Posted on 09/13/2006 2:08:21 PM PDT by PatrickHenry
A comprehensive review by leading scientists about our Solar System which speculates on the possibility of life on other planets has been published.
Solar System Update brings together the work of 19 physicists, astronomers, and climatologists from Europe and the USA in 12 chapters on the sun, the main planets and comets.
The book, co-edited by Dr Philippe Blondel, of the University of Bath, highlights the many recent discoveries and in particular the amount of water, one of the essentials for life, found in the Solar System.
Recent studies have revealed ice in craters on Mercury, the closest planet to the sun, and that liquid water may once have existed on the surface of Mars and may still be there underground.
In addition, liquid water may exist on moons around Jupiter, in particular Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, underneath a surface of ice.
In his chapter The Habitability of Mars: Past and Present, Thomas McCollom, of the Center for Astrobiology at the University of Colorado, USA, says that though the temperatures on Mars, as low as minus 120 Centigrade, mean that water cannot exist on the surface, there may be a "planet-wide liquid aquifer at some depth in its crust." There is also geological evidence that water has flowed on the surface in the past.
“It seems increasingly apparent that habitable environments very likely exist on Mars today, and may have been considerably more diverse and abundant in the past,” he writes.
In his chapter The Icy Moons of Jupiter, Richard Greenberg, of the Department of Planetary Sciences at the University of Arizona, USA, says: “There is an unusually strong motivation to continue to pursue studies of the icy satellites.”
He says that three large moons of Jupiter “probably have liquid water layers, and one, Europa, almost certainly has an ocean just below the surface. Naturally liquid water raises the possibility of extraterrestrial life.”
However, if the surface ice were very thick, this would cut the water below off from oxygen and sunlight which are important for most forms of life on Earth, and so might have prevented life from developing.
Dr Blondel, who works in the University of Bath’s Department of Physics, took 18 months to edit the book, with his co-editor Dr John Mason.
“This book sets out how much water and ice there is in the solar system," said Dr Blondel. “This obviously has implications for our search for extra-terrestrial life.
“By understanding better how the climates of planets like Mars and Venus have evolved, we can understand more about climate change on Earth.
“For instance, the very hot and cloudy climate of Venus is likely to have developed after a runaway greenhouse effect, and the more we know about this the more we can understand some of the challenges caused by our climate change on Earth."
The full list of the contributors is:
[See list at original article]
The book is published by Springer, Germany and Praxis, UK.
"By understanding better how the climates of planets like Mars and Venus have evolved, we can understand more about climate change on Earth."
It's more unrelated political agenda seeping into planetary science.
Mars Research
Dr. Gilbert V. Levin
http://mars.spherix.com/
There are two kinds of people. One kind thinks earth is it forever. The other kind sees 100 billion stars in the galaxy and 100 billion galaxies in the Hubble volume and wonders why we are still sitting here playing king of the sandpile with each other.
And nobody tries to assert that it was caused by SUV-driving Venusians.
The Venusians didn't listen.
Do they ever? Cell phone in one hand, lipstick in the other, a hairbush in a third...
My sentiments exactly.
I agree, othewise we would have been able to pick up re-runs of their "I love Lucy" or whatever shows from 10/1000/1000000 years ago(depending on how far away they are).
Back before the word got stolen and using it's original meaning, J.B.S. Haldane was quoted as saying that the universe was not only queerer than we suppose but queerer than we can suppose.
That's the way I remember it, but the poster was obviously a pantheist.
I think life is the rule rather then the exception. I think life is a part of the fabric of existence along with space and time.
When you consider that there are over 100 billion galaxies each with around one trillon stars then there must be millons of worlds with intelligent life..
The earth is 5 billion years old, the known universe around 15 billion. That gives us 10 billion years of missing time.
We have found about 150 exosolar planets so far, all gas giants but within 10 years we will be able to detect earth sized planets. Within 100 years we will be able to go to the stars. As soon as we are able too we will visit planets around the other suns that we find.
It's impossible that intelligent life from other worlds is not here now considering the odds that within 10 billion years some races have not advanced more then 100 years ahead of us.
John
I'm no pantheist (i had to look it up to be sure) I just think that we don't give God nearly the credit he deserves.
I agree. I'm just keep thinking about Bruce Willis and his team of ace roustabouts going into space to drill where no man has drilled before.
Seriously, I guess they are going to do some ground-radar surveys, which is great, but at some point it would be nice to scoop up a sample and get it back here to take a look at it. Or, well, put some men and a mobile lab (and some seismic test equipment) there, which is my personal preference.
OK, but how is that relevant to the current topic?
"The other kind sees 100 billion stars in the galaxy and 100 billion galaxies in the Hubble volume and wonders why we are still sitting here playing king of the sandpile with each other."
Because liberals have convinced too many of our brothers and sisters to only think small thoughts.
Forget Mars... Drill Europa! ;-)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.