Having completed our tour of the Solar System, we now turn to a
discussion of the requirements for life, and where those requirements
might be satisfied elsewhere in the Solar System. Some - energy,
complex chemistry, and liquid water - seem obvious, but they are not the
only possibilities or considerations. At the end, we will have a short
list of possibl ... Show More
Oct 2009
Lecture 26: The Deserts of Mars
For many, the most likely place in the Solar System to search for life beyond the Earth is Mars. This lecture describes the properties of Mars, a desert world with a thin, dry, cold carbon dioxide atmosphere. I will review evidence that has begun to point unequivocally to the con ... Show More
47m 26s
Nov 2009
Lecture 27: Is There Life on Mars?
Is there life on Mars? We begin with a brief historical survey of the idea of inhabitable Mars, from Herschel to Lowell, and look at how the idea of Mars and Martians is deeply embedded in the popular culture. We then turn to spacecraft explorations of Mars, and how they have cha ... Show More
47m 4s
Nov 2009
Lecture 28: The Galilean Moons of Jupiter
The four large Galilean Moons of Jupiter seem unlikely places to look for life; at first glance they should be cold, dead, icy worlds. Instead we find tremendous geological diversity, and two big surprises: volcanically-active Io, and icy Europa. Io is the most volcanically activ ... Show More
44m 57s
<p>La durée de vie d'une étoile peut nous renseigner sur sa composition et sur l'existence éventuelle de la vie dans le cosmos. mais, en dehors du Soleil, il est assez difficile de déterminer l'âge d'une étoile.</p><br><p>L'importance de la masse</p><br><p>En évaluant, grâce à la ... Show More
