What is Bio-Astronomy?

by Anthony Francis Cernosek 11/12/2003

Are we alone in the universe?
Primitive life has existed on Earth for 4 billion years, and diversified into millions of living species, yet true intelligence evolved only once - within the last few million years. The respected biologist Steven J. Gould knew that countless small steps were involved - all of them driven by random mutations - and believed that the odds for human intelligence evolving on Earth were 1 in 100 million. In other words, we're lucky to be here!

If these odds are typical of other worlds, then evolution might require millions of life-filled worlds to produce intelligent aliens only once. Could 100 million living worlds exist in our galaxy?

Bio-Astronomy ( or Astro-Biology ) is a young science that does not make rash predictions or assume anything, but instead ....
* Breaks these big questions into a series of smaller ones
* Attempts to answer them in a logical sequence
* Using solid scientific facts

.... Biology .....
How do living cells function?
Is life a miracle, or a natural process of chemistry driven by physics?
( Survival )
What are the most extreme physical conditions that Earthly lifeforms can tolerate?
What are the minimum chemical resources required for survival?
Will alien life have similar limitations and requirements?
( Origin )
Would life begin again under early "Earth-like" conditions?
What were those conditions?
What are the critical steps in the process?
( Evolution )
Is evolution driven by random mutation, or by environmental conditions?
How likely is the evolution of large, complex organisms?
Is human-like intelligence inevitable or improbable?
What conditions might encourage or discourage these evolutionary events?

..... Astronomy ....
How many planets exist in our local vicinity in space?
Is our local vicinity somehow special or different?
How many distant planets might exist in our galaxy?
Are life's essential chemical elements abundant or rare in the universe?
Are these elements likely to be supplied to young planets?

... Planetary science ...
How do planets form and evolve?
Which distant worlds have liquid water? And essential chemical nutrients?
How many have physical conditions that life might tolerate?
Do life-suitable worlds exist in our vicinity? In our galaxy?

Summary

Many of these questions have answers , which we've built into the simulation as accurately as possible. Although we've estimated conservative odds for suitable worlds, this doesn't guarantee that life or intelligence exists anywhere except here on Earth.

To someday get proof of distant life, we could......
* Wait for UFO's to land - in front of 500 scientists with cameras
* Go explore distant planetary systems
* Listen for E.T. to phone us via SETI - cheaper and easier than interstellar travel

For the near future , our best bet will be .....
* Explore our own solar system thoroughly - we've barely "scratched the surface"
* Keep looking for new planets - especially Earth mass bodies with a temperature range similar to Earth. (Some of these must have a warm, wet, sunlit surface - excellent for life.)
* Develop telescopes powerful enough to capture the spectrum of a distant planet's atmosphere - which might show the chemical signature of life ( For example excess oxygen). Then we'll know which planets to visit first!

Right now YOU can .......
* Keep trying to answer those questions that Bio-Astronomers ask.
* Go explore the galaxy NOW via this simulation!

Start simulation

© 2003 by Anthony Francis Cernosek