Life in the Universe

Assistant Division Chair, Natural Sciences

Blinn College

Bryan, Texas

Dennis Utley, Ph. D.

Tonight’s Presentation

Life in the Universe

Where did you come from?

•The  protons, neutrons and electrons that make up

our atoms were formed within the first few minutes

after the Big Bang•Atoms up to iron were made by slow fusion inside

stars.•Heaviest elements made only during supernova

explosions.•We are special regardless of your theology.

Phases in cosmic evolution

Operational Definition of LifeLiving organisms…

1. React to their environment

2. Grow by taking in matter and energy

3. Reproduce passing on their traits to offspring

4. Evolve, have the capacity to adapt from generation to generation

Distinction between living and nonliving is more one of structure and complexity than any checklist.

Life on Earth

Our goals for learning• When did life arise on Earth? • How did life arise on Earth?• What are the necessities of life?

When did life arise on Earth?

Chemical Evolution

Early evidence obscured by volcanic activity and meteor bombardment.

Early atmosphere rich in hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon compounds.( no free oxygen it’s too reactive).

Lots of available energy due to radioactivity,volcanism, solar uv radiation, and impacts shaped building blocks : amino acids and nucleotide bases

Amino acids build proteins, nucleotide bases build RNA then DNA molecules that can replicate themselves.

Earliest Life Forms

• Life probably arose on Earth more than 3.85 billion years ago, shortly after the end of heavy bombardment

• Evidence comes from fossils, carbon isotopes.

Fossils in Sedimentary Rock

• relative ages: deeper layers formed earlier.

• absolute ages: radiometric dating

Fossils in Sedimentary Rock

• Rock layers of Grand Canyon record 2 billion years of Earth’s history

Earliest Fossils• Oldest fossils show

that bacteria-like organisms were present over 3.5 billion years ago

• Carbon isotope evidence pushes origin of life to more than 3.85 billion years ago

“Living stromatolites” are similar to 3.5 billion year old fossils

The Geological Time Scale

How did life arise on Earth?

Origin of Life on Earth

• Life evolves through time.

• All life on Earth shares a common ancestry.

• We may never know exactly how the first organism arose, but laboratory experiments suggest plausible scenarios.

The Theory of Evolution• The fossil record shows that

evolution has occurred through time.

• Darwin’s theory tells us HOW evolution occurs: through natural selection.

• Theory supported by discovery of DNA: evolution proceeds through mutations.

Tree of Life• Mapping genetic

relationships has led biologists to discover this new “tree of life.”

• Plants and animals are a small part of the tree.

• Suggests likely characteristics of common ancestor.

• These genetic studies suggest that the earliest life on Earth may have resembled the bacteria today found near deep ocean volcanic vents (black smokers) and geothermal hot springs .

Laboratory Experiments

• Miller-Urey experiment (and more recent experiments) show that building blocks of life form easily and spontaneously under conditions of early Earth.

Urey- Miller Experiment 1953Did not make life.

Did convert basic chemicals into more complex molecules in just a matter of days.

Demonstrates biomolecules can be made in nonbio systems.

Microscopic, enclosed membranes or “pre-cells” have been created in the lab.

Chemicals to Life?

1.Organic precursor molecules appear, 2. RNA molecules become self-replicating3. Membrane enclosed precells arise, 4. True cells with RNA gnome appear, 5. Modern cells with DNA genome evolve

Could life have migrated to Earth?

• Venus, Earth, Mars have exchanged tons of rock (blasted into orbit by impacts)

• Some microbes can survive years in space...

Brief History of Life

• 4.4 billion years - early oceans form• 3.5 billion years - cyanobacteria start releasing

oxygen.• 2.0 billion years - oxygen begins building up in

atmosphere• 540-500 million years - Cambrian Explosion• 225-65 million years - dinosaurs and small

mammals (dinosaurs ruled)• Few million years - earliest hominids

Thought QuestionYou have a time machine with a dial that you can spin to send you randomly to any time in Earth’s history. If you spin the dial, travel through time, and walk out, what is most likely to happen to you?

A. You’ll be eaten by dinosaurs.B. You’ll suffocate because you’ll be unable to

breathe the air.C. You’ll be consumed by toxic bacteria.D. Nothing: you’ll probably be just fine.

Thought QuestionYou have a time machine with a dial that you can spin to send you randomly to any time in Earth’s history. If you spin the dial, travel through time, and walk out, what is most likely to happen to you?

