Light of the Stars Read online

  51 Pegasi b, 143–44

  in Kepler mission, 144–47

  knowledge about planetary system architecture from, 147–48

  precision-related problems with, 137–40

  and probability of exo-civilization existence, 151–64

  by Thomas See, 133–37

  of super-planets, 148–50

  with transit method, 140–43

  exoplanets

  beliefs about existence of, 33–34

  climate mechanics of, 89

  modeling biospheres on, 185

  “Explanation for the Absence of Extraterrestrials on Earth, An” (Hart), 24

  extinction events, 115

  extraterrestrial intelligent species, 23; See also exo-civilizations

  fbt, See bio-technical probability

  fc (fraction of planets with technological civilizations), 49

  feedback

  on climate, 73–74

  in Daisyworld model, 129

  in Gaia theory, 125–29

  Fellowship of Isis, 127

  Fermi, Enrico, 21, 23, 25–28, 57, 166

  Fermi’s Paradox, 21–28, 170

  fi (fraction of planets where intelligence evolves), 49

  51 Pegasi b, 143–44, 147

  55 Cancri e, 149

  fl (fraction of planets where life forms), 48, 163–64

  Flammarion, Camille, 32, 34, 158

  Flammarion, Claude, 64, 64–65, 79

  fossil fuels, 5, 54, 186, 187

  fp (fraction of stars with planets), 47, 150

  fraction of planets where intelligence evolves (fi), 49

  fraction of planets where life forms (fl), 48, 163–64

  fraction of planets with technological civilizations (fc), 49

  fraction of stars with planets (fp), 47, 150

  Frank, Adam, 156

  fusion, nuclear, 34–35

  Gaia theory, 122–29, 220–22

  galaxy(-ies)

  exo-civilizations colonization of, 24

  number of detectable technologically advanced civilizations in, See Drake equation

  size of, 45–46

  geochemistry, 120

  geothermal energy, 189

  glaciation, 112

  GOE (Great Oxidation Event), 113–18, 218

  Goering, Kent, 103

  Goldilocks Zone, 47–48, 150, 151, 155

  Golding, William, 124–25

  Great Filter, 25–28

  Great Oxidation Event (GOE), 113–18, 218

  Great Silence, 25

  Greeks, ancient, 28–29, 135

  Green Bank conference, 43–54, 207

  greenhouse effect, 190

  runaway, 72–75

  on Venus, 67–72, 184, 198

  Greenland, 9, 56, 101, 113, 182; See also Camp Century

  Gregersen, Soren, 100–101, 103, 104

  Grinspoon, David, 220

  Guaymas Basin, 114–15

  Gulf Stream, 27

  Haberle, Robert, 84, 86, 88, 224

  habitability

  and climate change for Mars, 89–91

  zones of, See Goldilocks Zone

  Hadean eon, 109–10

  Hadley, George, 87

  Hadley cells, 88

  hard steps, of evolution, 162–63

  Hart, Michael, 24, 28

  Hawking, Stephen, 118

  heat engines, 214–15

  Hiroshima, bombing of, 34

  Holocene epoch, 12, 16, 91, 105–6, 109

  Homo sapiens, age of, 24

  hot Earths, 148

  hot Jupiters, 147, 149

  hot Neptunes, 148

  “hot” worlds, 13, 147–49

  Hoyle, Frank, 46

  Huang, Su-Shu, 43, 47–48

  Hubel, David, 207

  human civilization

  in Anthropocene era, 121

  in astrobiological perspective on Anthropocene era, 15–17

  as “cosmic teenagers,” 3–8, 224

  on Easter Island, 181–84

  effects of Anthropocene era for Earth vs, 222–25

  influence of, on Earth, 4–8

  on Kardashev scale, 211

  in storytelling about climate change, 9–10

  hydro energy sources, 189

  hydrogen bomb, 22, 34–35

  ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles), 35, 56

  ice ages, 104–5

  ice core drilling, at Camp Century, 104–7

  industrial revolution, 5–6, 55

  infrared radiation, 69

  intelligence (intelligent life); See also search for extra-terrestrial intelligence (SETI)

