The Life of Super-Earths: How the Hunt for Alien Worlds and Artificial Cells Will Revolutionize Life on Our Planet [NOOK Book]

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Overview

In 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus fomented a revolution when he debunked the geocentric view of the universe, proving instead that our planet wasn’t central to the universe. Almost five hundred years later, the revolution he set in motion is nearly complete. Just as earth is not the center of things, the life on it, it appears, is not unique to the planet. Or is it? The Life of Super-Earths is a breathtaking tour of current efforts to answer the age-old question: Are we alone in the universe? Astronomer Dimitar Sasselov, the founding director of Harvard University’s Origins of Life Initiative, takes us on a fast-paced hunt for habitable planets and alien life forms. He shows how the search for “super-Earths”—rocky planets ...
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Overview

In 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus fomented a revolution when he debunked the geocentric view of the universe, proving instead that our planet wasn’t central to the universe. Almost five hundred years later, the revolution he set in motion is nearly complete. Just as earth is not the center of things, the life on it, it appears, is not unique to the planet. Or is it? The Life of Super-Earths is a breathtaking tour of current efforts to answer the age-old question: Are we alone in the universe? Astronomer Dimitar Sasselov, the founding director of Harvard University’s Origins of Life Initiative, takes us on a fast-paced hunt for habitable planets and alien life forms. He shows how the search for “super-Earths”—rocky planets like our own that orbit other stars—may provide the key to answering essential questions about the origins of life here and elsewhere. That is, if we don’t find the answers to those questions here first. As Sasselov and other astronomers have uncovered planets with mixes of elements different from our own, chemists have begun working out the heretofore unseen biochemistries that those planets could support. That knowledge is feeding directly into synthetic biology—the effort to build wholly novel forms of life—making it likely that we will first discover truly “alien” life forms in an earthly lab, rather than on a remote planet thousands of light years away.  Sasselov tells the gripping story of a moment of unprecedented potential—a convergence of pioneering efforts in astronomy and biology to peer into the unknown. The Life of Super-Earths offers nothing short of a transformation in our understanding of life and its place in the cosmos.

Editorial Reviews

Library Journal
As the codiscoverer of several extrasolar planets, Sasselov (astronomy, Harvard Univ.) provides an insider's view on planet hunting. He argues that Earth barely meets conditions favoring the formation and maintenance of life, being just large enough to hang onto an atmosphere and having just enough tectonic activity to support a chemical cycle that stabilizes the surface temperature and helps maintain liquid water on the planet's surface. It's actually the "super-Earths" of the universe—rocky, higher-mass planets—that are most likely to harbor life of some kind. The author believes that scientists will eventually discover one or more candidates. (In fact, NASA's Kepler Mission recently identified a super-Earth warm enough for liquid water to exist.) VERDICT An interesting read, but Sasselov overuses technical jargon and underemploys supporting illustrations while explaining complex astronomical research techniques. Consequently, the potential audience is limited to readers who already possess a broad background in the physical sciences. Biology buffs be warned: there's little about life itself (whether terrestrial, synthetic, or alien) in this book.—Nancy Curtis, Univ. of Maine Lib., Orono
Kirkus Reviews
Since astronomers discovered the first planet circling another star in 1995, they've found hundreds; predictably, this has energized the debate on whether life exists beyond Earth. Sasselov (Astronomy/Harvard Univ.) reviews the hard evidence in favor (not much) before proceeding to explain discoveries and simulations that suggest we are not alone. No telescope has directly observed an extra-solar planet, but the author delivers a clear explanation of how instruments and, since 2009, a satellite are detecting subtle changes in a star's light or movement that reveal not only the presence of planets (600 so far) but their size, orbits and a hint of their composition. Sasselov maintains that the minority of "super-earths" possess conditions favorable to life: proper temperature, protective atmosphere, volcanism and tectonic movements. These are rocky, watery planets from one to 10 times the mass of Earth, which barely makes the cut. The author reminds readers that life is not fussy. Microbes thrive inside Antarctic ice sheets and in hot rock miles beneath us. Near boiling vents at the sea bottom, far beyond the reach of sunlight, they feed on hydrogen sulfide or other toxic chemicals that spew out and support a dense ecosystem of higher life forms. Life has existed for four billion years, a time comparable to the age of the universe (13 billion), so it may be a normal cosmic process along with planet formation. As short, cogent and stimulating as John Gribbin's Alone in the Universe (2011), but far more optimistic. Readers should check out both.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780465023400
  • Publisher: Basic Books
  • Publication date: 1/24/2012
  • Sold by: Barnes & Noble
  • Format: eBook
  • Pages: 240
  • Sales rank: 317,875
  • File size: 1 MB

Meet the Author

Dimitar Sasselov is a Professor of Astronomy at Harvard University and the Founder and Director of the Harvard Origins of Life Initiative. His research has been covered by the New York Times, the Boston Globe, and others. He lives in Auburndale, Massachusetts.

 

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