Five Billion Years of Solitude
Page 31
Bryson, Bill, 144
Bush, George W., 196, 198, 215, 221–23
Butler, Paul, 55, 58–70, 96, 114
Caldeira, Ken, 181
California, 105–7, 112–13
gold rush in, 105–6, 111, 112–13
Calvin, Melvin, 15, 19–20, 25
Cambrian Period, 138–39, 143–45, 182
Cameron, James, 258
Campbell, Joseph, 261
Canada, 244–48
Canadian Shield, 246
Capella, 239
carbon, 123, 131, 132, 134, 135, 140, 141, 175, 179, 182
carbonate-silicate cycle, 175–81, 184
carbon cycle, organic, 175
carbon dioxide (CO2), 124, 132, 134–37, 140, 141, 157, 159–62, 168, 170, 172, 173, 175–82, 184
Carboniferous Period, 131, 132
Carina Nebula, 238
Carnegie Institution, 251
Carpenter, Scott, 100
Carter, Jimmy, 240
Cash, Webster, 219–20
Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, 96
Challenger, 3, 188–89
Chandra X-Ray Observatory, 192, 209
Chaotian Eon, 139
Charbonneau, David, 228–30, 232
charged-coupled devices (CCDs), 51–53
China, 21–22
chlorofluorocarbons, 134, 142
chlorophyll, 141, 143
Christmas Tree Cluster, 238
Clinton, Bill, 196, 215
clouds, 161–62, 164, 206
coal, 125, 131, 134, 136, 137, 144, 160, 184
Columbia, 189, 196
comets, 2, 3, 19, 76–77, 140
Halley’s, 3
Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, 192, 209
computers, 43–44
Constellation program, 196, 198, 203, 204, 215, 221, 223
convergent evolution, 21
Cook, James, 85–86
Copernican Principle (principle of mediocrity), 83, 89, 91
Copernicus, Nicolaus, 81–83, 86, 87, 89, 91, 200
Cornell University, 39, 42
coronagraphic TPF, 217–22, 224, 231, 249
coronagraphs, 217
cosmology, 77–82
Copernican Principle (principle of mediocrity) in, 83, 89, 91
inflationary theory in, 89–92
modern, 86–87, 91
see also astronomy
Cosmos, 240
Costanza, Robert, 74–75
Crab Nebula, 30
Crabtree, William, 84
Crutzen, Paul, 134–35
Cuban missile crisis, 23–24
cyanobacteria, 140–44, 175, 183
Daily Mail, 74
dark energy, 88, 90
dark matter, 206
Darwin, Charles, 200
Davidson, George, 113
deep time, 145–46
Democritus, 79, 80, 92, 238
Demory, Brice, 259
De Rerum Natura (On the Nature of Things) (Lucretius), 80–81
De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium (On the Revolutions of Heavenly Orbs) (Copernicus), 82
Devonian Period, 128, 130–32
Diamandis, Peter, 258
dinosaurs, 30, 136, 144
Discovery, 189
DNA, 40, 141, 143, 170
dolphins, 16, 20–21
Drake, Frank, 9–17, 27–45, 101, 167–68, 240
Arecibo transmission of, 39–41
orchids of, 37–38
Drake equation, 16–25, 28–29, 38–39, 41, 42, 183
longevity of technological civilizations (L term) in, 22–25, 38–39, 41, 42
Draper Laboratory, 256
Dyson, Freeman, 104
Dyson spheres, 104, 105
Earth, 109
asteroid strike on, 30
atmosphere of, 3, 132, 134–35, 139, 140, 144, 157–60, 168–69, 174–77, 206, 238
“Blue Marble” images of, 212, 239–41
carbonate-silicate cycle on, 175–81, 184
climate of, 123–24, 128, 132–37, 142, 144, 156–57, 160–62, 173–75, 184
in early cosmology, 77–82
energy consumption on, 103–4
extinctions on, 43, 135, 184
faint young Sun problem and, 173–75
formation of, 2, 7, 20, 139, 173
geologic time periods of, 128–45
glaciation on, 132–34, 142, 174, 176, 178, 179, 183
human population of, 43, 100, 134, 136
ice caps of, 128, 132–33, 135, 136, 184
Laughlin’s idea for moving orbit of, 76–77
Laughlin’s valuation of, 73–76
oxygen on, 139–44, 159, 171, 180–82, 200, 238
Snowball Earth events, 142, 174, 179
