‘Fundamental Planetary Science: Physics, Chemistry and Habitability’ by Jack J. Lissauer and Imke de Pater
Fundamental Planetary Science sets out with the ambitious goal of providing a broad overview of all major solar system processes and features to the level of an advanced undergraduate student. However, the book would also be accessible to non-specialists looking for a more in-depth look at planetary science than many popular science books would normally provide. The authors draw on their extensive knowledge and graduate text to cover most facets of the known solar system in good detail. Whilst only the final chapter focuses on astrobiology it still provides a comprehensive introduction to...
Read More‘Climate Change: Biological and Human Aspects (2nd ed.)’ by Jonathan Cowie
Whilst terrestrial climate change may not seem of direct significance to astrobiology, this comprehensive tome, now in its second edition, serves the perfect introduction to topics like solar energy budget, atmospheric composition and the resultant global climate that are all key factors on the habitability of any planet. Chapter 1 offers a entry-level primer on the basics of terrestrial planetary climates, covering topics including the energy balance of absorbed solar radiation, reflected sunlight and re-radiated thermal energy; the effect of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and the...
Read More‘Why Aren’t They Here? The Question of Life on Other Worlds’ by Surendra Verma
Are we alone in the universe? What would happen after we discover microbial life on another planet? What if extra-terrestrials are already here? Questions don’t get much bigger than the ones that are discussed in this new book by journalist and science writer Surendra Verma. Why Aren’t They Here? The Question of Life on Other Worlds encompasses a massive range of subjects in its 200-odd pages, including not only the obvious (and bang up-to-date) astronomy and astrobiology, but also the philosophical and cultural aspects of the search for life. Verma has a gift for humanising his...
Read More‘What is Life? How Chemistry Becomes Biology’ by Addy Pross
This little book (200 pages) grapples with some of the biggest questions in science: What is life? How did it emerge? How can we make life? Along the way it also addresses a few knotty problems in the origin of life field such as: was the emergence of life inevitable or a freak accident and which came first, replication or metabolism? To do this and to resolve the paradox arising from the increase in organisation associated with life and the tendency of organized systems to spontaneously become disorganized, the author introduces a different way of thinking about the stability of replicating...
Read More‘We Are Not Alone: Why We Have Already Found Extraterrestrial Life’ by Dirk Schulze-Makuch & David Darling
On first glance, this book raised my scientific hackles. ‘Why we have already found extraterrestrial life? What kind of nonsense is this?’ I thought to myself. That attitude remained until I had finished reading the introduction. Misleading title aside (you won’t be astonished to hear that we have not already found extraterrestrial life), Schulze-Makuch and Darling have written a solid astrobiology popular science book. While the authors have a tendency to extrapolate tentative evidence somewhat beyond the realms of rigorous science, and take an extremely optimistic viewpoint when reviewing...
Read More‘Unmasking Europa: The Search for Life on Jupiter’s Ocean Moon’ by Richard Greenberg
Unmasking Europa leads us through the unravelling of the mysteries of this intriguing Jovian moon, written by the expert who helped unlock many of its secrets. Richard Greenberg is a professor of planetary science and lead a team who interpreted the icy landforms and their controversial implications as they were revealed by the Galileo space probe. The landscapes of Europa are magnificently diverse: craters, cracks, ridges, and curious patches of jumbled terrain called chaos, all of which speak of on-going active processes in this moon. Europa seems to be a fervently active place, recycling...
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