A. You’ll be eaten by dinosaurs.B. You’ll suffocate because you’ll be unable to

breathe the air.C. You’ll be consumed by toxic bacteria.D. Nothing: you’ll probably be just fine.

Origin of Oxygen

• Cyanobacteria paved the way for more complicated life forms by releasing oxygen into atmosphere via photosynthesis

What are the necessities of life?

Necessities for Life

• Nutrient source

• Energy (sunlight, chemical reactions, internal heat)

• Liquid water (or possibly some other liquid)

Hardest to find on other planets

What have we learned?

• When did life arise on Earth?– Life arose at least 3.85 billion years ago,

shortly after end of heavy bombardment

• How did life arise on Earth?– Life evolved from a common organism

through natural selection, but we do not yet know the origin of the first organism

• What are the necessities of life?– Nutrients, energy, and liquid water

Life in the Solar System

Our goals for learning• Could there be life on Mars? • Could there be life on Europa or other jovian

moons?

Could there be life on Mars?

Searches for Life on Mars

• Mars had liquid water in the distant past• Still has subsurface ice; possibly subsurface water near sources of volcanic heat.

In 2004, NASA Spirit and Opportunity Rovers sent home new mineral evidence of past liquid water on Mars.

ESA craft to probe beneath the surface crashed. Another craft is on the way.Life found inside rocks on earth and large amount of life beneath the surface of Earth suggests Mars may have abundant life safely away from radiation below the surface.

The Martian Meteorite debate

composition indicates origin on Mars.

• 1984: meteorite ALH84001 found in Antarctica • 13,000 years ago: fell to Earth in Antarctica• 16 million years ago: blasted from surface of Mars• 4.5 billion years ago: rock formed on Mars

• Does the meteorite contain fossil evidence of life on Mars?

… most scientists not yet convinced

Could there be life on Europa or other jovian moons?

Alternate biochemistries

Deep sea geothermal vents on Earth

Chemosynthesis.

We revised our thinking about what is required for life.

• Ganymede, Callisto also show some evidence for subsurface oceans.

• Relatively little energy available for life, but still…

• Intriguing prospect of THREE potential homes for life around Jupiter alone…

Ganymede Callisto

Titan

• Surface too cold for liquid water (but deep underground?)• Liquid ethane/methane on surface

What have we learned?

• Could there be life on Mars?– Evidence for liquid water in past suggests that

life was once possible on Mars

• Could there be life on Europa or other jovian moons?– Jovian moons are cold but some show

evidence for subsurface water and other liquids

Life Around Other Stars

Our goals for learning• Are habitable planets likely?• Are Earth-like planets rare or common?

Are habitable planets likely?

Habitable Planets

Definition:

A habitable world contains the basic necessities for life as we know it, including liquid water.

• It does not necessarily have life.

Constraints on star systems:

1) Old enough to allow time for evolution (rules out high-mass stars - 1%)

2) Need to have stable orbits (might rule out binary/multiple star systems - 50%)

3) Size of “habitable zone”: region in which a planet of the right size could have liquid water on its surface.

Even so… billions of stars in the Milky Way seem at least to offer the possibility of habitable worlds.

The more massive the star, the larger the habitable zone — higher probability of a planet in this zone.

Stable orbitsPossible orbits.

a) Stable orbit close to one binary

b) Stable orbit about both binary CM.

c) Possible but unstable orbit

Finding them will be hard

Recall our scale model solar system:

• Looking for an Earthlike planet around a nearby star is like standing on the East Coast of the United States and looking for a pinhead on the West Coast — with a VERY bright grapefruit nearby.

• But new technologies should soon show the way…

• Kepler (2007 launch) will monitor 100,000 stars for transit events for 4 years.

Later: SIM (2009?), TPF (2015?): interferometers to obtain spectra and crude images of Earth-size planets.

Spectral Signatures of Life

Earth

Venus

Mars

oxygen/ozone

Are Earth-like planets rare or common?

Elements and Habitability• Some scientists argue

that proportions of heavy elements need to be just right for formation of habitable planets

• If so, then Earth-like planets are restricted to a galactic habitable zone

Impacts and Habitability• Some scientists argue

that Jupiter-like planets are necessary to reduce rate of impacts

• If so, then Earth-like planets are restricted to star systems with Jupiter-like planets

Climate and Habitability• Some scientists argue

that plate tectonics and/or a large Moon are necessary to keep the climate of an Earth-like planet stable enough for life

The Bottom Line

We don’t yet know how important or negligible these concerns are.

What have we learned?

