scablands 93
scale of the universe 14–16
Schiaparelli, Giovanni 4
Schneider, Eric 8
Schopf, Bill 42
Schrödinger, Erwin 7, 8
Second Law of Thermodynamics 7
Secret Service 1
sedimentary rocks 39–41, 50
SETI (search for extraterrestrial intelligence) 120–4
sexual reproduction early 54
of eukaryotes 69–70
Shapley, Harlow 115
silicon based life 10–11
Simpson, George Gaylord 5
size of Mars 96
Snowball Earth hypothesis 55–8
social animals 123
soil on Mars 96–7
solar flux 85, 87
Solar System 15
age 25–6
formation 22–5
planetary orbits 30–1
possible abodes of life 83–109, 128–9
South Africa, microfossils 42
species 75–6
spectra of exoplanets 119
spectral class 21
SPONCH elements 12
stable medium for biochemical processes 11
stars, lifecycle 18–21
Strelley Pool Formation, Australia 42
stromatolites 40–1, 50
Struve, Otto 5
subduction 47
subsurface biosphere 64
sulphates on Mars 94
sulphur 51–2
sulphur dioxide on Mars 95
Sun 14–15, 44–5
elements in 17–18
lifecycle 18–19, 21
Super-Earths 110
supernovae 19–20, 21, 23
surface stability 65
symmetry see chirality
synchronous rotation 116–17
T
taxonomic levels 66
technosignatures 120–4
telescopes, space-based 113–14
Thales 3
Theia, impact with Earth 26
Theory of General Relativity 113
thermodynamics 6–8
thermophiles 29–30, 79–81
Thermus aquaticus 80
tidal locking 116–17
Tikov, Gavriil 5
tillites 56
tilt 127
of Mars 95
Titan (moon of Saturn) 82, 103–6, 129
transcription 73
transit method 112–13, 119
transit timing variations 114
Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) 113
transmitting civilizations 120–4
tree of life 76, 77
Triton (moon of Neptune) 106–8
Tumbiana Formation, Australia 50
U
universe
expansion 16–17
size 14–16
uranium isotopes, age 25
Uranus
formation 24
orbits 30
Urey, Harold 32–3
V
valley networks on Mars 91–2
Venus 84–8
Viking landers 9, 89, 96–7
Virgo supercluster 15
viruses 70
volcanoes 33, 57
on Io 100
cause of mass extinction 61
Voyager 1 spacecraft 118
W
Ward, Peter 125
water, liquid 10, 11–12, 65, 82–6, 89, 90–6, 99–103, 106, 115–16, 119
Waterbelt Earth 57–8
Watson, James 72
weird life 82, 106
Whewell, William 4, 115
white dwarfs 19
wobbles in stellar orbits 111
Woese, Carl 76–7
Z
zircons 29
Zuckerkandl, Emile 78
SOCIAL MEDIA Very Short Introduction
Join our community
www.oup.com/vsi
• Join us online at the official Very Short Introductions Facebook page.
• Access the thoughts and musings of our authors with our online blog.
• Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter to receive information on all new titles publishing that month.
• Browse the full range of Very Short Introductions online.
• Read extracts from the Introductions for free.
• Visit our library of Reading Guides. These guides, written by our expert authors will help you to question again, why you think what you think.
• If you are a teacher or lecturer you can order inspection copies quickly and simply via our website.
Visit the Very Short Introductions website to access all this and more for free.
www.oup.com/vsi
GALAXIES
A Very Short Introduction
John Gribbin
Galaxies are the building blocks of the Universe: standing like islands in space, each is made up of many hundreds of millions of stars in which the chemical elements are made, around which planets form, and where on at least one of those planets intelligent life has emerged. In this Very Short Introduction, renowned science writer John Gribbin describes the extraordinary things that astronomers are learning about galaxies, and explains how this can shed light on the origins and structure of the Universe.
www.oup.com/vsi
PLANETS
A Very Short Introduction
David A. Rothery
This Very Short Introduction looks deep into space and describes the worlds that make up our Solar System: terrestrial planets, giant planets, dwarf planets and various other objects such as satellites (moons), asteroids and Trans-Neptunian objects. It considers how our knowledge has advanced over the centuries, and how it has expanded at a growing rate in recent years. David A. Rothery gives an overview of the origin, nature, and evolution of our Solar System, including the controversial issues of what qualifies as a planet, and what conditions are required for a planetary body to be habitable by life. He looks at rocky planets and the Moon, giant planets and their satellites, and how the surfaces have been sculpted by geology, weather, and impacts.
www.oup.com/vsi
STARS
A VERY SHORT INTRODUCTION
Andrew King
Every atom of our bodies has been part of a star. Our very own star, the Sun, is crucial to the development and sustainability of life on Earth. This Very Short Introduction presents a modern, authoritative examination of how stars live, producing all the chemical elements beyond helium, and how they die, sometimes spectacularly, to end as remnants such as black holes.
Andrew King shows how understanding the stars is key to understanding the galaxies they inhabit, and thus the history of our entire Universe, as well as the existence of planets like our own. King presents a fascinating exploration of the science of stars, from the mechanisms that allow stars to form and the processes that allow them to shine, as well as the results of their inevitable death.
www.oup.com/vsi
Astrobiology_A Very Short Introduction Page 15
