Comets And The Origin Of Life

Author : Paul J. Thomas,Christopher F. Chyba,Christopher P. McKay
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 302 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2013-03-09
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781475726886

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Comets and the Origin and Evolution of Life by Paul J. Thomas,Christopher F. Chyba,Christopher P. McKay Pdf

A look at the role comets may have played in the origins and evolution of life, particularly in light of recent investigations of Halleys comet, new insights into organic synthesis in meteorites and comets, and new results of numerical simulations of cometary orbits and impacts on Earth. This is a comprehensive review of current research, accessible to graduate students and others new to the field. Each chapter was prepared by an expert in the field, and carefully revised by the editors for uniformity in style and presentation.

Author : Cyril Ponnamperuma
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 276 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2012-12-06
Category : Science
ISBN : 9789400985285

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Comets and the Origin of Life by Cyril Ponnamperuma Pdf

The return of Halley's Cornet in 1986 has generated much ex citement in the scientific community with preparations already afoot for an International Cornet Watch and a cornet launch by the European Space Community, the Japanese and Soviet Space Scientists. The meet ing held at the University of Maryland in October 1980 was primarily stimulated by the preparations for further study of this cornet and by one of the most important unanswered questions related to comets, name ly, whether they may have made a eontribution to the origin of life on earth. Our un"derstanding of the role of comets in the origin of life must necessarily come from our studies of the astronomy and the chem istry of comets. Some clues to the processes which led to the for mation of organic molecules and eventually to the appearance of life have come from these studies of comets, perhaps the most ancient of all objects in our solar system. Whether there is, however, a biology of comets still remains to be seen, although some claims have been made that perhaps comets might themselves provide an environment for even the beginnings of life. Scientists with the latest available information on comets and differing opinions as to the role of comets in the origin of life attended this symposium. The formal papers presented are now being made available to the students of chemical evolution within the pages of this volume.

Author : Cyril Ponnamperuma
Publisher : Springer
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 1981-08-31
Category : Science
ISBN : 9027713189

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Comets and the Origin of Life by Cyril Ponnamperuma Pdf

The return of Halley's Cornet in 1986 has generated much ex citement in the scientific community with preparations already afoot for an International Cornet Watch and a cornet launch by the European Space Community, the Japanese and Soviet Space Scientists. The meet ing held at the University of Maryland in October 1980 was primarily stimulated by the preparations for further study of this cornet and by one of the most important unanswered questions related to comets, name ly, whether they may have made a eontribution to the origin of life on earth. Our un"derstanding of the role of comets in the origin of life must necessarily come from our studies of the astronomy and the chem istry of comets. Some clues to the processes which led to the for mation of organic molecules and eventually to the appearance of life have come from these studies of comets, perhaps the most ancient of all objects in our solar system. Whether there is, however, a biology of comets still remains to be seen, although some claims have been made that perhaps comets might themselves provide an environment for even the beginnings of life. Scientists with the latest available information on comets and differing opinions as to the role of comets in the origin of life attended this symposium. The formal papers presented are now being made available to the students of chemical evolution within the pages of this volume.

Author : Ana I. Gomez de Castro
Publisher : Elsevier
Page : 178 pages
File Size : 48,7 Mb
Release : 2021-03-27
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780128191712

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Ultraviolet Astronomy and the Quest for the Origin of Life by Ana I. Gomez de Castro Pdf

Ultraviolet Astronomy and the Quest for the Origin of Life addresses the use of astronomical observations in the ultraviolet range to better understand the generation of complex, life-precursor molecules. The origin of RNA is still under debate but seems to be related to the generation of pools of complex organic molecules submitted to heavy cycles of solution in water and drying. This book investigates whether these cycles require a planetary surface or may occur in space by examining both the theoretical and observational aspects of the role of UV radiation in the origin of life. This book offers the latest advances in these studies for astronomers, astrobiologists and planetary scientists. Addresses both the theoretical and observational aspects of the role of Ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the origin of life Builds on the requirements to produce prebiotic molecules in space and the implications for the origin of RNA Investigates the use of ultraviolet observations related to planetary system formation, the evolution of young planetary disks, and the interaction of stars with planetary atmospheres

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 53,6 Mb
Release : 2024-06-13
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9789814478748

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Comets and the Origin of Life by Anonim Pdf

