If you intrested in space sciences and life on beyond earth than you must read this amazing book. Read more

I was disappointed after reading The Planets: A Sunday Times Bestseller – it was shallow and did not offer much in-depth information after watching the TV series. Astrobiology is not related to the series in any way but covers the same topic more or less. How did it fare? It offers more insight into life, the formation of planets, solar systems and galaxies. It is a short introduction yet it is much more thorough and each page is covered with so much information. It is mind blowing how much we actually know so much about the formation of our planets and the possible origins of life - sometimes by studying microscopic small pieces of evidence as that is all that remains after billions of years. The book explains that everything is intertwined from the smallest elements to the largest galaxies. It is balanced and doesn't take stands - it offers different perspectives which is great. As the book is designed to be brought along with you the format is small and can easily fit in a pocket. Because of this and the limited number of pages the font has a rather small size. I'm fine with it but I can see why some people might struggle to read it. The complexity falls somewhere between a scientific paper and popular science - at times you may have to concentrate or reread a bit to ensure you fully grasp what the author is sharing (if you work in the field this should not be an issue but then you will probably not read this book ;-)). This is not a blocker and I find it helpful to get access to more challenging concepts that are usually avoided in documentaries and other literature. One of my favourite passages that shows where we stand in time is: "Rocky planets, like the one we inhabit, are a natural consequence of the physics of starlight. We also know that the Sun is at least a second-generation star because we have supernova elements on earth such a gold. But since the Sun is only 4.6 billion years old in a 13.2-billion-year-old Milky Way, many stars came and went before life arose on Earth. Did earlier stars support planets and life, or even intelligent life, and what happened to them?" (p. 21) Getting all this information makes me hungry for more. I can highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading more about life, earth and the universe. It's a great concise guide that will teach you a lot. It took me a couple of evenings to finish and it was well worth it. The book is part of a large series of scientific books and I already more on other topics to expand my knowledge further :-). Read more

E' un libro molto interessante, fornisce informazioni sull'origine e sviluppo della vita nell'universo, scritto dal Prof. David Catling dell'Università di Washington (Seattle). Fornisce molti spunti su cui riflettere, con quesiti ancora da risolvere per la scienza moderna. Consigliato. Saluti. Read more

Astrobiology is the scientific discipline concerned with life in this universe. In his book, David Catling gives his broad working definition as “… the study of the origin and evolution on Earth and the possible variety of life elsewhere” (p. 2) This approach implies that there is not only astrobiology and geochemistry to be considered for life on other planets, but also all of terrestrial biology, to account for life’s evolution on Earth and possibly elsewhere. Catlings book tackles one of the most exciting questions of all: the how and why of the origins and forms of life. It is based on the best science available that has addressed this question for our own planet to understand the mechanisms that life could start from an inorganic condition – on Earth, between the planets formation and the earliest microfossils, 4.5 – 2.5 billion years ago. In a detailed coverage, four of the early chapters deal with the origins of molecules and cells on Earth in the context of the origin of our galaxy, sun, solar system, and the Earth’s ecosystems. They summarise a lot of information on astrophysics, geology, and biochemistry in a perfect blend to show the factors which influence the possibility of life sustaining itself on a planet. Catling very carefully analyses the different approaches to the problematic origin of cellular life, which now shows both an information carrier (genome) and a machinery for metabolism and self-replication (enzymes) as well as a compartmentalisation by cell membranes – a classical chicken-and-egg problem: which one could probably have come first? While this is not so novel as a question, the summary is both insightful and succinct. Catling emphasises that the origin of life is so far not solved (p. 13, 31, 39, 44). Ultimately, the analysis is based on the “”N = 1” problem, since the life on Earth is “our one example of life” (p. 63). The emphasis in Catlings definition is also on the variety of life: could life elsewhere look completely different? Such “weird life”, that does not depend e. g. on water, is discussed as a possibility, but obviously does not contribute a definite answer (yet?). The longest chapter, “Life in the Solar System”, then deals with the evidence most people might intuitively think of concerning possible extra-terrestrial life: possibility of life, past or present, on other planets close by, e. g. on Mars, on some extra-terrestrial moons of Jupiter and Saturn, or on Ceres, an asteroid. Probably the most notable surprise will be that the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence SETI or formalisations like the Drake equation are included only in the last chapter. The underlying philosophy of the book is that the evolution of life on Earth should be understood in (molecular) detail to allow insights into the possibility for life – the evolutionary origins – elsewhere. And from the evolutionary past on Earth, Catling infers that “life elsewhere ought to be mostly microbial for much of the history of the host planet” (p. 79), so “microbial-like life should be much more common than intelligent life.” (p. 127) This evolutionary scenario raises the questions for possible evolutionary similarities in life forms between different planets, one for which evidence is so far unfortunately elusive. Overall, this is a fascinating book that can only be recommended – full of facts, well written, carefully argued, and always based on clear arguments. One of the best VSIs I’ve read so far. Read more

Good summary and to the point. Easy to read even if you are not a scientist or if English is not your mother tongue. It gives you envy to learn more. Read more