Sun’s distance from, 83, 86
tectonic plates of, 30, 105, 111, 128, 140, 144, 176, 229
union of organisms with geophysical systems on (Gaia hypothesis), 175, 176, 178, 183
water on, 3, 30, 158–61, 174, 177–80, 182
Earth, life on, 31, 154
diversification and explosion of, 138–39, 143, 144, 182
emergence of, 4, 7, 19–20, 238
end of, 7–8, 31–32, 75–77, 159, 180–83
essential facts of, 29–30
humanity’s ascent, 144–46
intelligent, 20–21, 182–83
jump from single-celled to multicellular, 28
redox reactions and, 168
Earth-like planets, 29, 32–34, 71–72, 99, 227–28
Earth-size or Earth-mass planets, 6, 53–54, 56, 200, 227, 251
ecology and economics, 74
economic growth, 102, 103
Eddington, Arthur, 35
Edison, Thomas, 106
Einstein, Albert, 35, 87
Elachi, Charles, 211–12, 214, 221
electricity, 103, 136
Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 254
Endeavour, 190
endosymbiosis, 143
energy, 103–4, 136–38
from fossil fuels, 103, 124–27, 137, 154, 160, 184
Engelder, Terry, 126
Epicurus, 80
Epsilon Eridani, 10–11
Eshleman, Von, 35
ethanol, 137
eukaryotes, 143, 144
European Southern Observatory (ESO), 60, 64, 66
European Space Agency, 222
evolution, 183
convergent, 21
of universe, 88–89
exoplanetology, 13, 14, 34, 51, 193
exoplanets, 5, 27–28, 87, 222–23, 263
51 Pegasi b, 50, 53, 54, 58–59
Alpha Centauri Bb, 98–99
biosignatures and, 167–72, 261–62
Blue Marble images of, 212–15
distinguishing between various compositions of, 251
Earth-like, 29, 32–34, 71–72, 99, 227–28
Earth-size or Earth-mass, 6, 53–54, 56, 200, 227, 251
formation of, 109
GJ 667Cc, 65–69, 72
Gliese 581c, 163
Gliese 581d, 163
Gliese 581g (Zarmina’s World), 63–64, 68, 69, 72, 163
Gliese 876b, 60
habitability of, 154–83
HD 85512b, 163–64
Jupiter-like, 13, 28, 50, 56, 59, 60, 108, 109, 226, 228, 248–49
Laughlin’s valuation of, 71–77
migration theory and, 108
Neptune-like, 56, 108–9, 251
“Next 40 Years” conference on, 225–35, 263
observation of stars of, 33
snow line idea and, 110
super-Earths, 228–29, 251, 262
transits of, 53
TrES-4, 228
exoplanet searches, 5–7, 13–14, 32–33, 69–70
and false-alarm discoveries, 52–53
press releases on progress in, 163–65
SETI and, see SETI
spectroscopy in, see spectroscopy, spectrometers
see
also telescopes
Ferguson, Chris, 185–86
financial markets, 111–12
Fischer, Debra, 59, 61, 62, 69, 96
Ford, Eric, 249–50
Ford, Henry, 125
fossil fuels, 103, 124–27, 137, 154, 160, 184
fracking (hydraulic fracturing), 126–27
Gaia hypothesis, 175, 176, 178, 183
galactic planetary census, 54
galaxies, 87, 88, 99, 238
Andromeda, 31, 191, 238
Hubble Telescope and, 191
Local Group of, 88
Milky Way, see Milky Way
Galileo, 241–42
Galileo Galilei, 81–83, 210
Galliher, Scot, 257
Garrels, Robert, 178
gas, natural, 125–27, 137, 184
Gemini telescopes, 199–200, 203
General Dynamics Astronautics time capsule, 100–103
geologic time periods, 128–45
geology, 110–11, 123
glaciers, 132–34, 142, 174, 176, 178, 179, 183
Glenn, John, 100
Goldin, Dan, 194, 211, 215, 242
governments, Urey on, 102
gravitational lenses, 35–37
Great Observatories, 192, 197, 209
Greece, ancient, 77, 92, 238
Green Bank conference, 15–25, 27–28, 101, 167–68, 240
greenhouse gases, 124, 134, 137, 157, 160, 174, 175
carbon dioxide, see carbon dioxide
methane, 140, 142, 168–71, 174, 200
Grunsfeld, John, 197–99, 225–26, 235
Guedes, Javiera, 96
