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Astrobiology: the road to life in the universe.

The Road to Life in the Universe. At lower left is Mars above and behind a small portion of Earth in the foreground. Beyond Mars, up and to the right, is Europa. Finally, at upper right, is a star with an orbiting planet. To the right of these objects, a road of stars winds its way into the distance, with a scientific spacecraft following the road to scientific discovery.
In this fanciful montage produced by a NASA artist, we see one roadmap for discovering life in the universe. Learning more about the origin, evolution, and properties of life on Earth aids us in searching for evidence of life beyond our planet. Our neighbor world, Mars, had warmer, wetter conditions billions of years ago that might have helped life there begin. Farther out, Jupiter’s moon Europa represents the icy moons of the outer solar system. Beneath their shells of solid ice may lie vast oceans of liquid water that could support biology. Beyond our solar system are stars that host their own planets, some of which might be similar to Earth in the ability to support liquid water—and a thriving biosphere—at the planet’s surface. Research is pushing actively in all these directions with the goal of proving a scientific answer to the question, “Are we alone?” (credit: modification of work by NASA)

As we have learned more about the universe, we have naturally wondered whether there might be other forms of life out there. The ancient question, “Are we alone in the universe?” connects us to generations of humans before us. While in the past, this question was in the realm of philosophy or science fiction, today we have the means to seek an answer through scientific inquiry. In this chapter, we will consider how life began on Earth, whether the same processes could have led to life on other worlds, and how we might seek evidence of life elsewhere. This is the science of astrobiology.

The search for life on other planets is not the same as the search for intelligent life, which (if it exists) is surely much rarer. Learning more about the origin, evolution, and properties of life on Earth aids us in searching for evidence of all kinds of life beyond that on our planet.

Questions & Answers

if three forces F1.f2 .f3 act at a point on a Cartesian plane in the daigram .....so if the question says write down the x and y components ..... I really don't understand
Syamthanda Reply
hey , can you please explain oxidation reaction & redox ?
Boitumelo Reply
hey , can you please explain oxidation reaction and redox ?
Boitumelo
for grade 12 or grade 11?
Sibulele
the value of V1 and V2
Tumelo Reply
advantages of electrons in a circuit
Rethabile Reply
we're do you find electromagnetism past papers
Ntombifuthi
what a normal force
Tholulwazi Reply
it is the force or component of the force that the surface exert on an object incontact with it and which acts perpendicular to the surface
Sihle
what is physics?
Petrus Reply
what is the half reaction of Potassium and chlorine
Anna Reply
how to calculate coefficient of static friction
Lisa Reply
how to calculate static friction
Lisa
How to calculate a current
Tumelo
how to calculate the magnitude of horizontal component of the applied force
Mogano
How to calculate force
Monambi
a structure of a thermocouple used to measure inner temperature
Anna Reply
a fixed gas of a mass is held at standard pressure temperature of 15 degrees Celsius .Calculate the temperature of the gas in Celsius if the pressure is changed to 2×10 to the power 4
Amahle Reply
How is energy being used in bonding?
Raymond Reply
what is acceleration
Syamthanda Reply
a rate of change in velocity of an object whith respect to time
Khuthadzo
how can we find the moment of torque of a circular object
Kidist
Acceleration is a rate of change in velocity.
Justice
t =r×f
Khuthadzo
how to calculate tension by substitution
Precious Reply
hi
Shongi
hi
Leago
use fnet method. how many obects are being calculated ?
Khuthadzo
khuthadzo hii
Hulisani
how to calculate acceleration and tension force
Lungile Reply
you use Fnet equals ma , newtoms second law formula
Masego
please help me with vectors in two dimensions
Mulaudzi Reply
how to calculate normal force
Mulaudzi
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Source:  OpenStax, Astronomy. OpenStax CNX. Apr 12, 2017 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col11992/1.13
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