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6 - Life in Other Planetary Systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 October 2022

Wallace Arthur
Wallace Arthur
Affiliation:
Emeritus Professor of Zoology, National University of Ireland, Galway
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Summary

I introduced exoplanets – planets beyond our solar system – in Chapter 1, discussed them in the context of planetary systems in Chapter 2, and considered them in relation to the concept of habitability from a general perspective in Chapter 4. But so far I’ve given little detail about them. How many exoplanets, or exoplanetary systems, have I mentioned so far? Very few. That’s about to change, but not in the sense of replacing a dearth of detail with a wealth of it. Rather, I’ll be very selective about the particular exoplanets I discuss. This is essential, given that the number now known is huge, and most of them are irrelevant to the search for alien life.

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Understanding Life in the Universe , pp. 91 - 107
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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