Title:
Alone in the universe : why our planet is unique / John Gribbin.
ISBN:
9781118147979
Personal Author:
Publication Information:
Hoboken, N.J. : Wiley, [2011]
©2011
Physical Description:
xv, 219 pages ; 25 cm
General Note:
"First published in Great Britain in 2011 by Penguin Books Ltd."--T.p. verso.
Contents:
Two paradoxes and an equation -- What's so special about our place in the Milky Way? -- What's so special about the sun? -- What's so special about the solar system? -- What's so special about the Earth? -- What's so special about the Cambrian explosion? : contingency and convergence -- What's so special about the Cambrian explosion? : hothouse Venus/snowball Earth -- What's so special about us?
Summary:
"Surely amidst the immensity of the cosmos there must be other intelligent life out there. Don't be so sure, says John Gribbin, one of today's best popular science writers. Gribbin argues that the very existence of intelligent life anywhere in the cosmos is, from an astrophysicist's point of view, a miracle. So why is there life on Earth and (seemingly) nowhere else? What happened to make this planet special? Taking us back some 600 million years, Gribbin lets you experience the series of unique cosmic events that were responsible for our unique form of life within the Milky Way Galaxy. This book is a daring, fascinating exploration into the dawning of the universe, cosmic collisions and their consequences, and the uniqueness of life on Earth"--Provided by publisher.
Subject Term:
OCLC Number:
ocn751797505
Availability:
Eagan - Wescott~1
