Processes Behind Planetary Evolution And The Crowded Universe

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:g STARS - What is the habitable zone for the nearby star 2MA-0415-0935?g ABODES - New research shows that many of the objects in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter were actually formed in the far reaches of the solar system. The study sheds new light on the processes behind the evolution of the planets. See article.g MESSAGE - At his day job, Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institution of Washington studies how stars and planets are born. In recent years, he has consulted with scientists for NASA's Kepler space telescope on their mission of finding planets outside our solar system that might be hospitable to life. Mr. Boss, a 58-year-old astronomer and theoretical astrophysicist, was in New York City recently to promote his new book, "The Crowded Universe: the Search for Living Planets," about the scientific hunt for extraterrestrial life. Here's an edited version of a two-hour conversation with Boss.g COSMICUS - Checkout this SETI Institute essay, which begins: "Imagine that you could send a single short message through time to anyone who has ever lived, telling them one modern fact that would give them hope for the future of humanity. I don't think you could find anything more powerful than this: Human beings have walked on the Moon, and upon first arrival left a plaque that read 'We came in peace for all mankind.'"g AFTERMATH - Would ET vote? What effect will ET's political philosophy have on ours once contact is made? See article. It's an older piece but well worth the read.Get your SF book manuscript edited