The Stardust Revolution
Page 37
Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories, 105
Chandrasekhar, Subrahmanyan, 103
Charbonneau, David, 254, 297, 300
chemistry
chemical reactions, 124
chemicals in red giant stars, 185
cosmic, 22, 235–40,
dawn of, 282–83,
experiments, 221–23,
fundamental patterns of chemicals, 295–96,
life as, 290
nineteenth-century discoveries, 47–51,
organic, 116, 235–40,
in space, 180
study of life and, 286
terrestrial, 186–87,
See also astrochemistry; biochemistry
Cheung, Al, 174–75, 177
Chicxulub crater, 233
Chihuahua, Mexico, 200
chlorophyll, 189
CHNOPS (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur), 293
chondrites, 203
Chyba, Christopher, 233
circumbinary planets, 264–65,
clouds, cold molecular, 222–23, 236–39. See also nebulae
coal, 48, 77, 215
coldness in space, 148–49,
Cold War, 83, 181
race to the Moon, 131, 134, 268
spy planes, 197
spy satellites, 147
collisions
cosmic dust, 220
Earth, 232
Late Heavy Bombardment, 231–35,
Columbia University, 171
comets
81P/Wild 2 (a.k.a. Wild 2), 26, 196, 224–25, 229
formation of, 220–21,
impacts on Earth, 232–33,
molecular diversity in, 231
compounds, discovery of, 48
computer models of stars, 83
computer science, 269
Comte, Auguste, 45–46, 55, 59, 199, 305
connections, 14–15, 308
constellations
ancient cultures and, 14, 137
Cassiopeia, 151, 164
Cygnus, 273
Gemini, 62–63,
Hydrus, 259
Leo, 178
Orion, 155, 304
Contact (Sagan), 161
Continents of Creation, 150, 153
Copernican Revolution, 28, 243, 294, 304
core evolution in stars, 96
Cornell University, 146, 269
cosmic delivery of organic material, 233–35,
cosmic dust
carbon in, 142–43, 234
collection of, 195–97,
collisions of, 220
discovery of, 139–43,
distribution in interstellar space, 154–55,
and evolution, 157
falling on Earth, 198–99,
ice on, 179
infrared astronomy and, 146–49,
microscopic minerals in, 156–57,
production in dying stars, 155
role in origin of life, 157–58,
See also stardust
cosmic ecology, 142
cosmic evolution, 121, 243–44, 278–84, 302–303. See also evolution
cosmic genealogy, 30
cosmic microwave background, 103
cosmic radio waves, 171
cosmochemistry, 27, 99, 125, 209, 217
cosmology, 29, 40, 137, 141, 283
Cosmos (Sagan), 31
Coulomb barrier, 88
Course in Positive Philosophy, The (Comte), 45–46,
Craig Venter Institute, 109
Crick, Francis, 128, 289
Crookes, William, 72–76,
cryovacuum system, 222, 238
Cullers, Kent, 271
Curie, Pierre, 78
CW Leonis (star), 178–79,
cyanogen, 166
cyano-octatetra-yne, 186
cyclotron, 64–65,
Cygnus (constellation), 273
Dalgarno, Alex, 279–83, 297
Dalton, John, 73–74,
Dark Ages, 282
Dark Companions of Stars (van de Kamp), 249
dark matter, 137–40,
dark-sky preserves, 136
Darwin, Charles, 104, 116, 292–93,
Darwinism, 72, 77, 290
on origin of life, 111
On the Origin of Species, 42, 49, 110, 113, 117, 278
See also evolution
Darwinian Revolution, 28, 294
Darwin telescope, 298, 302
De La Rue, Warren, 55
Delta II rocket, 272
Demon-Haunted World, The (Sagan), 31
devolatized solar abundances, 294
diamonds, 157, 212–13.See also nano-diamonds, stellar
diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs), 190
dimethyl sulfide, 302
dinosaurs, extinction of, 232–33,
Dirac, Paul, 90–91,
distances in light-years, 17–18,
