history of astrobiology
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History of
Astrobiology
THE HISTORY OF
ASTROBIOLOGY
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Metrodorus of Chios
It would be strange if a single ear of corn grew in a large plain, or
there were only one world in the infinite 4th Century BC
Astrobiology is an ancient science
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Early remarkable speculations
In space there are countless
constellations, suns and planets;
we see only the suns because they
give light; the planets remaininvisible, for they are small and
dark. There are also numberless
earths circling around their sunsG. Bruno, 1584On the Infinite Universe and Worlds.
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The telescope - seeing planetary bodies
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William Herschel (1738-1822)By reflecting a little on this subject I
am almost convinced that thosenumberless small Circuses we see on
the moon are the works of the
Lunarians and may be called their
Towns.
Optimism went wild in the Enlightenment
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Christian Huygens (1629-1695), after observing spots
on Venus, Mars and Jupiter,
concluded that there are
clouds and water.
The taste of music with the
inhabitants of Venus and
Jupiter is at a high level,
similar to that of Frenchmen
or Italians
Optimism went wild in the Enlightenment
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Every opposition has added to the assurance that the
canals are artificial; both by disclosing their peculiarities
better and better and by removing generic doubts as to
the planet's habitability.
Percival Lowell, 1909, Mars as the Abode of Life.
Even in the 20 th Century
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Aliens still grip the human imagination
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Mariner 4, Mars, 1965 Venera 13, Venus, 1982
The Space Age and new views
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The Space Age and new views
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The experiment,
conducted in 1952,
showed that molecules,from which life is made,
could be created from
basic constituents of an
atmosphere.
Experiments on the Origin of Life
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Experimental insights on early life
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Experiments on Other Worlds
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Experiments in Communication with ET
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More experiments on Mars
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Liquid water on other worlds
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Moons covered in interesting chemistry
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Experimental search for other Earths
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What have we learned?
Astrobiology is an ancient science
Only recently has it become more scientifically constrained
Several planetary bodies in our Solar System have become of interest in the
search for life
We can now hunt for Earth-like planets around other stars
The future will hold many remarkable discoveries and surprises
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