Author : Janaki Wickramasinghe,Chandra Wickramasinghe,William Napier,Bill Napier
Publisher : World Scientific Publishing Company Incorporated
Page : 221 pages
File Size : 41,6 Mb
Release : 2010
Category : Science
ISBN : 981256635X

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Comets and the Origin of Life by Janaki Wickramasinghe,Chandra Wickramasinghe,William Napier,Bill Napier Pdf

The idea that comets may be connected with the origin of life on Earth was considered heresy a few decades ago, with scientists shying away from this possibility as if from a medieval superstition. However the case that comets may have contributed at least the complex organic building blocks of life has become very strong, and mechanisms have now been identified whereby comets may incubate and transfer microbial life from one cosmic habitat to another in the Galaxy. The latter process cometary panspermia was pioneered by the late Sir Fred Hoyle and one of the present authors in the early 1980's. A theory that was once controversial is slowly gaining scientific respectability and support.The recent surge of interest in astrobiology has led to a spate of books in astrobiology -- combining astronomy and biology -- but in most of these, cometary panspermia is dealt with only cursorily. The present book sets out the case for cometary panspermia in a cogent way, combining evidence from space science, celestial mechanics, geology and microbiology. It should be an essential part of any university course on astrobiology, and also serve as a reference textbook for researchers in the field.

Author : Raymond Lyttleton
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 199 pages
File Size : 52,5 Mb
Release : 1953
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781107615618

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The Comets and Their Origin by Raymond Lyttleton Pdf

This 1953 book sets out some observational facts about comets and then accounts for their origin and explains how comet tails are formed.

Author : Uwe Meierhenrich
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Page : 352 pages
File Size : 50,9 Mb
Release : 2015-01-30
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783527412785

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Comets And Their Origin by Uwe Meierhenrich Pdf

Divided into two parts, the first four chapters of Comets and their Origin refer to comets and their formation in general, describing cometary missions, comet remote observations, astrochemistry, artificial comets, and the chirality phenomenon. The second part covers the cometary ROSETTA mission, its launch, journey, scientific objectives, and instrumentations, as well as the landing scenario on a cometary nucleus. Along the way, the author presents general questions concerning the origin of terrestrial water and the molecular beginnings of life on Earth, as well as how the instruments used on a space mission like ROSETTA can help answer them. The text concludes with a chapter on what scientists expect from the ROSETTA mission and how its data will influence our life on Earth. As a result, the author elucidates highly topical and fascinating knowledge to scientists and students of various scientific backgrounds, allowing them to work with ROSETTA's data.

Author : National Research Council,Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences,Space Studies Board,Committee on Planetary Biology and Chemical Evolution
Publisher : National Academies Press
Page : 161 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 1990-02-01
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780309042468

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The Search for Life's Origins by National Research Council,Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences,Space Studies Board,Committee on Planetary Biology and Chemical Evolution Pdf

The field of planetary biology and chemical evolution draws together experts in astronomy, paleobiology, biochemistry, and space science who work together to understand the evolution of living systems. This field has made exciting discoveries that shed light on how organic compounds came together to form self-replicating molecules-the origin of life. This volume updates that progress and offers recommendations on research programs-including an ambitious effort centered on Mars-to advance the field over the next 10 to 15 years. The book presents a wide range of data and research results on these and other issues: The biogenic elements and their interaction in the interstellar clouds and in solar nebulae. Early planetary environments and the conditions that lead to the origin of life. The evolution of cellular and multicellular life. The search for life outside the solar system. This volume will become required reading for anyone involved in the search for life's beginnings-including exobiologists, geoscientists, planetary scientists, and U.S. space and science policymakers.

Author : M. E. Bailey,S. V. M. Clube,W. M. Napier,Bill Napier
Publisher : Pergamon
Page : 612 pages
File Size : 40,9 Mb
Release : 1990
Category : Science
ISBN : UOM:39015017701288

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The Origin of Comets by M. E. Bailey,S. V. M. Clube,W. M. Napier,Bill Napier Pdf

Author : B. Hoyle,N.C. Wickramasinghe
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 361 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 2012-12-06
Category : Science
ISBN : 9789401142977

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Astronomical Origins of Life by B. Hoyle,N.C. Wickramasinghe Pdf