DNA, 13, 128, 189, 226, 229, 287, 289–91, 296
Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, 249
Doppler spectroscopy, 246, 249, 257, 259
Drake, Frank, 164
Draper, Anna Palmer, 58
Draper, Henry, 57–58,
Duquennoy, Antoine, 255
dust.See cosmic dust; stardust
Earth
age of, 77
atmosphere
biosignatures, 301
primordial, 123, 126–30, 291
birth of, 200–202, 204–205,
Earthshine, 301
as exoplanet, 301
formation of, 208, 219–21,
historical and cosmic context of, 30
lifeless period of, 122
photographs of, 14
Earth-like planets, 33, 270, 297, 307. See also super-Earths
Earth-sized exoplanets, 254, 261, 270–76. See also exoplanets
eclipse, lunar, 129
ecology, 26–27,
Eddington, Arthur, 79–81, 90
E=mc2, 80, 96
81P/Wild 2 (a.k.a. Wild 2).See Wild 2 (comet)
Einstein, Albert, 32, 39, 287
general relativity, 86
theories, 28–29, 80–81,
Eisenhower, Dwight D., 132, 181
“Electrical Disturbances Apparently of Extraterrestrial Origin” (Jansky), 163
electromagnetic spectrum, 33, 145–46,
electron microscopes, 197, 219
electrons, 67, 76, 171, 209, 268, 281–82,
elements
abundances of, 84–85, 87, 91–92, 97, 99–100, 143, 293–94,
atomic weight of, 88
compounds, formation of, 74
element 42 (molybdenum), 64
element 43 (technetium), 59, 63–64,
identification of, 48–51,
of life, 119–20,
light emitted from, 49–52,
origin of, 64, 67–105, 282–83,
emission and absorption, law of, 54
emptiness, interstellar, 141
energy and wavelengths, 146
“Energy Production in Stars” (Bethe), 81
Enrico Fermi Institute, 207
enzymes, 227, 287
ethyl alcohol, 187
Europa, water on, 177
European Southern Observatory, 258
European Space Agency, 177, 298, 302
evolution
biological, 30
chemistry and, 287
continuum of, 292
cosmic dust and, 157
and definition of life, 290
evolutionary genetics, 130
evolutionary theory, 27, 42, 110–14, 122, 244
of molecules, 121–24,
and origins, 12
terrestrial, debates over, 24–25,
See also cosmic evolution; Darwin, Charles; origins
Evolution of the Protoplanetary Cloud and Formation of the Earth and Planets (Safronov), 208
exobiology, 129–34,
exoplanets
abundance of, 257, 259
alien Earth, search for, 240, 266–76,
atmospheres, 298–302,
discovery of, 23–24, 31–32, 243–44, 254–55, 297
early searches for, 248–56, 269–72,
exploration of, 256–66, 274–76,
failed discovery claims, 248–49,
mass of, 261
migration towards stars, 263–64,
names of, 262
types and frequency of, 261–62,
“Expanding Universe and the Origin of Elements” (Gamow), 87
experiments
Allende meteorite, 212
astronomy, 46
carbon formation, 93–94,
chemistry, 47–48, 238–39,
cold cosmic chemistry, 221–24,
on Earth's primordial atmosphere, 126–29,
life-detection, 288
Miller-Urey type, 288
primordial soup, 223
spontaneous generation of life, 117–18,
extinction
definitions of, 26
of dinosaurs, 232–33,
of starlight, 140–41, 246
extraterrestrial life, 31–32, 35, 161, 266–76,
extreme genealogy, 11–15, 17, 112, 278–79, 284, 307–308,
Extreme Solar Systems II conference (Jackson Hole, WY), 242, 244, 257, 258, 266, 272, 307
Fahrenheit temperature scale, 17
family tree, 12–13, 209, 223, 278–79, 283–84, 308
fats, 24, 116, 186, 226
Fermi, Enrico, 125, 129
FfAME (Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution), 287–88,
Field, George, 173
55 Cancri (star), 259