  evolution of, 160–61, 171–73

  fraction of planets with, 49

  intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), 35, 56

  J1407B (exoplanet), 149

  James, Jack, 62, 75, 104, 174, 223

  and James Lovelock, 122

  in Mariner 1 mission, 61–63

  in Mariner 2 mission, 71, 72

  Jeans, James, 33

  Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), 71, 72, 77, 122–24

  jet streams, Martian, 88

  Johnson, Lyndon, 54–58

  JPL, See Jet Propulsion Laboratory

  Jupiter, 95

  Jurassic era, 112

  Kardashev, Nikolai Semenovich, 208–9, 211–12, 223

  Kardashev scale, 208–14

  Keeling, Charles, 54

  Kepler 42 system, 148

  Kepler mission, 144–47, 150–51, 154, 155

  Kleidon, Axel, 193–94, 198, 217

  Konopinski, Emil Jan, 22, 23

  L, See average lifetime of technological civilization

  Langway, Chester, 105

  Late Heavy Bombardment period, 109–10

  Leovy, Conway, 84

  life

  attempts to detect, on Mars, 122–23

  basics of, for exo-civilization modeling, 171, 172

  beliefs about, on Mars, 78–84

  coevolution of planet and, 130

  in Earth’s history, 110–12

  effect of Great Oxidation Event on, 117

  evolution of Earth and, 10–11

  fraction of planets where life forms, 48, 163–64

  on other planets, 7–8; See also exo-civilizations

  Life magazine, 108

  lifetime of technological civilization, See average lifetime of technological civilization (L)

  light, visible, 36, 41, 69

  Lilly, John C., 44

  liquids, energy transformations with, 216

  lithosphere, 121

  Livio, Mario, 247n.37

  Los Alamos National Laboratory, 21

  Love Canal disaster, 128

  Lovelock, James, 122–29, 126, 174, 213, 220, 224

  Lowell, James, 107

  Lowell, Percival, 32, 34, 79–80, 134–35

  Man’s Place in the Universe (Wallace), 33

  mantle, 110

  Marcy, Geoff, 143–44

  Margulis, Lynn, 126, 174, 213, 224

  Gaia theory of, 125–29, 220

  and Carl Sagan, 75–76

  on toughness of Earth, 9

  Mariner 1 probe, 61–63

  Mariner 2 probe, 63, 71–76

  Mariner 4 probe, 79–81

  Mariner 9 probe, 81–83, 82, 94

  Mars, 76–95

  in astrobiology of Anthropocene, 13

  atmosphere on, 216

  attempts to detect life on, 122–23

  beliefs about life on, 32, 34, 78–84

  climate change model for, 84–86

  climate of, 11, 86–89

  energy transformations on, 217, 218

  formation of, 109

  habitability and climate changes for, 89–91

  nuclear winter modeling with, 92–95, 184

  Opportunity and Spirit rovers on, 76–78

  space probes to, 63

  Mars Exploration Rover program, 76–79

  Mars Global Climate Model, 84–86, 89–90, 94
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br />   mathematical modeling, in theoretical biology, 177–80

  Max Planck Institute, 191

  Maya civilization, 182

  Mayor, Michel, 143, 144, 224

  Mayr, Ernst, 159–62

  Mercury, 109, 215, 217

  Meridiani Planum, 76

  Milky Way, 24, 236n.50

  Miller, Harold, 48

  Minsky, Marvin, 207

  Moon, probes to, 61, 63–64

  Morrison, Philip, 41–43

  Moulton, Forest Ray, 135, 136

  Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago, Illinois), 37

  myths, 8–10

  N* (birth rate of stars), 46, 150

  Nagasaki, bombing of, 34

  National Academy of Sciences, 43

  National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), 57, 61, 62, 71, 81, 141, 142, 145; See also Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