Living material contains about twenty different sorts of atom combined into a set of relatively simple molecules. Astrobiologists tend to believe that abiotic mater ial will give rise to life in any place where these molecules exist in appreciable abundances and where physical conditions approximate to those occurring here on Earth. We think this popular view is wrong, for it is not the existence of the building blocks of life that is crucial but the exceedingly complicated structures in which they are arranged in living forms. The probability of arriving at biologically significant arrangements is so very small that only by calling on the resources of the whole universe does there seem to be any possibility of life originating, a conclusion that requires life on the Earth to be a minute component of a universal system. Some think that the hugely improbable transition from non-living to living mat ter can be achieved by dividing the transition into many small steps, calling on a so-called 'evolutionary' process to bridge the small steps one by one. This claim turns on semantic arguments which seek to replace the probability for the whole chain by the sum of the individual probabilities of the many steps, instead of by their product. This is an error well known to those bookies who are accustomed to taking bets on the stacking of horse races. But we did not begin our investigation from this point of view.

Author : Julio A. Fernandez
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 386 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 2005-11-13
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781402034954

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Comets by Julio A. Fernandez Pdf

Comets are small bodies, but of great cosmic relevance. Given its pristine nature, they may preserve valuable and unique information on thechemical and physical processes that took place in theearly solar system, and that may be occurring in the formation of other planetary systems. They might have even played a very important role in the origin of life on Earth. Beyond that, since ancient times comets have inspired awe, superstition, and also curiosity anddebate. Their sudden apparitions challenged the long-held view of the immutability of the heavens, which triggered a long debate on whether comets had a heavenly or terrestrial nature. Therefore, comets have a prominent role in the history of scienti?cthought, that goes back to the most ancient civilizations. The last apparition of comet Halley in 1986 was a landmark since it arouse a great expectation in the scienti?c community and in the public at large. For the ?rst time, a ?otilla of spacecrafts visited a comet. Agreat number of popular and technical books were written on Halley, and comets in general, around the mid-eighties. The interest in comets never subsided after Halley’s passage which is re?ected in the large volume of printed material on these bodies. I have taken the challenge to write a new book on comets that summarizes most of the recent advances on thesubject, including my own workdeveloped during the last 25 years.

Author : Y. Wolman
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 602 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2012-12-06
Category : Science
ISBN : 9789400984202

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Origin of Life by Y. Wolman Pdf

This volume is a record of the 6th International Conference on the Origins of Life and the 3rd Meeting of the International Society for the Study of the Origins of Life. The conference was held under the auspices of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities at Jerusalem from June 22nd to June 27th 1980. A few weeks prior to the conference, Academician Aleksander Ivanovich Oparin passed away. Oparin, the father and founder of the study of the origins of life, proposed over 50 years ago that modern biological molecules had abidogical origins in the past, thus the beginning of life on Earth was preceded by a long period of abiogenic molecular evolution. Oparin was planning to report on his latest work in the opening session of the meeting - "Natural Selection: A Leading Factor in Transition from the Non-Living Matter to Life". This lecture will never be delivered. In Hebrew we say of those who have died "may their memory be bound with the bonds of eternal life". For Aleksander Ivanovich Oparin those words have particular significance, for surely his pioneering work will endure as long as the spirit of scientific enquiry prevails. This meeting was dedicated to the memory of Aleksander Ivanovich Oparin.

Author : Fred Hoyle,Nalin Chandra Wickramasinghe
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 222 pages
File Size : 46,7 Mb
Release : 1978
Category : Science
ISBN : UVA:X001408856

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Lifecloud by Fred Hoyle,Nalin Chandra Wickramasinghe Pdf

Author : Laurel L. Wilkening,Mildred Shapley Matthews
Publisher : University of Arizona Press
Page : 784 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 1982-04
Category : Science
ISBN : 0816507694

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Comets by Laurel L. Wilkening,Mildred Shapley Matthews Pdf

Over forty authorities present sections on the nucleus, dust, coma, and tails of comets, along with sections on their origin, and relationships to other solar system bodies. . . . An excellent book.ÑSpace News "The volume is highly recommended to all interested in comets and the Solar System."ÑJournal of the British Astronomical Association "A good representation of the studies that are currently being done on comets, and it is an extremely good source of information on a wide variety of topics."ÑInternational Comet Quarterly "Extremely well-written and informative. . . . A must for library collections."ÑThe Observatory