Habitability and Cosmic Catastrophes

Catastrophic cosmic events such as asteroid impacts appear in the range of some 100 million years and have drastically affected evolution. The author discusses whether and how such events could have occurred in recently found extrasolar planetary systems.

The search for life in the universe is one of the most challenging topics of science. It is not a modern topic at all, since more than 100 years ago, it was speculated that on the Moon, there are oceans and seas; on Venus, there are swamps and also Mars is inhabitated. However, now we have the scienti?c background and the scienti?c tools to answer this question and it is also certain that the answer would have deep imp- cations for our culture, philosophy, and religions. If we ?nd that life has developed on other planets or satellites of giant planets, then this would be the ?nal breakdown of our central position in the universe. But is life a widespread phenomenon? How vulnerable is it to changing conditions and even catastrophic events? These topics will be discussed in this book. If life is in the extreme case a unique phenomenon found only on planet Earth, which seems to be highly unrealistic, then also it is important to discuss how it is adaptable to changing external conditions. Can we survive a cosmic catastrophe? How do these catastrophes change habitability? Which forms of life are more v- nerable? It was mentioned that now science has made great progress to answer such qu- tions. Let us give some examples. In modern biology, in connection with organic chemistry, the origin of life is studied.

Intermediate student's level treating concisely The astrophysical aspects of habitabilty of planets The influence of cosmic catastrophes on evolution With introductory chapters on biological and chemical properties of life Topic of high public interest Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Autorentext

Dr. Roman Braja (1963) works as astrophysicist at Hvar Observatory, Faculty of Geodesy, University of Zagreb, Croatia. His current position is Tenured Scientific Advisor. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics and was also Head of Hvar Observatory and President of Croatian Astronomical Society. Dr. Arnold Hanslmeier (1959) works as Professor of computational astrophysics at the Institute of Physics of the University of Graz in Austria. He was also Head of the Department of Astrophysics (IGAM) and Head of the Institute of Astronomy and Institute of Physics. He is also member of the University of Vienna as a lecturer.

Klappentext

The solar system has a rather well-known history. Looking at the present situation, one might get the impression that it was a rather stable and well-defined system: the orbits of the planets appear to be stable, climate and atmospheres on the planets have been determined, the risk of collision with other bodies (comets, asteroids, meteorites) seems to be small. However it is known today that the evolution of life on Earth was neither a steady progression nor uniform. There were several periods of mass extinction. These catastrophic events played a crucial role in the rise of new species. Events of astrophysical origin include:

• Asteroid impacts
• Major solar variabilty (space weather)
• Nearby supernovae
• The passage of the solar system through dense interstellar clouds

Catastrophic cosmic events of this type appear in the range of some 100 million years. The author discusses whether and how such events could have occurred in the solar system as well as in recently found extrasolar planetary systems.

In this text, which addresses readers in the field of Astrophysics and Astrobiology but also Geophysics and Biology these cosmic catastrophic events are described at an intermediate student's level.

Inhalt
Habitable zones.- Properties and Environments of Life.- Stars and Galaxies.- Planetary Systems.- Catastrophes in Our Solar System?.- Catastrophes in Extrasolar Planetary Systems?.- The Solar Neighborhood.- The Search for Extraterrestrial Life.