Gund Institute for Ecological Economics, 74–75
“Habitable Zones around Main Sequence Stars” (Kasting), 155–56, 159
Hadean Eon, 139–40, 156
Halley, Edmond, 84
Halley’s comet, 3
Hart, Michael, 174, 178
Hays, Paul, 176–79
heliocentrism, 79–82
Hiroshima, 23
Holmes, Dyer Brainerd, 100–101
Holocene Epoch, 133–35, 145
Horrocks, Jeremiah, 84
Howard, Andrew, 62
How to Find a Habitable Planet (Kasting), 167
Hu, Renyu, 259
Huang, Su-Shu, 15, 19
Hubble, Edwin, 86–87
Hubble Space Telescope, 189–93, 195, 197–99, 205–7, 209, 218–19, 226
human genome project, 234
hydraulic fracturing (fracking), 126–27
hydrogen, 159, 170–72
Icarus, 155
ice ages, 132, 133, 142–43
Industrial Revolution, 22, 134
inflationary theory, 89–92
Ingersoll, Andrew, 159
intelligence, 20–21, 23, 32, 182–83
interferometry, 213–14, 216, 231
International Space Station (ISS), 187, 189, 197, 202, 207–8, 210
interstellar travel, 44–45, 100–101
iron, 141
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), 193–99, 202–4, 209, 215, 216, 218, 220, 225, 262
Jensen-Clem, Becky, 259
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), 211–12, 216, 219, 221–25, 231
Johnson, Lyndon B., 101
Journal of Geophysical Research, 178
Jupiter, 76, 109, 191, 239
Galileo’s study of, 81
Kepler’s laws and, 83
moons of, 28, 110
Jupiter-like planets, 13, 28, 50, 56, 59, 60, 108, 109, 226, 228, 248–49
Kasdin, Jeremy, 219–20
Kasting, Jerry, 150–52
Kasting, Jim, 150–67, 169–84
children of, 153
Kasting, Sandy, 150
Kasting, Sharon, 153
Keck Observatory, 59, 60, 62, 66, 118
Kennedy, John F., 224
Kennedy Space Center, 185
Kepler, Johannes, 82, 83
planetary motion laws of, 82–84
Kepler field stars, 41
Kepler Space Telescope, 13–14, 53–54, 56, 62, 71–73, 98, 108–9, 166, 201, 225, 229–30, 263
Kirschvink, Joseph, 142
Knapp, Mary, 259
Korolev, Sergei, 186
Kuchner, Marc, 217–18
Kuiper Belt, 76
Large Magellanic Cloud, 238
Lasaga, Antonio, 178
Late Heavy Bombardment, 3, 140
Laughlin, Greg, 5–6, 48–50, 53–57, 69–70, 93–100, 107–12, 114–15, 117–20
Alpha Centauri planet search and, 94–98
idea to move Earth, 76–77
magnetic toy of, 93–94
SETI as viewed by, 99
valuation equation of, 71–77
laws of nature, 155–56
Lederberg, Joshua, 15, 16, 167–68
Le Gentil, Guillaume, 85, 117
Leinbach, Mike, 185–86
Lick, James, 112–14
Lick Observatory, 58, 61, 62, 70, 113–19
life, 32
on Earth, see Earth, life on
intelligent, 23, 32
single-celled, 20
technological, see technological civilizations
light:
photons of, 72, 89, 115–16, 156, 191, 193–94, 201, 202, 213, 216, 237–38
polarization of, 115–16
waves of, 213–14, 216
Lilly, John, 15–16, 20–21
Local Group, 88
Lovelock, James, 168, 170, 174–76, 178, 181–83
Lucretius, 80–81
Lyot, Bernard, 217
Madwoman of Chaillot, The, 36
Manhattan Project, 23
Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research, 127, 149
Marcellus formation, 126–30, 137, 138, 141, 144, 160
Marconi, Guglielmo, 48
Marconi Conference Center, 48–50, 53–57
Marcy, Geoff, 57–63, 69, 70, 114, 194, 230–32, 235
Margulis, Lynn, 175
Mars, 19, 50, 87, 100, 107, 109, 155, 167, 179, 191, 192, 239
Kepler’s study of, 82, 83
missions to, 187, 188, 196, 207, 221
water on, 28, 179
Marshall, James, 105–6, 112
Martian Chronicles, The (Bradbury), 98–99
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 251–52, 259
ExoplanetSat project, 256–57
“Next 40 Years of Exoplanets” conference at, 225–35, 263
