NATS 1880 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Exoplanet, Nebular Hypothesis, Planetary System
5 Nov 2014
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Document Summary
Currently searching for any sign of macroscopic (multi-cellular) or microscopic (bacterial) life not just intelligent life. Looking for: observations of canal"s on mars and jungles on venus-both erroneous advanced the notion of life in the solar system. Sientific method: (unprejudiced, independent of observer(s), repeatable, unbiased, falsifiable) Observational astronomy: suggest that earth is not special and thus life may well exist elsewhere. Planetary science (physics, geology, and chemistry) : help us understand the possibilities for terrestrial life -understanding how planets work helps consider factors that worlds habitable. Biology: appreciating the tenacity and variety of life on earth coupled with the commonality of organic molecules suggests life can form elsewhere (knowing life an exist in different forms while still being common) Gives context to where to find life & planets suspected to be common but not till 1995 that first exoplanet was found. Diff types of planets, some habitable, some not. Exoplanets: so far detected 1,000s of such objects.
