NATS 1880 6.0 - Life Beyond Earth

Course Website

** Click here for 2011 Fall clickers marks

Winter section course Instructor: Prof. Michael De Robertis

Fall section course Instructor: Prof. Brendan M. Quine

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Click here to access the class facebook page created by Tiffany Huynh.

Class of 2011

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Introduction

Welcome to Life Beyond Earth. To read the Natural Sciences program welcome letter that includes critical information about this program please click here (PDF viewer required).

Lecture Times

Day	Time	Duration	Location
Tuesday	13:00	90	Curtis Lecture Halls - L
Thursday	13:00	90	Curtis Lecture Halls - L

Laboratory Times

Click here for laboratory information.

Course Content

The course will cover the following topics:

Basics of Life
Earth as an example of a habitable Planet
Other Solar System Objects
Search for Extrasolar Planets
Stars
Interplanetary Communications and Spaceflight
Drake's Equations

Course Outline

This course is intended to study the many factors that are involved in the search for life beyond Earth, and the possibilities of humans living in environments other than Earth. This course will look at the following:

Basics of Life – A definition for life? Requirements for life (energy, water, organic compounds). Importance of water and why carbon chemistry works. The role of DNA. The process of evolution and variation of life forms. Environments on Earth inhabited by life. Outside factors on the development of life, including solar instability, ice ages, cometary impacts. Assigned reading for this section is Chapter 5 of the course text.

Earth as a habitable planet. - The complex system that is Earth. Development of Earth and how life has modified the planet. Earth's atmosphere, hydrosphere, plate tectonics, axial tilt, distance from sun, and presence of a large moon as contributors to a stable environment in which complex life can develop. Assigned reading for this section is Chapter 4 of the course text.

Other Solar system objects. – The other planets and moons and factors that might permit life. Space missions to other bodies including as Galileo, Viking 1 & 2, Pathfinder, Magellan and proposed missions to test for life and hospitable environmental conditions. Our investigation starts with the Moon and then moves out through the planets starting closest to the Sun. In addition to the lecture notes:

	For the moon see the Lunar parts of sections 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.6, 7.2, 9.1.
	For Mercury see Mercurial sections of 4.1, 7.2, 7.4.
	For Venus see the Venutional sections of 2.2, 4.1, 7.2, 10.2.
	For Mars see sections 1.3, 4.1, 5.5, 7.4, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5.

For Tables of Physical Characteristics see sections E-1, E-2, E-3.

The Search for Extrasolar planets – methods and the results of the search for extrasolar planets. Proposed mission such as Kepler and Terrestrial Planet Finder.

Stars – The ultimate source of energy for life. Star types. The concept of a habitable zone. The evolution of stars and planets. Galactic location and life.

Interplanetary Communication and Spaceflight - Our ability to communicate or travel over long distances. Radio communication. Past and current attempts to communicate and find other civilizations. SETI. (search for extraterrestrial intelligence) and Project Cyclops. Limitations and difficulties of spaceflight beyond our solar system.

Drake’s Equations – This now famous equation explained. A statistical analysis of all the factors that go into the likelihood of communicating with other intelligences.

The last short segment will discuss some of the speculations as to what other civilizations might be like. There will be some brief discussion of the cultural prevalence of Extraterrestrials, and will look at the issue of extraterrestrial sightings.

Marking Scheme

The course marking scheme for the Fall session is as follows. Each lab will count 10% (40% Total). In class clicker results will count 60%. The course marking scheme is as follows:

Clicker Activities Fall		24%
Clicker Activities Winter		4%
Labs OR independent exercises Fall	16%
Labs OR independent exercises Winter	16%
Winter In Class Tests	20%
Final Exam		20%

Course Materials

Life in the Universe Activities Manual 3rd Edition (Prather, Offerdahl and Slater) custom version for York Available from bookstore is the REQUIRED course text. This includes access to the E-book Life in the Universe Bennett and Shostak which will be used for online reading activities. To register and access this e-book click here.

A Clicker response device is also required. For information on how to obtain a clicker click here. Note if you already have a clicker, you only need to ensure it is registered to your YorkU account.

Print versions of the course textbook is Life in the Universe by Jeffrey O. Bennett and Seth Shostak, third Ed. are available optionally but are not required.

This text is available from Amazon.ca, Alibris, Abe Books, or Ebay. Note that the contents of editions may vary. Links to book sellers are provided for information only and this does not imply an endorsement of service. Note that a print copy of cannot be used in replacement of the required activity manual for credit in this course.

Lectures

Please find links to the lecture presentation material below. Lectures are posted in PDF after material is delivered in class:

	Topic 1: Basics of Life (857 Kbytes).
	Topic 2: Earth (758 Kbytes).
	Topic 3A: Solar System Objects A (The Moon, Mercury).
	Topic 3B: Solar System Objects B (Habitability, Venus).
	Topic 3C: Solar System Objects C (Mars).
	Tobic 3D: Solar System Outer Planets (8 Mbytes).

Additional Materials

Additional materials are are available from the NATS1880 library page provided by John Dupius, science librarian.

Contact Us

For course related questions, please use the course email address: nats1880_at_yorku.ca.

What's New

Revised Sept. 2011.