51 Pegasi b (a.k.a. 51 Peg b) (planet), 31, 243, 255, 262, 272
flame colors, 48–49,
force vital, 116–17, 119
formaldehyde, 187, 225, 238, 283
Foster, Jodie, 161
Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution (FfAME), 287–88,
Fowler, William, 68–71, 83, 96–97, 104–105, 183
Nobel Prize in Physics, 68, 102
photographs of, 70, 97
work with Fred Hoyle, 68–71, 93
Fraunhofer, Joseph von, 52–53,
Fraunhofer lines, 44, 61, 247
French Academy of Sciences, 117
Freund, Bob, 161–62,
Friedmann, Alexander, 86
Gaia hypothesis, 299
galaxies, 40, 138–40, 260
Galileo, 14, 32, 54, 140, 304
Gamma Cephei (star), 251, 253–54,
Gamma Cephei b (planet), 254
gamma rays, 145
Gamow, George, 86–88, 91–92, 103
Ganymede, water on, 177
gases
biosignatures, 298, 301
chemical disequilibrium, 299
greenhouse gases, 147
identification of, 298
noble gases, 209
Gemini (constellation), 62–63,
genealogy, 11–15, 236
genetic code, 295.See also DNA
Geneva Observatory, 242
geology, 199, 203–205, 208, 231
germ theory, 118
glucose, 187
glycine, 223
glycoaldehyde, 187
God, 71–72, 103, 129
gold (element), 71, 85, 87, 101–102, 281, 304
Goldilocks zone, 271
Goldin, Daniel, 23–24,
Goldschmidt, Victor Moritz, 84–85, 87, 91–92, 99
grains, cometary, 195–98. See also comets
graphite, 143, 156, 158, 218, 219
Grasslands National Park, Canada, 135–37,
gravity, 72, 77
gravitational collapse, 282
gravitational lensing, 264
instability, 219–20,
Greenberg, Mayo, 150
greenhouse gases, 147
Greenland, 235
Guanajuato, Mexico, 303
Guggenheim Fellowship, 96
habitable zone, 271, 274, 307
Haeckel, Ernst, 110–11,
Haldane, John B. S., 129–31,
Hale, George Ellery, 40–44, 61, 67, 82, 241, 297
Hale Telescope, 41, 62–63,
Hamlet Indiana meteorite, 210
Harkin's rule, 97
HARPS (High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher), 258, 259, 263, 274
Harvard College Observatory, 58, 277–78,
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), 254, 277, 279, 284, 297
Harvard University, 286
Harwit, Martin, 146–48,
Hat Creek Radio Observatory, 174–75,
Haute-Provence Observatory, 255
Hawking, Stephen, 40
HD 10180 (star), 259
HD 46407 (star), 99
HD Catalogue (Henry Draper Catalogue), 58
heat-shield technology, 268
Heidelberg, Germany, 49
helium
abundance of, 85, 120
amounts of, 103
big bang and, 281–82, 301
in stars, 101, 184
stellar fusion and, 81–82,
Helix Nebula, 185
Helmholtz, Hermann von, 77
Henry Draper Catalogue (HD Catalogue), 58
Herd, Richard, 203
Herschel, Frederick William, 138, 144–45, 305
Herschel space telescope, 178
Herzberg, Gerhard, 166, 247
Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, 252
Hey, J. S., 164
High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS), 258, 259, 263, 274
Hitchcock, Dian, 299
Hollis, Jan, 162
Holocaust, 211, 214
Home Is Where the Wind Blows: Chapters from a Cosmologist's Life (Hoyle), 104
Hooker, Joseph Dalton, 111
Hooker telescope, 60, 61
Hoyle, Fred, 33–35, 69–71, 88–97, 104, 141–43, 158, 173, 183, 280
Hubble, Edwin, 28–29, 40, 60, 114, 246
Hubble Deep Field image, 260
Hubble Space Telescope, 148, 260, 272, 300, 302
Huggins, William, 56–57, 120
Hulst, Hendrik van de, 165, 173
human genome, 293
Human Genome Project, 110
humans, elemental composition of, 120
Huxley, Thomas H., 119
hydrocarbons, 188–89,
