The inverted bowl introductory accounts of the universe and its life - Cole, G. H. A. (Imperial College Press, 2010)
Includes bibliographical references and indexes
Ch. 1. Planets orbiting the sun and other stars. 1.1. General features of the solar system. 1.2. The terrestrial planetary bodies. 1.3. The characteristics of a planetary body. 1.4. Maximum and minimum conditions. 1.5. Planetary bodies : cold bodies. 1.6. Methods used to detect bodies of planetary mass. 1.7. Observed exo-planets. 1.8. Relevance for the occurrence of advanced life. 1.9. Summary -- ch. 2. The dynamic earth. 2.1. The geological divisions. 2.2. The formation and isothermal structure of the earth. 2.3. Internal thermal balance. 2.4. Geochronology : measurement of rock radioactivity. 2.5. Measurement of remanent magnetisation. 2.6. The land surfaces -- the development of continents. 2.7. The surface temperature. 2.8. The climate. 2.9. The atmosphere. 2.10. Energy absorbed from solar radiation. 2.11. Astronomical factors affecting the atmosphere. 2.12. Effects of volcanoes. 2.13. Ice ages. 2.14. External impacts. 2.15. Summary --
- ch. 3. Life in water : the precambrian. 3.1. Constructing the very early times. 3.2. Life begins. 3.3. Life develops. 3.4. ATP : a biological battery. 3.5. Life expands. 3.6. Oxygen and internally differentiated cells. 3.7. Complex cells. 3.8. Sex arrives -- genetic diversity and stability. 3.9. Primitive senses. 3.10. Some images from the middle cambrian burgess shale -- ch. 4. Life develops in the phanerozoic. 4.1. Invasion of the land. 4.2. The seed and the amniotic egg. 4.3. Creatures come and go : some fly away. 4.4. The role of extinctions. 4.5. Evolution of eyes. 4.6. Brief comment on climate. 4.7. Summary -- ch. 5. Hominids -- homo sapiens. 5.1. Nomenclature. 5.2. Development of more modern forms. 5.3. Hominids diversify. 5.4. The line homo sapiens. 5.5. The future of homo sapiens sapiens? 5.6. Summary -- ch. 6. A universe of exo-life? 6.1. Preliminary information. 6.2. A stellar time scale. 6.3. Abiogenisis -- how did life form? 6.4. Where did life form --
- in situ or panspermia? 6.5. Where can life live?. 6.6. Suitable exo-planetary systems. 6.7. Isolation of the systems. 6.8. The fermi paradox and Drake equation. 6.9. Contacting other civilisations : SETI and METI. 6.10. Space travel. 6.11. General validity of evolutionary processes. 6.12. The role of information. 6.13. Role of automata. 6.14. Summary
The present well-established study of planets orbiting stars other than our Sun, the exoplanets, was reviewed by the author in his earlier book Wandering Stars. This new and exciting field of study has expanded quickly, particularly due to technological advances in both Earth-based telescopes and, more recently, in the application of automatic space vehicles. Well over 300 exoplanets have now been catalogued, each of mass comparable to or greater than those of the major planets of the Solar System. Earth-sized bodies remain out of reach for the present. The data obtained so far show that the distribution of major planets in our Solar System is the exception rather than the rule, contrary to earlier expectations. A few exoplanet systems do, nevertheless, give the promise of broadly Solar System conditions with the possibility of Earth-like components in appropriate orbits.