by Lee Billings
Pluto, 110, 191, 239
polarization, 115–16
POLISH, 115–17
Pollack, James, 158
Pong, Christopher, 259
Precambrian period, 139–40, 144, 154, 238
precious metals, 105–6, 111
primordial soup, 19
Proceedings of the Royal Society, 84
Project Ozma, 11, 14, 47–48
prokaryotes, 139, 140, 143, 144
Proterozoic Eon, 140–44, 171, 179
protons, 88
protoplanets, 2
Proxima Centauri, 94, 97
psychohistory, 152
pyrite, 173
Pythagoras, 78, 82
Quaternary Period, 133
Queloz, Didier, 58
radio, 42–43, 45
Radio Astronomy Laboratory, 12
Recession, Great, 13, 106–7, 165, 196
recombination, 248, 249
red beds, 131
redox reactions, 168
redwood trees, 30–31, 106, 110
Regulus, 239
Renaissance, 22, 81
Reynolds, Ray, 155–56
Ricketts, Taylor, 74–77
Rittenhouse, David, 86
Road Map for the Exploration of Neighboring Planetary Systems, A, 211–12, 214, 221
rocket equation, 186
Sagan, Carl, 16, 19, 20, 24–25, 174, 239–42, 243
San Diego Air & Space Museum, 100
Sasselov, Dimitar, 226, 249
Saturn, 28, 83, 109, 191
Saturn rockets, 151–52, 187, 188, 202, 203
Schmidt, Eric, 258
Science, 104
scientific method, 78
Seager, Sara, 243–65
children of, 251–53, 156, 160–61, 264
ExoplanetSat project of, 256–57
“Next 40 Years of Exoplanets” conference of, 225–35, 263
as Planetary Resources advisor, 258–59
TPF work of, 225–28, 232–35, 249–53, 255–58, 262
Wevrick and, 244–49, 251–56, 264
Wevrick’s illness and death and, 253–56, 264, 265
Wevrick’s marriage to, 249
SETI (search for extraterrestrial intelligence), 9–14, 38, 41
Arecibo Observatory and, 41
Drake equation and, 16–25
first modern search by, 10–11
Green Bank conference of, 15–25, 27–28, 101, 167–68, 240
lack of funding for, 10–14
Laughlin’s view of, 99
NASA and, 11–12
Project Ozma, 11, 14, 47–48
SETI Institute, 12, 43
Allen Telescope Array of, 12–14, 41, 42
shales, see black shales
Simonyi, Charles, 258
Smith, Matt, 259
Snowball Earth events, 142, 174, 179
solar eclipse, 119
solar system, 19, 87
evolution of, as viewed from stars, 238–39
formation of, 1–3, 31, 139
formation of Earth in, 2, 7, 20, 139, 173
formation of planets in, 2–3, 31, 109, 238
heliocentric model of, 79–82
measuring size of, 86
shell of light surrounding, 237–38
Soviet Union, 11
nuclear weapons and, 23
Soyuz rocket, 233–34
Venera 13, 50
Space Age, 48, 50, 87, 99, 112, 151
Space Interferometry Mission (SIM), 215
space junk, 13
Space Launch System, 204
space missions, 187–99
Apollo, 1, 50, 151, 187, 202, 212, 239
Ares V, 203
Atlantis, 185–87
ATLAST, 198, 203, 230
Challenger, 3, 188–89
Columbia, 189, 196
commercial providers and, 233–34, 258–59
Constellation program, 196, 198, 203, 204, 215, 221, 223
ExoplanetSat, 256–57
Galileo, 241–42
Great Observatories, 192, 197, 209
Hubble Space Telescope, 189–93, 195, 197–99, 205–7, 209, 218–19, 226
International Space Station, 187, 189, 197, 202, 207–8, 210
James Webb Space Telescope, 193–99, 202–4, 209, 215, 216, 218, 220, 225, 262
Kepler Space Telescope, 13–14, 53–54, 56, 62, 71–73, 98, 108–9, 166, 201, 225, 229–30, 263
to Mars, 187, 188, 196, 207, 221
to Moon, see Moon, missions to
New Horizons, 239
OpTIIX, 207–8, 210
Pioneer, 239–40
Saturn rockets, 151–52, 187, 188, 202, 203
shuttle program failures, 188–89
Terrestrial Planet Finders, see Terrestrial Planet Finders
Tsiolkovsky and, 186–87
Voyager, see Voyager missions
Space Telescope Science Institute, 198, 199, 212, 257–58
spectra, 200–202, 250
spectroscopy, spectrometers, 33–34, 51–52
in Alpha Centauri search, 94–98
CHIRON, 62
Hamilton, 58, 114
HARPS, 60–61, 63–69, 96, 98
HIRES, 59–63, 66
iodine cell calibration in, 58
radial-velocity (RV), 51, 53–58, 60, 61–64, 66, 68, 94–98, 108, 114
Spergel, David, 218–20, 249
Spitzer, Lyman, 189, 209
Spitzer Space Telescope, 192, 209
Sproul Telescope, 52
spy satellites, 188, 189, 205, 209
SRI International, 42
Stahl, Phil, 203
Stamenkovic, Vlada, 259
stars, 200–201
47 Ursae Majoris, 59
51 Pegasi, 50
61 Virginis, 55
70 Virginis, 59
Alpha Centauri, see Alpha Centauri
binary systems, 18, 94
Dyson spheres for capturing energy of, 104, 105
in early cosmology, 78–80
of exoplanets, observations of, 33