hydrogen, 81, 82, 101, 119–20, 178–79, 184, 238, 293, 295
abundance of, 85
amounts of, 103
in atmospheres, 123, 126–27, 129
bombs, 131
hydrogen cyanide, 187, 222
molecular, 178–79, 187, 282
in newborn universe, 280–82,
Prout's hypothesis, 74
radio wavelength of, 165
hydrogen fluoride gas, 247, 251
hydroxide, 173
Hydrus (constellation), 259
ice, 176–80, 222
Iceland, 47
identity, 11
igneous rocks, 203
I'itoi's Garden, 160
Inca (Peru), 137
“In Dust We Trust” (Greenberg), 150
infrared astronomy
all-sky infrared survey, 152
cosmic dust and, 146–53, 156, 198
discovery of infrared light, 145
molecules, 235
red giant stars, 239
telescopes, 147–49, 152–53, 213, 260
water, detection of, 176–77,
Institute of Theoretical Astronomy, 147
intelligent design, 89, 95, 176
intergalactic medium, 154, 189
International Astronomical Union, 41, 59
International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life, 112
International Symposium on the Origin of Life on Earth (1957), 125, 130
interplanetary dust particles, 198
interstellar dust grains, 179
interstellar extinction of st
arlight, 140–41, 246
interstellar space
molecules in, 180, 237
planets in, 264
winds, 154
IRAS (Infrared Astronomical Satellite), 153
IRC+10216 (star), 185
iridium, 233
iron, 143, 202–203, 306
iron peak, 92
in Sun's atmosphere, 54
iron meteorites, 202–203,
Irwin, Alan, 253
isoleucine, 227
isotopes
defined, 74–75,
discovery of, 80
fingerprints, 209, 216–17, 229
isotopic signatures, 228
Ithaca, NY, 269
Jackson Hole, WY, 242. See also Extreme Solar Systems II conference (Jackson Hole, WY)
Jackson Lake Lodge, 241
Jansky, Karl, 163, 171
Jews, 211
Joy, Alfred, 60
Jupiter, 176, 220, 257, 304
atmosphere, 123
hot Jupiters, 261–63, 265
moons of, 54, 177
radio interference from, 164
Jupiter-sized exoplanets, 248, 250, 254–56, 261–65, 270, 275, 300
Kaler, James B., 135
Kamp, Peter van de, 248–49,
Karpov Physicochemical Institute, 114
Keck Telescope, 273
Kellogg, William K., 67
Kellogg Radiation Lab, 67–70, 93, 94
Kelvin, William Thomson, Baron (Lord), 77–79, 119
Kelvin scale, 17
Kennedy, John F., 133, 267
Kepler-10b (planet), 262
Kepler-11 solar system, 259
Kepler-16b (planet), 264–65,
Kepler-22b (planet), 275
Kepler Object of Interest (KOI), 273
kerogen, 230
King, Bert, 201–202, 204
Kirchhoff, Gustav, 49–55, 61, 247, 298, 300
Kitt Peak National Observatory, 159–60, 183
Kitt Peak radio telescope, 22
KOI (Kepler Object of Interest), 273
K-T boundary, 198, 233
Kuhn, Thomas, 33
Kuiper Belt, 225
Kwok, Sun, 239
Land of the Living Sky (a Saskatchewan motto), 136
lasers, 172
La Silla Observatory, 258
Lassen, Mount, 174
last universal common ancestor (LUCA), 12, 291
Late Heavy Bombardment, 231–35,
Latvia, 211
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 83
Lazcano, Antonio, 111–12, 292
lead sulfide, 147
Lederberg, Joshua, 129–33, 137
Lego principle, 296
Leiden University, 165
Leighton, Robert, 152
lenses, 52–53,
Leo (constellation), 178
leucine, 227
Lewis, Roy, 211–12,
Lick Observatory, 138–39, 272
life
alternative forms of, 294–95,
as cosmic continuum, 292–96,
definitions of, 284–91,
eternal, 119
force vital, 116–17, 119
love and, 285
origin of, 109–12, 130, 133, 158, 204, 225, 232–35, 284
on planets, 240
questions about, 35