Mayor, Michel, 58
McPhee, John, 145
mEarth Project, 228–29
mediocrity, principle of (Copernican Principle), 83, 89, 91
Mercury, 82, 109, 239
meteorites, 20
methane, 140, 142, 168–71, 174, 200
methanogens, 140, 142, 169
microbes, 28
Miletus, 77
Milky Way, 16–17, 25, 31, 39, 41, 79, 86–87, 191, 237, 238
Sun’s orbit in, 95
Miller, George P., 101
Miller, Stanley, 19
Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science, 48, 74
mitochondria, 143
Moon, 3, 76, 100, 229, 242
in early cosmology, 78, 83
formation of, 30, 139
Moon, missions to, 188, 196, 221, 224
Apollo, 1, 50, 151, 187, 202, 212, 239
Morrison, Philip, 15, 18–19, 21, 23–24
Mosely, T. Michael, 258
Mountain, Matt, 199–210, 225, 234–35
Mount John University Observatory, 96
Mullen, George, 174
multiverse, 90–91
Murphy, Tom, 103, 104
Nagasaki, 23
nanosatellites, 256–57
NASA, 41–42, 166, 196, 200, 206–7, 221–25, 232, 235
funding and budget for, 188, 189, 192, 195–98, 215, 219, 223
Grunsfeld as associate administrator at, 198–99
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 211–12, 216, 219, 221–25
, 231
Kasting and, 151–53, 156, 165–67
SETI and, 11–12
see also space missions
National Academy of Sciences, 165
National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), 10
SETI conference at, 15–25, 27–28, 101, 167–68, 240
National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), 205, 206
National Science Foundation (NSF), 41–42, 96, 165
natural capital, 74
natural gas, 125–27, 137, 184
natural selection, 21
Nature, 74–75, 167, 181
“Negative Feedback Mechanism for the Long-Term Stabilization of Earth’s Temperature” (Walker, Hays, and Kasting), 177–79
Neptune, 110
Neptune-like planets, 56, 108–9, 251
New Horizons, 239
Newton, Isaac, 83
New York Times, 52, 155
Nexterra Foundation, 257
“Next 40 Years of Exoplanets” conference, 225–35, 263
Nixon, Richard, 188
nuclear weapons, 23–24
Obama, Barack, 196, 231–32
observatories, 96
Arecibo, 39–42
European Southern (ESO), 60, 64, 66
Keck, 59, 60, 62, 66, 118
Lick, 58, 61, 62, 70, 113–19
National Radio Astronomy, see National Radio Astronomy Observatory
see also telescopes
oil, 125–26, 137, 160, 184
Oliver, Bernard, 15
On the Nature of Things (De Rerum Natura) (Lucretius), 80–81
On the Revolutions of Heavenly Orbs (De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium) (Copernicus), 82
OpTIIX, 207–8, 210
orchids, 37–38
Orion Nebula, 97
oxygen, 139–44, 159, 168, 168–72, 174, 177, 180–83, 200, 238
ozone layer, 134–35, 142, 159, 176
Page, Larry, 258
parallax, 80, 86
Pearman, J. P. T., 15
Pennsylvania, 124, 128, 131, 133, 138, 143, 144
coal mining in, 125
Marcellus formation in, 126–30, 137, 138, 141, 144, 160
Pennsylvania State University, 127, 149, 153
Permian Period, 132
petroleum, 125–26, 137, 160, 184
Phanerozoic Eon, 138, 144
Phobos, 100
photolysis, 156, 172
photons, 72, 89, 115–16, 156, 191, 193–94, 201, 202, 213, 216, 237–38
photosynthesis, 29, 33, 131, 140–43, 154, 169, 175, 180–82
Pioneer, 239
Planetary Resources, Inc., 258–59
planetesimals, 2
planets:
extrasolar, see exoplanets
formation of, in our solar system, 2–3, 31, 109, 238
Kepler’s laws of motion of, 82–84
protoplanets, 2
transits of, 53
plants, 130–32, 143
photosynthesis in, 29, 33, 131, 140–43, 154, 169, 175, 180–82
plate tectonics, 30, 105, 111, 128, 140, 144, 169, 172, 176, 179, 229
Plato, 78–80, 82