  National Radio Astronomical Observatory, 39–42, 40

  Naval Observatory (Mare Island, California), 136–37

  Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), 65–66, 70, 72

  negative feedback cycle, 74

  Neptune, 30, 148

  net productivity, of planet, 218

  New Ageism, 127–28

  Newton, Isaac, 30, 177

  New Yorker, The 22, 22

  New York Times, 81, 92

  Nirgal Vallis, 82

  Noachian period, 91, 218

  noosphere, 221

  Norse colony, on Greenland, 182

  np, See number of planets in Goldilocks Zone

  NRL, See Naval Research Laboratory

  nuclear energy, 190

  nuclear freeze movement, 92–93

  nuclear fusion, 34–35

  nuclear war, 26, 27, 92–93

  nuclear weapons, 56

  nuclear winter, 92–95, 184

  “Nuclear Winter” (TTAPS study), 93–94

  number of planets in Goldilocks Zone (np), 48, 150, 151

  Of the Plurality of Worlds (Whewell), 32–33

  Oliver, Barney, 43

  Olympus Mons, 83

  On the Revolution of Heavenly Spheres (Copernicus), 29

  Opportunity rover, 76–78, 90

  orbital motion, exoplanet detection based on, 138, 142

  organelles, 125

  oxygen; See also Great Oxidation Event

  in Earth’s atmosphere, 99–100

  and Gaia theory, 126–27

  Oxygen (Canfield), 114

  ozone layer, 117

  Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, 113

  Pangaea, 113

  Parade magazine, 93

  Pearman, J. Peter, 43, 44

  pessimism line

  and average lifetime of civilizations, 170

  and bio-technical probability, 186

  defined, 155–57

  and history of exo-civilizations, 185–86

  limitations of, 157–59

  in understanding of climate change, 164–66

  Phanerozoic eon, 112–13

  photosynthesis, 111, 115–16

  phototrophs, anoxygenic, 116, 117

  planetary science, 66

  Planetary Society, 160

  planetary systems, architecture of, 147–48

  planetesimals, 109

  planet(s); See also exoplanet discovery

  atmosphere and surface temperature of, 68–70

  coevolution of, 14–15, 130

  energy transformation-based classification of, 214–22

  as engines of innovation, 221–22

  environments for sustainable civilizations on, 205–6

  fraction of, where life forms, 48, 163–64

  fraction of, with intelligent life, 49

  fraction of, with technological civilization, 49

  fraction of stars with, 47, 150

  implications of energy consumption for, 212–13

  laws of, 75

  life on other, 7–8; See also exo-civilizations

  number of, in Goldilocks Zone, 47–48, 150, 151

  number of energy sources on, 188–90

  similarities of Earth to other, 7

  universality of forces/processes on, 70–71

  Pleistocene epoch, 106, 109

  “Plurality of worlds” question, 28–34

  Pollack, James, 84, 93–94, 184

  populations, law of, 177–78

  positive feedback loop, 73–74

  Postgate, John, 128

  power, 211

  precision, exoplanet discovery and, 137–40

  predator-prey model, 174–80, 183, 185

  Project Ozma, 40–43

  prokaryotes, 111

  Proterozoic eon, 111–12

  Queloz, Didier, 143, 144

  R-7 missiles, 35

  radio astronomy, 36–37, 39–42, 65

  range safety officer, 63

  Reagan, Ronald, 92, 93

  reflex motion, exoplanet detection based on, 139, 142–44

  resources, overharvesting of, 183–84

  Revelle, Roger, 54

  ribonucleic acid (RNA), 164

  Riftia tubeworms, 114

  RNA (ribonucleic acid), 164

  Robinson, Kim Stanley, 10

  rockets, 35–36, 71

  Rodinia, 111

  Romans, ancient, 49

  Ross, David S., 183–84

  Rossby waves, 88

  runaway greenhouse effect, 72–75

  Ruse, Michael, 128

  Russia

  atomic weapons of, 34–35

  Martian probes, 81

  in space race, 35–36, 61

  Venusian probes, 72

  Sagan, Carl, 104, 118, 166, 174, 224

  at Byurakan meeting, 206–8, 207

  and Gaia theory, 124, 125

  at Green Bank conference, 44

  on human civilization as “cosmic teenagers,” 6

  Kardashev value for Earth from, 211

  and Lynn Margulis, 75–76

  in Mariner 4 mission, 79, 80

  as “Nuclear Winter” author, 93–94

  and Jim Pollack, 84

  and SETI, 140, 160

  Venusian greenhouse effect studies of, 66–68, 70–72, 184

  in Viking mission, 83

  San Jose State University, 84

  satellites, 35–37, 57

  Saturn, 95

  Schiaparelli, Giovanni, 79

  Schneiderman, Dan, 62

  science

  of climate change, 9

  contradictory data in, 136

  development of, in human civilization, 5

  exo-civilization modeling using existing, 171–74

  importance of well-posed questions in, 27–28

  in search for exo-civilizations, 42, 52–53

  transformative influence of new data in, 104

  search for extra-terrestrial intelligence (SETI), 53, 141–43, 152, 160, 208; See also Byurakan Observatory meeting

