Goldilocks and the Water Bears
The Search for Life in the Universe
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- 11,99 €
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- 11,99 €
Description de l’éditeur
'Highly recommended' Financial Times
Today we know of only a single planet that hosts life: the Earth. But across a Universe of at least 100 billion possibly habitable worlds, surely our planet isn't the only one which, like the porridge Goldilocks sought, is just right for life?
Astrobiologists search the galaxy for conditions that are suitable for life to exist, focusing on similar worlds located at the perfect distance from their Sun, within the aptly named 'Goldilocks Zone'. Such a place might have liquid water on its surface, and may therefore support a thriving biosphere.
What might life look like on other worlds? It is possible to make best-guesses using facts rooted in science, and by studying 'extremophiles' – organisms such as the near-indestructible water bears, which can survive in the harshest conditions that Earth, and even space, can offer.
Goldilocks and the Water Bears is a tale of the origins and evolution of life, and the quest to find it on other planets, on moons, in other galaxies, and throughout the Universe.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this whimsically titled pop science book, Preston, an astrobiologist and planetary geologist, illuminates the search for extraterrestrial life and the science that will help researchers find it. First, Preston says, people need to realize that alien life will most likely be nothing like the ETs imagined in science fiction books or films. Before scientists can search for it, they need to narrow down the places to look. Scientists use "the Goldilocks zone" to refer to the range within a galaxy of planetary conditions that could support life worlds that are neither too hot nor too cold and possess young home stars with relatively high metal content that are stable enough to last the billions of years needed for life to emerge and evolve. Preston describes some "biosignatures," or chemical and geological indicators of the presence of life, that scientists can look for as well. He notes that one way to guess what alien life might look like is by studying extremophiles creatures that live in Earth's most extreme environments such as the "endearing, eight-legged, all but indestructible" tardigrade (the "water bears" of the title). Preston's accessible writing style, enthusiasm, and optimism succeed at informing as well as tickling readers' imaginations.