Astronomy 2021A/B Chapter Notes - Chapter 1 & 3.4: Planetary Science, Chemical Element, Mass Number

• School: Western University
• Department: Astronomy
• Course: Astronomy 2021A/B
• Professor: Alyssa Gilbert

Document Summary

Week 1 readings chapters 1 and 3. 4. Scientists searching for life elsewhere looking for evidence of life on other worlds in our solar system, whether we should expect to find life on planes orbiting other stars and searching for signals broadcast by other civilizations. One of the most rapidly growing fields of active scientific research. What kind of life are we searching for: any sign of life whether simple, complex or intelligent. The scientific search for life in the universe is a relatively recent development, but the idea of extra-terrestrial life is not. Advances both in scientific understanding and in technology now make it possible to study the question of life in the universe through established techniques of science, something that was not possible just a few decades ago. By studying distant objects, we have learned that the physical laws that operate in the rest of the universe are the same as those that operate right here on earth.