Life in the Solar System and Beyond

Barrie W. Jones

Although at present there is no firm evidence for extraterrestrial life, enormous progress has been made in recent years, both in our understanding of life on Earth and of the potential for life existing elsewhere in the Universe. In this thought-provoking book, Barrie Jones discusses the origins and evolution of life on Earth and looks at those places within and beyond our Solar System where life might exist.

Life in the Solar System and Beyond embraces aspects from all the core areas of science - astronomy, planetary science, chemistry, biology and physics.

The book

discusses the origins and evolution of life on Earth, the one place known to be inhabited;
assesses the likelihood of life existing within our Solar System beyond Earth, particularly on two promising habitats: the Red Planet, Mars, and Jupiteršs icy moon, Europa;
investigates the types of stars that might host habitable planets, and where in our Galaxy these might be concentrated;
describes the latest instruments and techniques being employed to discover planets around other stars;
reviews the known planetary systems of other stars and looks ahead to those we expect to discover soon, particularly habitable planets;
focuses on the search for extraterrestrial beings, and on how contact will be made if intelligent life is found.
provides significant insight for a wide variety of undergraduate courses, including astronomy, astrobiology, planetary science, geology and space science.

Extent: 344 pages
Binding: Paperback
Publication Date: February 2004
ISBN: 978-1-85233-101-6

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