Xtl: Extraterrestrial Life and How to Find It - Softcover

Goodwin, Simon; Gribbin, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1841881937 ISBN 13: 9781841881935

Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd, 2003

Synopsis

Two top astronomers (and bestselling authors) take a cutting-edge look at how life itself develops, survives, evolves, becomes intelligent, and where it might exist in outer space. Illustrated with breathtaking photos and state-of-the-art graphics, this thrilling story reveals a newfound understanding of the conditions that fostered life on Earth; how stars and planets are formed; the specific qualities of the Sun and planets in our solar system; and the techniques required to observe phenomena outside our system. The fascinating advances in technology and information revealed here could enable us to locate extraterrestrials within the next 20 years!

About this title

About the Author

John Gribbin has a Ph.D. in astrophysics from Cambridge, and is now Visiting Fellow in Astronomy at the University of Sussex and consultant to New Scientist. His books have been translated into many languages, and have won awards in both Britain and the United States. He also writes science fiction. JOHN GRIBBIN is a best-selling writer, lecturer and broadcaster. Since 1992 he has been a Visiting Fellow in Astronomy at the University of Sussex. He led the recent project that discovered the age of the universe and is a household name. SIMON GOODWIN is a lecturer at Cardiff University and author of many books. His first book, HUBBLE'S UNIVERSE, was an instant success when it was published in 1996.

From Booklist

What makes this book different from other descriptions of the search for life on other planets is its up-to-the-minute coverage of recent research and discoveries, its use of many photos taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and NASA space probes, and a nice sampling of extraterrestrial vistas as imagined by space artists who offer their insight into what a sunrise on an extrasolar planet must look like. Goodwin and Gribbin recount recent discoveries by astronomers of planets orbiting other stars; the likelihood of life arising in our own solar system, especially on Mars, Europa (a moon orbiting Jupiter), and Titan (a moon of Saturn); the latest ideas in the search for signals from intelligent extraterrestrials, including the highly sensitive Square Kilometer Array radio telescope and the SETI@home project that utilizes home computers to analyze data collected by the Arecibo telescope in Puerto Rico; and evidence that there may be many other solar systems in our galaxy. A good, not overly technical introduction to the subject. George Eberhart
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About this edition

• Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1841881937
• ISBN 13: 9781841881935
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192