{"id":892,"date":"2017-08-08T13:14:03","date_gmt":"2017-08-08T17:14:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/astronomy1105\/chapter\/30-0-thinking-ahead\/"},"modified":"2020-04-15T13:16:14","modified_gmt":"2020-04-15T17:16:14","slug":"30-0-thinking-ahead","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/astronomy1105\/chapter\/30-0-thinking-ahead\/","title":{"raw":"30.0 Thinking Ahead","rendered":"30.0 Thinking Ahead"},"content":{"raw":"
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Astrobiology: The Road to Life in the Universe.<\/strong><\/div>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1312\"]\"The Figure 1.<\/strong> In this fanciful montage produced by a NASA artist, we see one roadmap for discovering life in the universe. Learning more about the origin, evolution, and properties of life on Earth aids us in searching for evidence of life beyond our planet. Our neighbor world, Mars, had warmer, wetter conditions billions of years ago that might have helped life there begin. Farther out, Jupiter\u2019s moon Europa represents the icy moons of the outer solar system. Beneath their shells of solid ice may lie vast oceans of liquid water that could support biology. Beyond our solar system are stars that host their own planets, some of which might be similar to Earth in the ability to support liquid water\u2014and a thriving biosphere\u2014at the planet\u2019s surface. Research is pushing actively in all these directions with the goal of proving a scientific answer to the question, \u201cAre we alone?\u201d (credit: modification of work by NASA)[\/caption]<\/figure>\r\n

As we have learned more about the universe, we have naturally wondered whether there might be other forms of life out there. The ancient question, \u201cAre we alone in the universe?\u201d connects us to generations of humans before us. While in the past, this question was in the realm of philosophy or science fiction, today we have the means to seek an answer through scientific inquiry. In this chapter, we will consider how life began on Earth, whether the same processes could have led to life on other worlds, and how we might seek evidence of life elsewhere. This is the science of astrobiology.<\/p>\r\n

The search for life on other planets is not the same as the search for intelligent<\/em> life, which (if it exists) is surely much rarer. Learning more about the origin, evolution, and properties of life on Earth aids us in searching for evidence of all kinds of life beyond that on our planet.<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\nOne of the concepts you need is an appreciation of how old the universe it, and how old our solar system is.\u00a0 Two videos by the same artist, Kurtis Baute, help illustrate this.\u00a0 Kurtis used to work at Science World in British Columbia but in 2020 was earning his living making great science videos such as these.\r\n\r\nAge of the universe in dominos.\u00a0 Make sure you watch the dinosaurs and the meteor collision.\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/ObngtuPFI8A\r\n\r\nAge of human history in a marathon\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/RYw57X1z0f0\r\n\r\n \r\n

Please note that this book in its original format can be downloaded for free at\u00a0https:\/\/openstax.org\/details\/books\/astr<\/a>.\u00a0 \u00a0 [latexpage]<\/div>\r\n ","rendered":"
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Astrobiology: The Road to Life in the Universe.<\/strong><\/div>\n
\"The
Figure 1.<\/strong> In this fanciful montage produced by a NASA artist, we see one roadmap for discovering life in the universe. Learning more about the origin, evolution, and properties of life on Earth aids us in searching for evidence of life beyond our planet. Our neighbor world, Mars, had warmer, wetter conditions billions of years ago that might have helped life there begin. Farther out, Jupiter\u2019s moon Europa represents the icy moons of the outer solar system. Beneath their shells of solid ice may lie vast oceans of liquid water that could support biology. Beyond our solar system are stars that host their own planets, some of which might be similar to Earth in the ability to support liquid water\u2014and a thriving biosphere\u2014at the planet\u2019s surface. Research is pushing actively in all these directions with the goal of proving a scientific answer to the question, \u201cAre we alone?\u201d (credit: modification of work by NASA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

As we have learned more about the universe, we have naturally wondered whether there might be other forms of life out there. The ancient question, \u201cAre we alone in the universe?\u201d connects us to generations of humans before us. While in the past, this question was in the realm of philosophy or science fiction, today we have the means to seek an answer through scientific inquiry. In this chapter, we will consider how life began on Earth, whether the same processes could have led to life on other worlds, and how we might seek evidence of life elsewhere. This is the science of astrobiology.<\/p>\n

The search for life on other planets is not the same as the search for intelligent<\/em> life, which (if it exists) is surely much rarer. Learning more about the origin, evolution, and properties of life on Earth aids us in searching for evidence of all kinds of life beyond that on our planet.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

One of the concepts you need is an appreciation of how old the universe it, and how old our solar system is.\u00a0 Two videos by the same artist, Kurtis Baute, help illustrate this.\u00a0 Kurtis used to work at Science World in British Columbia but in 2020 was earning his living making great science videos such as these.<\/p>\n

Age of the universe in dominos.\u00a0 Make sure you watch the dinosaurs and the meteor collision.<\/p>\n