The living cosmos
Subtitle: our search for life in the universe
By: Chris Impey
Edition: Updated pbk. ed.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Cambridge; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 393
ISBN-13: 9780521173841
Subjects: Origin; Exobiology; Life; Life on other planets
Description: Astrobiology, the study of life in space, is one of today's fastest growing fields of science. In this accessible and elegantly reasoned book, scholar and researcher Impey explores the foundations of this rapidly developing discipline, where it's going, and what it's likely to find. If Earth is not the only planet, it is so far the only living one that we know of. Impey reveals the incredible proliferation and variety of life on Earth, paying special tribute to some of its hardiest life forms, extremophiles, a dizzying array of microscopic organisms that can survive extreme heat and cold, live deep within rocks, or thrive in pure acid. From there, Impey investigates the potential for life beyond our own world, providing portraits of the individuals who have devoted their lives to the search.--From publisher description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [353]-362) and index.
Table of contents: title: Unfinished revolution; title: Life's origins; title: Extreme life; title: Shaping evolution; title: Living in the Solar System; title: Distant worlds; title: Are we alone?; title: Credits; title: Notes; title: Reading list; title: Media resources; title: Index.