBN:

9780691179513

0691179514

OCLC:

1119530795