The Biological Universe
Life in the Milky Way and Beyond
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- $214.99
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- $214.99
Publisher Description
Are we alone in the universe, or are there other life forms 'out there'? This is one of the most scientifically and philosophically important questions that humanity can ask. Now, in the early 2020s, we are tantalizingly close to an answer. As this book shows, the answer will almost certainly be that life forms are to be found across the Milky Way and beyond. They will be thinly spread, to be sure. Yet the number of inhabited planets probably runs into the trillions. Some are close enough for us to detect evidence of life by analysing their atmospheres. This evidence may be found within a couple of decades. Its arrival will be momentous. But even before it arrives we can anticipate what life elsewhere will be like by examining the ecology and evolution of life on Earth. This book considers the current state of play in relation to these titanic issues.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Evolutionary biologist Arthur (Life Through Time and Space) addresses this readable if unrevelatory study to the question of whether life exists beyond Earth. His answer is straightforward: "There are many planets in the universe with intelligent life, but they comprise only a tiny fraction of the gazillions' of planets that exist, and indeed only a small fraction of those planets that have life." Arthur divides the work into four sections, one on life on Earth, and the others covering "the current state of knowledge about planetary systems, with a focus on habitability"; the ongoing search for life beyond Earth; and life beyond the Milky Way in "the universe as a whole." Along the way, Arthur explains the work of James Clerk Maxwell, who laid the theoretical groundwork for the discovery of radio waves (a staple in the search for intelligent life), and how gravity influenced the development of life on Earth (which leads him to conclude that "large organisms, whichever planet they are found on, possess skeletal structures"). While the science is made accessible, those familiar with the search for intelligent life likely won't find much new. Still, those unfamiliar with hypotheses outlining the possibility of life beyond Earth will find some thought-provoking ideas here.
