The Hunt for Alien Life: A Wider Perspective PDF
Preview The Hunt for Alien Life: A Wider Perspective
Peter Linde The Hunt for Alien Life A Wider Perspective Astronomers’ Universe More information about this series at h ttp://www.springer.com/series/6960 Peter L inde The Hunt for Alien Life A Wider Perspective Peter L inde Lund, S weden Original Swedish edition published by Karavan Förlag, Lund, 2013 ISSN 1614-659X ISSN 2197-6651 (electronic) Astronomers’ Universe ISBN 978-3-319-24116-6 ISBN 978-3-319-24118-0 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-24118-0 Library of Congress Control Number: 2015956604 Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2 016 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. A laser, fi red by one of the Unit Telescopes of the VLT, is pointing at the heart of the Milky Way. Credit: G. Tremblay/ESO Printed on acid-free paper Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) To Marcus Prefa ce Everyone should have the opportunity of looking at a really dark, starry sky. In today’s world, more than half of humanity lives in cities; in many countries it is eight out of ten. Observing the night side of the Earth from space reveals how the city illumination spreads more and more across the planet. The risk is increasing that many will never see what a real starry sky looks like. And yet, it is not so difficult. You only need to be a little lucky with the weather and leave the city during an autumn evening. I don’t think I have ever met anyone that has stayed completely untouched by such a view. There is so much depth to it, not just physically but also intellectually, aesthetically and emotionally. The night sky pro- vides a healthy reminder of the perspectives of life. “How small and insignificant we all are!” is a common reaction. I disagree. Instead, I get a feeling of affinity with the infinite out there, which steadily sends its light to the Earth. Fascinatingly enough, modern science, to a large extent, con- firms the close connection between ourselves and the universe. The atoms that build up our bodies were created out there, both at the time of the creation of the universe and through later process- ing deep inside many generations of stars. This is certainly also true of our brains. It is no exaggeration to claim that the brain is also a result of the universe, guided by Darwin’s theory of evolu- tion. This kilo and a half of brain substance must be regarded as the most highly developed and organised form of matter that we know of. In this respect, we are not small, on the contrary. At least here on Earth, matter has developed intelligence and sentience, a truly remarkable fact. At least here on Earth, the universe has made it possible to begin a study of itself. As a newborn infant, we have the opportunity to try to understand our universe. I believe it is our duty to accept that challenge, and my book reflects this. Clearly, while looking at the starry sky, the idea is not far- fetched that somewhere other intelligent beings may exist. They vii viii Preface might be watching a starry sky in the same way, probably unknown to us. Do they have the same feelings? Are they asking the same questions? Until now, the very thought of getting those answers seemed meaningless; how would we ever be able to find out? In 1995, these questions became considerably less mean- ingless. For the first time, astronomers confirmed that there are planets not just in our own solar system but also orbiting other stars. The discovery was the beginning of an avalanche of develop- ment. Within only 20 years time, we have discovered around 2000 new planets. Soon, they got their own label—exoplanets. The dis- covery also became the beginning of a new, expanding, scientific discipline—astrobiology. So, now that we know that planets are common and that there may be hundreds of millions in just our own galaxy, the Milky Way, it becomes inevitable to again ask the question: is there life out there? The ambition of this book is to give a background, in popu- lar terms, to the hunt for alien life. It is a fascinating research to follow, as almost daily new exoplanets are reported. Other scien- tists devote their entire lives to try to catch intelligent messages, which they believe are currently under way toward Earth. And humanity itself is sending information out that may, one day, be collected by somebody else. I have tried to anchor this review in the facts of modern research. At the same time, I have given space to some specula- tions about aliens and the future destiny of man. Some of these concepts border on the domain of science fiction, but I believe this can be allowed, as long as it remains in the realm of natural science. Hopefully, the reader can occasionally feel the “sense of wonder” that I myself often feel. Writing this book has been a challenge in many ways. The research concerning exoplanets is developing rapidly, and it is unavoidable that facts given in the book will become obsolete with time. I have created a special Web site, w ww.peterlinde.net , where the latest information is available, along with a lot of back- ground material. I have also made a point of trying to avoid too many technical terms. In cases where this has not been possible, I refer to the glossary of terms at the end of the book. Preface ix The subject covers many disciplines, and it is impossible to be an expert on all of them. I have therefore been helped by friends and experts which I want to thank. Ulf R Johansson, jour- nalist and eternal astronomy enthusiast, gave me many tips and much encouragement. The microbiologist Leif Petersson provided valuable input on the chapter about early life on Earth. Anders Johansen, exoplanet researcher at Lund Observatory, made several improvements to the chapters about planets and exoplanets. The astronomer Björn Stenholm did the same, especially for the chap- ters on SETI and Drake’s formula. Regarding the English edition, I want to thank the people at Springer, in particular Mike Carroll who used his magic wand to convert my English manuscript into a much more readable text. If, in spite of their efforts, there still remain errors in the text, it is entirely due to myself. Finally, I would like to thank the two people closest to me, Eva Dagnegård, who follows me in life and has continually encour- aged me, and my globetrotting daughter Amanda, who, when she turns 90 years in 2080, will have experienced a world very differ- ent from the current one, hopefully an even better one. Lund, Sweden P eter Linde
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