How did life originate on Earth? For over 50 years, scientists believed that life was the result of a chemical reaction involving simple molecules such as methane and ammonia cooking in a primordial soup. Recent space observations have revealed that old stars are capable of making very complex organic compounds. At some point in their evolution, stars eject those organics and spread them all over the Milky Way galaxy. There is evidence that these organic dust particles actually reached the early Solar System. Through bombardments by comets and asteroids, the young Earth inherited significant amounts of stardust. Was the development of life assisted by the arrival of these extraterrestrial materials?
In this book, the author describes stunning discoveries in astronomy and solar system science made over the last 10 years that have yielded a new perspective on the origin of life.
Other interesting topics discussed in this book
- The discovery of diamonds and other gemstones in space
- The origin of oil
- Neon signs and fluorescent lights in space
- Smoke from the stars
- Stardust in our hands
- Where oceans come from
- The possibility of bacteria in space
Author(s): Sun Kwok (auth.)
Series: Astronomers' Universe
Edition: 1
Publisher: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
Year: 2013
Language: English
Pages: 267
Tags: Astrobiology; Astrophysics and Astroparticles; Biogeosciences; Organic Chemistry; Extraterrestrial Physics, Space Sciences; Popular Science in Astronomy
Front Matter....Pages i-xxii
Where Do We Come From?....Pages 1-9
Rocks and Dust in the Planetary Neighborhood....Pages 11-23
Impacts from Beyond....Pages 25-35
Descendants of Stars....Pages 37-42
Glowing in the Dark....Pages 43-52
Stardust in Our Eyes....Pages 53-61
The Oldest and Brightest....Pages 63-69
Neon Signs in the Sky....Pages 71-80
Stars as Molecular Factories....Pages 81-89
Smoke from Stellar Chimneys....Pages 91-105
Gems from Heaven....Pages 107-112
Diamonds in the Sky....Pages 113-120
A Mysterious Red Glow....Pages 121-126
A Celestial Origin for Oil?....Pages 127-135
Organics in Our Solar System....Pages 137-146
Stardust in Our Hands....Pages 147-152
Bacteria in Space?....Pages 153-163
Comets: Messengers from the Past....Pages 165-176
Where Do Oceans Come from?....Pages 177-181
Playing God with Primordial Soup....Pages 183-187
Stardust and Origin of Life....Pages 189-199
Our Place in the Universe....Pages 201-214
Back Matter....Pages 215-267
