Planets and Life
The Emerging Science of Astrobiology
Woodruff T Sullivan III editor John Baross editor
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Cambridge University Press
Published:13th Sep '07
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This paperback is available in another edition too:
- Hardback£140.00(9780521824217)
New advanced astrobiology textbook providing the most comprehensive coverage currently available.
Astrobiology combines the sciences of biology, chemistry, palaeontology, geology, planetary physics and astronomy. This textbook brings together world experts to provide the most comprehensive coverage of the field currently available. Written for students from diverse backgrounds, this text will be welcomed by advanced undergraduates and graduates in astrobiology.Astrobiology involves the study of the origin and history of life on Earth, planets and moons where life may have arisen, and the search for extraterrestrial life. It combines the sciences of biology, chemistry, palaeontology, geology, planetary physics and astronomy. This textbook brings together world experts in each of these disciplines to provide the most comprehensive coverage of the field currently available. Topics cover the origin and evolution of life on Earth, the geological, physical and chemical conditions in which life might arise and the detection of extraterrestrial life on other planets and moons. The book also covers the history of our ideas on extraterrestrial life and the origin of life, as well as the ethical, philosophical and educational issues raised by astrobiology. Written to be accessible to students from diverse backgrounds, this text will be welcomed by advanced undergraduates and graduates who are taking astrobiology courses.
'The book brings a wealth of thought-provoking insights into how life developed on Earth, the mechanisms of its existence and destruction, and how we might direct our search for life in the future … This book successfully informs and inspires those students, professionals, and others with a curiosity about life in the Universe.' Astronomy Now
'… a good book to dip into for information and be confident that a question will be covered somewhere.' The Observatory
'The numerous references at the end of each chapter are up-to-date and particularly welcome in this new multidisciplinary field where most of us are struggling to integrate information from half a dozen disciplines. … I'd recommend…Planets and Life for graduate students.' Journal of Geological Magazine
'It's not easy to unify a multidisciplinary field whose main focus (extraterrestrial life) may not exist, but this new astrobiology textbook pulls it off. … well-organised … the combination of details and big picture thinking embodied in this new text will go far to describe our current understanding of how we came to be and how we fit into the universe.' Geological Magazine
'… an effective text book that deals nicely with the interdisciplinary nature of the field, moving fluently from philosophy to ethics to biochemistry.' Astrobiology Society of Britain
ISBN: 9780521531023
Dimensions: 246mm x 188mm x 36mm
Weight: 1360g
628 pages