• Are habitable planets likely?– Billions stars have sizable habitable zones,

but we don’t yet know how many have terrestrial planets in those zones

• Are Earth-like planets rare or common?– We don’t yet know because we are still trying

to understand all the factors that make Earth suitable for life

The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence

Our goals for learning• How many civilizations are out there?• How does SETI work?

How many civilizations are out there?

Assumptions of mediocrity:Why should we expect there to be life

elsewhere?1. Life on Earth depends on just a few basic molecules

2. The elements that make up these molecules are common to all stars.

3. The laws of science are valid everywhere.

4. There is a lot of space and there has been a lot of time..

Simply put.. WE ARE HERE. THERE SHOULD BE OTHERS

Maybe lots of others.

The Drake EquationNumber of civilizations with whom we could potentially

communicate

= NHP flife fciv fnow

NHP = total # of habitable planets in galaxy

flife = fraction of habitable planets with life

fciv = fraction of life-bearing planets w/ civilization at some time

fnow = fraction of civilizations around now.

We do not know the values for the Drake Equation

NHP : probably billions.

flife : ??? Hard to say (near 0 or near 1)

fciv : ??? It took 4 billion years on Earth

fnow : ??? Can civilizations survive long-term?

Are we “off the chart” smart?

• Humans have comparatively large brains

• Does that mean our level of intelligence is improbably high?

Communication with Distant Civilizations

Direct space travel to other stars not feasible due to large distances (long travel times).

Viable alternative: Radio communication.

Even for radio communication: Long answer times due to light-travel time.

Messages can be arranged in blocks of certain length that is a product of two

prime numbers Only two ways to arrange them in a rectangle.

The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI)

In addition to sending messages to possible extraterrestrial civilizations, there are also programs to listen for intelligent messages from space: SETI.

Only certain wavelength ranges are suitable for this

search

Signals would be overwhelmed by background noise

SETI program is highly controversial

because of the uncertain prospects of

positive results.

How does SETI work?

SETI experiments look for deliberate signals from E.T.

We’ve even sent a few signals ourselves…

Earth to globular cluster M13: Hoping we’ll hearback in about 42,000 years!

Your computer can help! SETI @ Home: a screensaver with a purpose.

What have we learned?

• How many civilizations are out there?– We don’t know, but the Drake equation gives

us a framework for thinking about the question

• How does SETI work?– Some telescopes are looking for deliberate

communications from other worlds

Interstellar Travel and Its Implications to Civilization

Our goals for learning• How difficult is interstellar travel?• Where are the aliens?

How difficult is interstellar travel?

Current Spacecraft

• Current spacecraft travel at <1/10,000 c; 100,000 years to the nearest stars.

Pioneer plaque Voyager record

Difficulties of Interstellar Travel

• Far more efficient engines are needed• Energy requirements are enormous• Ordinary interstellar particles become like cosmic rays• Social complications of time dilation

Where are the aliens?

Fermi’s Paradox

• Plausible arguments suggest that civilizations should be common, for example:

• Even if only 1 in 1 million stars gets a civilization at some time 100,000 civilizations

• So why we haven’t we detected them?

In 1950 conversation about possible ET intelligence Enrico Fermi asked, ” Where is everybody?”

Possible solutions to the paradox1) We are alone: life/civilizations much rarer than

we might have guessed.• Our own planet/civilization looks all the more

precious…

2) Civilizations are common but interstellar travel is not. Perhaps because: Interstellar travel more difficult than we think. Desire to explore is rare. Civilizations destroy themselves before achieving

interstellar travel

These are all possibilities, but not very appealing…

Possible solutions to the paradox

3) There IS a galactic civilization…

… and some day we’ll meet them…

Possible solutions to the paradox

Open notes QuestionList and briefly explain three physical limitations why visitation by creatures from another star system is highly unlikely.

Travel between the starsThree limitations

• Distance: The universe is huge. There are many stars.

• Speed: “c” Upper limit to speed. Even at light speed nearest star is over eight years away.

• Fuel: It take a huge amount of energy to accelerate mass. Relativistic correction

F=ma, m = m/sqrt(1-(v/c) sr)

What have we learned?

• How difficult is interstellar travel?– Interstellar travel remains well beyond our

current capabilities and poses enormous diffculties

• Where are the aliens?– Plausible arguments suggest that if interstellar

civilizations are common then at least one of them should have colonized the rest of the galaxy

– Are we alone? Has there been no colonization? Are the colonists hiding?

The End.

Have a good life.

Remember, astronomy is something you can continue on your own.

Go outside look up.