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The recent discoveries of extrasolar planets and possible microfossils in Martian meteorite ALH 84001 are only the latest developments in a debate that spans millennia, and that has been especially heated in the twentieth century. From the furore over Percival Lowell's claim of canals on Mars at the beginning of the century to the biological experiments of the Viking spacecraft, the controversial 'Mars rock', and the sophisticated Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) at its end, otherworldly life has often titillated and occasionally consumed science and the public. So too have crucially related areas such as the search for planetary systems, the quest for an explanation of UFOs, and inquiries into the origin of life. The theme has been elaborated in science fiction from H. G. Wells to Arthur C. Clarke, and resulted in some of the most popular films of all time, including ET, Aliens, Independence Day, and Contact. Life on Other Worlds details in a readable and non-technical manner the history of the twentieth century extraterrestrial life debate, one of the pervasive themes of our century.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations

List of tables

Acknowledgements

Introduction

1. From the physical world to the biological universe: Democritus to Lowell

2. Life in the solar system

3. Solar systems beyond

4. Extraterrestrials in literature and the arts: the role of imagination

5. The UFO controversy and the extraterrestrial hypothesis

6. The origin and evolution of life in the extraterrestrial context

7. SETI: the search for extraterrestrial intelligence

8. The meaning of life

9. Summary and conclusion: the biological universe

Select bibliographical essay

Index.

Steven J. Dick is an American astronomer, author and historian of science most noted for his work in the field of astrobiology. Dick served as the Chief Historian for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration from 2003 to 2009. He is a member of the International Academy of Astronautics and its SETI Permanent Study Group.[1]

Career

Steven J. Dick received a Bachelor of Science in astrophysics from Indiana University in 1971. In 1977, he obtained a Master of Arts and a Ph.D. in the history and philosophy of science. For 24 years, Dick worked as an astronomer and historian of science for United States Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., including three years at the Naval Observatory's Southern Hemisphere station in New Zealand. In 2003, he was named the Chief Historian for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).[2]

Dick received the NASA Group Achievement Award "for initiating the new NASA multidisciplinary program in astrobiology, including the definition of the field of astrobiology, the formulation and initial establishment of the NASA Astrobiology Institute, and the development of a Roadmap to guide future NASA investments in astrobiology."[3] Dick's published work in the field of astrobiology includes Plurality of Worlds: The Origins of the Extraterrestrial Life Debate from Democritus to Kant (Cambridge University Press, 1982); The Biological Universe: The Twentieth Century Extraterrestrial Life Debate and the Limits of Science (Cambridge University Press, 1996); Life on Other Worlds: The 20th Century Extraterrestrial Life Debate (1998), and, with James Strick, The Living Universe: NASA and the Development of Astrobiology (2005).

Dick served as Chairman of the Historical Astronomy Division of the American Astronomical Society (1993–1994), as President of the History of Astronomy Commission of the International Astronomical Union (1997-2000) and as President of the Philosophical Society of Washington.[4][5][6] He is on the editorial board for the Journal for the History of Astronomy, and is an associate editor of the International Journal of Astrobiology.

In 2006, Dick received the LeRoy E. Doggett Prize from the American Astronomical Society for a career that has significantly influenced the field of the history of astronomy.[7] Also in 2006, Dick was selected to deliver the first Billingham Cutting Edge Lecture,[8] at the International Astronautical Congress in Valencia, Spain. In 2009, minor planet 6544 Stevendick was named in his honor.[9]

Selected publications

Plurality of Worlds: The Origins of the Extraterrestrial Life Debate from Democritus to Kant (Cambridge University Press, 1982) ISBN 0521319854

The Biological Universe: The Twentieth Century Extraterrestrial Life Debate and the Limits of Science (Cambridge University Press, 1996) ASIN B000UUKKY6

Life on Other Worlds: The 20th Century Extraterrestrial Life Debate (Cambridge University Press, 2001) ISBN 0521799120

Many Worlds: The New Universe, Extraterrestrial Life and the Theological Implications (Templeton Foundation Press, 2000) ISBN 1890151424

The Living Universe: NASA and the Development of Astrobiology (Rutgers University Press, 2005) (co-authored with James Strick) ISBN 0813537339

Sky and Ocean Joined – The U.S. Naval Observatory 1830-2000 (Cambridge University Press, 2007) ISBN 0-521-81599-1

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书籍介绍

The recent discoveries of extrasolar planets and possible microfossils in Martian meteorite ALH 84001 are only the latest developments in a debate that spans millennia, and that has been especially heated in the twentieth century. From the furore over Percival Lowell's claim of canals on Mars at the beginning of the century to the biological experiments of the Viking spacecraft, the controversial 'Mars rock', and the sophisticated Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) at its end, otherworldly life has often titillated and occasionally consumed science and the public. So too have crucially related areas such as the search for planetary systems, the quest for an explanation of UFOs, and inquiries into the origin of life. The theme has been elaborated in science fiction from H. G. Wells to Arthur C. Clarke, and resulted in some of the most popular films of all time, including ET, Aliens, Independence Day, and Contact. Life on Other Worlds details in a readable and non-technical manner the history of the twentieth century extraterrestrial life debate, one of the pervasive themes of our century.