formation of, 17–18, 27
GJ 667C, 65, 66
Gliese 581, 63, 68, 163
HD 83443, 60
HD 209458, 60, 228
HR 8799, 238
Kepler field, 41
laws of nature and, 155–56
M13 cluster, 39–41
measuring distances to, 86
Proxima Centauri, 94, 97
red dwarf (M-dwarf), 27, 172, 228–30, 262
spectroscopy and, see spectroscopy, spectrometers
Sun-like, 18, 50, 55, 201, 228, 230, 238, 256, 257
transits of planets across, 53
Star Wars, 260–61
Stoermer, Eugene, 135
Struve, Otto, 15, 18–19, 25, 32, 47–48
sulfuric acid, 173
Sun, 31, 73, 87
birth of, 2, 31, 238
Dyson spheres for capturing energy of, 104, 105
in early cosmology, 78–82
Earth’s distance from, 83, 86
end of life on Earth caused by, 7, 31–32, 75–77, 159, 180–83
faint young Sun problem, 173–75
heliocentrism and, 79–82
orbit of, 95
shell of light surrounding, 237–38
as telescope, 35–37
Sun-like stars, 18, 50, 55, 201, 228, 230, 238, 256, 257
supernovae, 30, 88
Swarthmore College, 52
systemic, 71
Systemic Console, 54, 65
Tau Ceti, 10–11
technological civilizations, 29, 32, 104–5
emergence of, 21–22
longevity of, 22–25, 38–39, 41, 42
technological progress, 136, 183
Urey on, 101–3
and visibility of communication, 42–43
technological singularity, 43–44
tectonic plates, 30, 105, 111, 128, 140, 144, 169, 172, 176, 179, 229
telescopes, 34–36, 51, 61, 99, 170–71, 199, 201–4, 206, 208, 211–12, 223
active optics in, 204–6, 208
Allen Array, 12–14, 41, 42
ATLAST, 198, 203, 230
Automated Planet Finder, 61, 70, 114
ExoplanetSat, 256–57
Galileo’s use of, 81–82, 210
Gemini, 199–200, 203
in Great Observatories program, 192, 197, 209
Hubble, 189–93, 195, 197–99, 205–7, 209, 218–19, 226
James Webb (JWST), 193–99, 202–4, 209, 215, 216, 218, 220, 225, 262
Kasting and, 152–54
Kepler, 13–14, 53–54, 56, 62, 71–73, 98, 108–9, 166, 201, 225, 229–30, 263
mEarth Project, 228–29
Sun as, 35–37
Terrestrial Planet Finders, see Terrestrial Planet Finders
see also observatories
Teller, Edward, 101
temperature-pressure profile, 157–58
Terrestrial Planet Finders (TPFs), 165–67, 184, 194, 196–98, 214–35, 241, 242, 263
coronagraphic, 217–22, 224, 231, 249
interferometer concept for, 213–14, 216, 231
Seager’s work with, 225–28, 232–35, 249–53, 255–58, 262
starshade (occulter) concept for, 220–21, 225
TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite), 229–30
Thales, 77–79, 238
Thébault, Philippe, 97
thermodynamic disequilibrium, 168–69
Thoreau, Henry, 254
Time, 52
time, deep, 145–46
time capsule, 100–103
Todd, David Peck, 114
Toronto Sun, 74
transits, 53, 56, 84–86, 114–20, 204, 229–30, 251, 263
Traub, Wesley, 217–19, 221–25, 235
travel, interstellar, 44–45, 100–101
tropopause, 158–59
Tsiolkovsky, Konstantin, 186–87, 199, 225, 231
Turner, Edwin, 249–50
2063 A.D., 100–103
universe:
Big Bang and, 89–91
evolution of, 88–89
expansion of, 87–90
inflation of, 89–92
recombination in, 248, 249
smoothness of, 89
universes, parallel, 90–91
University of California, 113
University of California, Berkeley:
Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science, 48, 74
Radio Astronomy Laboratory, 12
University of California, Santa Cruz, 107–8
University of Vermont, 74–75
Uranus, 109–10
Urey, Harold, 15, 19
2063 A.D. entry of, 101–3
Utt, James B., 101
Valencia, Diana, 259
van de Kamp, Peter, 52–53
Venera 13, 50
Venus, 19, 49–50, 54, 87, 109, 154, 155, 179, 239
atmosphere of, 116, 159–60
climate of, 158–59
Galileo’s study of, 81–82
Kepler’s study of, 83–84
Laughlin’s valuation of, 73
transits of, 83–86, 114–20
water on, 28, 171–72, 179
Vogt, Steve, 55, 58–64, 66–70
Von Braun, Wernher, 1, 151, 186
Voyager missions, 35, 239–42
image of Earth from, 239–42
phonograph records on, 240
Walden (Thoreau), 254
Walden Pond, 254
Walker, James, 176–79, 181
water, 157, 170–71
on Earth, 3, 30, 158–61, 174, 177–80, 182
on Mars, 28, 179
on Venus, 28, 171–72, 179
Wevrick, Mike, 244–49, 251–56, 264
illness and death of, 253–56, 264, 265
Seager’s marriage to, 249
Whipple, Fred, 100
Whitfield, Michael, 181–82
Whitmire, Dan, 155–56
Wiktorowicz, Sloane, 115–19
Wolfe, Tom, 1
world government, 102
Wright, Orville and Wilbur, 186
Zachary, Pavl, 117–18
