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Geological Magazine

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LIVIO, M., REID, N. & SPARKS, W. (eds) 2005. Astrophysics of Life.

Space Telescope Science Institute Symposium Series no. 16. xi +110 pp. Cambridge, New York, Melbourne: Cambridge University Press. Price £55.00, US $100.00 (hard covers). ISBN 0 521 82490 7.

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This slim, but rather expensive, volume emanates from the organization in charge of the famous Hubble Space Telescope, and this locale justifies the editors’ remarks that ‘Unlike other astrobiology symposia, the emphasis here was on astronomical observations and astrophysical research’ (p. xi). As such it forms a very welcome counterpart to the many other astrobiology volumes where other important topics such as origin of life, extremophiles, planetary atmospheres and the search for extraterrestrial signals are all well reviewed. To many these topics in astrobiology seem remote, but there are at least four reasons for any reader of Geological Magazine taking notice. First, even what we know of our Earth in comparison with Mars, Venus, Europa and most recently Titan suggest intriguing differences and similarities. Second, the edge of technology is advancing at a prodigious pace, and whilst the main surveys for remote Earth-like planets (such as Kepler and Terrestrial Planet Finder) are still some years away, existing refinements of technique and technology suggest that what even a few years ago would have seemed like science fiction may now be on the verge of reality. Third, just as no man is an island, so Earth is embedded in a galactic environment that may impinge, sometimes less than subtly, on our home planet. Finally, . . . [Full Text of this Article]