Welcome

Astrobiology- Life In
Our Galaxy

What is Astrobiology?

The study of the origin evolution distribution and future

life in the universe. This field involves the search for
habitable environments in our solar system and planets
outside our solar system. It also involves the search for
evidence of life on mars other bodies in our solar system,
and outside of our solar system. In our search we will be
focusing on life in our galaxy.

History:

Observing and researching astrobiology began in 1958. This is when the term
Astrobiology was first invented. During this period most of the ideas of
astrobiology were discovered. These ideas include comets bringing water and
possibly life to earth from space, and nucleic acid was the first molecule to
reproduce into life. These ideas lead to even bigger ideas of life outside of our
planet Earth. For many years more evidence leading to life on other planets have
been found. Today, there are so many mysteries yet to be solved, but little by little,
observing and researching have given us more knowledge about what is out there
in our galaxy.
 Summary:
Every kid out there wants to think that aliens might exist somewhere. Those
little green men with the big eyes, antennas, and flying saucers comes into
mind. Or maybe you think about mars. No matter the perception of this topic,
alien life in our solar system and universe is a legitimate topic called
Astrobiology. Astrobiology is the study of the origin evolution distribution and
future life in the universe. This field involves the search for habitable
environments in our solar system and planets outside our solar system. It also
involves the search for evidence of life on mars other bodies in our solar
system, and outside of our solar system.
The idea of life in our solar system has changed dramatically sense 1976
when scientists thought the only possible way of life in our solar system was on
mars, or the only place where there was the resources of oxygen and water
thought to be necessary for life. Viking I landed on Mars that year, and all it
retrieved was a hand full of red dirt, however, and Mars chances of holding
life was bleak. Now scientists have discovered that it is possible to have life on
other planets in our solar system. This is due to the discovery of bacteria being
able to service in scarce habitats as well as seeing evidence of water on many of
the planets. These are called extremophiles.
The discovery of these hardy creatures, such as crabs and worms living in
geothermal vents in the ocean, proves that life may exist in planets that were
previously considered impossible to hold any life. These organisms are able to
survive with little or no surface sunlight, no photosynthesis, and very little
oxygen. Some organisms are living off the radioactive decay of elements in
their environment. Therefore, habitable planets do not have to be like Earth,
as certain creature sand bacteria can survive in extreme conditions.
There was a previous constriction of what is called “habitable zones” that
planets containing possible life would have to exist. “You can move the Earth
inward toward the sun by a couple of percent, or move it outward by at most
about 30 percent before the climate runs into a serious problem,” said Greg
Laughlin at the University of California . This is one perception of the
habitable zone, and from this perspective, a planet existing in this area in our
solar system is very unlikely. But because of the discovery of the extremophile
bacteria, scientists now know that bacteria could live in places outside of this
zone. In fact, the idea of the habitable zone itself is expanding right along with
the expanding understanding and knowledge of extreme life in this universe.
Even when you put these extreme lives aside, there are a couple planets and
moon under consideration for life right now. The first of these in Jupiter’s
moon Europa, which is now considered on the list of planets that may contain
water, or in other words, the things necessary for life. The Cassini spacecraft
saw spouts of water from the surface of Saturn’s moon, Enceladus, which
suggests that there is an entire ocean of warm water under its rough, frozen
surface, which could contain a number of organisms.
The solar system we are in is located in the Milky Way galaxy, only one of
millions of solar systems in this one galaxy. This universe, perhaps, is made up
of billions of galaxies. The Milky Way alone contains about 200 billion stars,
which means about 100 billion Earth-like planets in just this galaxy. This was
a promising aspect of discovery before, and now as the habitable zone expands
that possibility for life grows even greater. Also, at least 361 intelligent
civilizations have emerged in the Milky Way since its creation, and as many as
38,000 may have formed. So, it turns out, that notion of the little green men
may not be ridiculous at all. Well, maybe not little or green, but there is
definitely life out there somewhere.
Bibliography:

>"Galaxy May Be Full of 'Earths,' Alien Life." CNN Technology. CNN. Web. 2009. <http://
www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/02/25/galaxy.planets.kepler/index.html>.

This site has an article about what astrobiology is and facts about what the discoveries of studying
origin evolution distribution are.

McKinney, Luke. "Signs of Life in the Milky Way: Glycolaldehyde." Http://www.dailygalaxy.com/. 1

Dec. 2008. Web. 31 Mar. 2010. <http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2008/12/distant-signs-
o.html>.

This article was mostly about trying to find life outside instead of just on mars. The recent
results that there might be other life out there.

"About Astrobiology." NASA Astrobiology. Ed. Linda Billings. NASA, 29 Mar. 2010. Web. 30
Mar. 2010. <http://astrobiology.nasa.gov/>.

This source is effective, informative, and very useful overall. The entire site is based on
only astrobiology, and is from NASA, a very reliable organization that focuses mostly on
space advancements. This site contains current articles and news related to the topic, as
well as sufficient background information and facts as well. It also explains some missions
launched by NASA relating to this topic and the search for outside life, and pictures to
help the understanding of the topic and information given. Overall this site is very
informative, and has plenty of useful as well as reliable information.

Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia. A Wikimedia Project, 2010. Web. <http://

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europa_(moon)>.

Other Urls For pictures:

http://www.macalester.edu/astronomy/research/sonya/history.html

http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_kids/AskKids/images/astrobio.jpg

http://www.foxnews.com/images/279190/0_61_earth_like_planet.jpg

http://astrobiology.nasa.gov/roadmap/

www.nasa.gov

http://www.shatters.net/celestia/images/gallery/europa-jupiter.jpg

http://nai.arc.nasa.gov/seminars/134_Bandfield/mars.jpg