| FAINT ECHOES, DISTANT STARS The Science and Politics of Finding Life Beyond Earth Dr. Ben Bova New York: William Morrow, 2004 |
Rating: 4.5 High |
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| ISBN-13 978-0-380-97519-8 | ||||
| ISBN 0-380-97519-X | 335pp. | HC/GSI | $25.95 | |
Dr. Bova has written other books on the subject of SETI, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.1 This one brings us up to date on how and why the focus of that search has changed in the past decade. The why involves politics, and Bova introduces us to that aspect of his topic in Section One, The Path to Astrobiology. This section's five chapters re-introduce the reader to Ptolemy, Copernicus and the rest of the familiar ground of astronomy history. While it may be familiar in part, Bova's narrative includes fresh details of the Kant-LaPlace and Chamberlin-Moulton theories of the formation of our solar system. The final chapter in this section is fascinating in its report of how Ames Research Center reinvented itself, creating in the course of that effort a new scientific discipline: astrobiology.
Ames now hosts the Astrobiology Institute, a sort of clearinghouse for the efforts of scholars and researchers associated with universities worldwide. The efforts of these investigators involve geology, biology, astrophysics and other sciences. While astrobiology includes SETI, the focus has shifted from discovering intelligent signals to explaining how the minds that might produce those signals could come to exist. The aim of this new multi-disciplinary science is nothing less than to elucidate the origin, prevalence and future of life.
Life's origin is the central problem. We know that, today, life comes only from life. But we also know that the Cosmos began without life — unimaginably hot and dense, its primordial matter composed of only the simplest elements. We know that other elements vital for life were formed in stars, and that supernovae created still heavier elements.2 Thus it is clear that, in a time remote and a manner unknown, life did come from non-life. We do not understand how that could occur; but scientists have begun to provide the clues that will lead to an answer. Those clues are the subject of Bova's book.
They come from many fields. Optical astronomers have found more than a hundred planets orbiting other stars; thus we know that our solar system is not the only solar system. Chemists have isolated organic compounds within meteorites, and radio astronomers have detected them in gas clouds deep in space; thus we know that life's precursors form naturally in great abundance. Biologists have discovered microbes living in boiling springs, frozen lakes, even kilometers deep below Earth's surface;3 thus we know that life is hardier than we suspected, likely to survive drastic changes once it gets started. Planetologists have recently shown that Europa (a moon of giant Jupiter4) hides a liquid ocean under its icy crust, and that large quantities of water flowed on Mars in the distant past. All these discoveries buttress the view that life is common in the Cosmos. If that life, when we find it, turns out to be merely primitive microbes, still its discovery will be a revelation with profound implications for our future.
As for the transformative leap from non-life to life, studies in many laboratories are making progress in unraveling that mystery. And the search for intelligent life continues despite being abandoned by the U.S. government. Here, too, while success is not expected soon, capabilities grow steadily, letting us cast our nets ever wider.
Bova's very readable book explains the technical and political aspects of these endeavors clearly. While it does not provide a great deal of detail, it is an excellent introduction for novices to the topic. All aspects are covered; even UFO "abductees" and von Daniken's "ancient astronauts" are discussed (in gentle but skeptical fashion.) Someone who wants a one-volume overview, perhaps to aid in making the case for pressing on with these investigations, will also find it an excellent choice. Eleven appendices cover various areas, from basic facts helpful to the novice to topics as diverse as the death of the dinosaurs, radioactive dating, spacecraft sterilization, and the importance of nitrogen-fixing bacteria. A glossary of terms, an extensive bibliography, and a thorough index round out the book. I recommend it.
To contact Chris Winter, send email to this address.