  “Searching for Interstellar Signals” (Cocconi & Morrison), 41–42

  Second Law of Thermodynamics, 187–88

  See, Thomas, 133–38, 134, 142

  “Self-regulating Earth System Theory,” 124

  SETI, See search for extra-terrestrial intelligence

  SETI Institute, 141

  70 Ophiuchi system, 135

  Siegel, Ethan, 157

  Silent Spring (Carson), 55–56

  Snow, C.P., 21

  sociology, 50, 171, 173–74

  “soft landing” trajectory, 196, 197

  sol (Martian day), 83

  solar cells, 220

  solar energy, 190

  solar system(s)

  architectures of other, 144, 147–48

  exploration of, 95

  Soviet Union, 92, 93, 208

  Spirit rover, 77, 78

  “spots,” on stars, 140

  spreading zones, 114

  Sputnik satellite, 35–36

  Squyers, Steven, 76–78, 90, 223–24

  stars

  birth r
ate of, 46, 50

  fraction of, with planets, 47, 150

  planets orbiting other, 135, 136

  Star Wars (film), 212

  steady state, 126, 127

  storytelling

  about climate change, 8–10, 55

  about human civilization in context of planet, 57–58

  Struve, Otto, 38, 42, 43, 47, 54

  Suess, Eduard, 120

  Sullivan, Woody, 152–57, 159, 164–65

  Sun, 109, 137, 209

  super-Earths, 13, 148–49

  super-planets, 148–50

  super-Saturn, 149

  surface temperature

  atmosphere and, 68–69

  ice core study of Earth’s, 105–7, 106

  of Mars, 86, 89

  during Phanerozoic eon, 113

  of Venus, 65–68

  sustainability, 56, 91, 205–6

  sustainable civilizations, 205–25

  and anthropogenic effects for Earth vs. civilization, 222–25

  in astrobiological perspective on Anthropocene, 12, 16

  and average lifetime of civilizations, 169–70

  Byurakan meeting on interplanetary civilizations, 206–8

  in exo-civilization modeling, 196, 196, 198, 202

  and Kardashev scale of civilization progress, 208–14

  and planetary classifications based on energy transformations, 214–22

  planetary environments for, 205–6

  Tarter, Jill, 141–43, 142, 223

  Tau Ceti, 41

  Taylor, M. Scott, 182–84

  technological civilization

  average lifetime of, See average lifetime of technological civilization (L)

  fraction of planets with, 49

  technology

  atomic age advances in, 34–37

  of Class 5 planets, 221

  and energy consumption, 187

  in exo-civilization modeling, 188–89

  for exoplanet discovery, 141

  and Kardashev scale, 211, 212

  Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre, 250n.21

  teleology, 128–29

  Television Infrared Observation Satellite (TIROS), 57

  Teller, Edward, 21–22, 23

  temperature

  equilibrium, 68, 126

  at surface of planet, See surface temperature

  Terres Ciel, Les (Flammarion), 64

  theoretical archaeology of exo-civilization, 184–202

  averages in, 186

  energy sources in, 186–90

  environmental impact of energy consumption in, 190–91

  histories of exo-civilizations in, 185–86

  studying civilization and environmental interactions with, 193–98

  uses of, on Earth, 198–202

  theoretical biology, 174–80

  theory, defined, 179

  thermodynamics, 187–88, 214–15

  thick biospheres, 218, 219

  thin biospheres, 217–19

  Thomas Aquinas, 29

  Three Mile Island meltdown, 128

  Thule Air Base, 101, 103

  tides, as energy source, 189

  TIROS (Television Infrared Observation Satellite), 57

  Titan, 11, 232n.11

  Toon, Owen, 93–94

  Tovmassian, Hrant, 207