Life Everywhere: The Maverick Science of Astrobiology Book

Are we alone? As the search for extraterrestrial intelligence comes more and more into the mainstream, scientists like David Darling step up to explain what we know and what's possible. His book Life Everywhere explores the history and current state of the field with the perhaps-unfortunate name astrobiology. Neither devoted to organisms skimming the Sun's surface nor to possible signs of intelligence amongst celebrities--though not explicitly rejecting these phenomena--astrobiology is concerned with the basic questions of life: what is a living organism? Is it common, or likely, elsewhere in the universe? Is it worth trying to communicate across light years? Darling, an astronomer and science journalist, has a knack for explaining complexities and fine details that carry his prose forward where other authors have foundered; the reader is swept up in the enthusiasm of the researchers he describes. Writing of the astronomical search for signs of life far off in the galaxy, he captures the thrill of this work: Their efforts will revolutionise astrobiology, more so perhaps than spacecraft parachuting down out of the orange sky of Titan or roving the rock-strewn deserts of Mars. The world-shaking headlines of the next 20 years will likely come from giant instruments, on the ground and in Earth orbit, gazing with far sight at the planetary systems of other stars. Since most research germane to the field has been done here on Earth, Darling explores such hot topics as heat vents and other geothermal mini-biomes, meteoritic dissection and of course SETI's radio telescope arrays. Mars, Venus and the moons of the outer planets are all major characters, and their stories will reinvigorate most readers' excitement about the prospects of having neighbours just down the cosmic street. Ending with a set of hypotheses and brief explorations of their ramifications if shown to be true, Life Everywhere is an outstanding and thought-provoking look at what could ultimately be the most world-shaking research ever conducted. --Rob LightnerRead More