Aliens: Science Asks: Is There Anyone Out There? by Jim Al-KhaliliMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
ARE WE ALONE?
Do you ever stare up into the night sky and wonder? If we are alone, well, it's a helluva waste of space... But what is the likelihood of we earthlings ever finding extra-terrestrial intelligence? The SETI organisation continues to search with ever more sophisticated means.
In Aliens: Science Asks: Is There Anyone Out There? nineteen contributors from the fields of astronomy and astrophysics give their opinions. Edited by Professor Jim Al-Khalili, theoretical physicist and host of BBC Radio Four's The Life Scientific.
One of the really forward thinking astronomers is Sara Seager. She reviews what will be possible with the new James Webb Space Telescope and updates Drake's famous equation to give us a way of calculating the likelihood of alien life using some of the most recent advances in our understanding.
Our Galaxy is teeming with planets and there is compelling evidence that all stars have planetary systems. As many as one in ten stars like our Sun could have an approximately Earth-sized planet in a favourable orbit such that, as heated by the star, the planet's surface is not too hot, not too cold, but just right for life.
We do not understand how life originated on Earth and, whilst there is still no evidence that alien life exists - equally there is no evidence that it doesn't....
So, if you have ever looked up into the starry sky and wondered - Aliens is the perfect book for you.
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