San Antonio College Library

Disc 1: Tour the surface of Earth's life-giving star. Mars may be the future of humanity - uses data collected from probes and robotic rovers. Scars on the planet's surface and in its fossil record illustrate the threat posed by meteorites, comets, and asteroids that routinely collide with Earth. Two and a half times the size of all the other planets in the solar system combined, and half a billion miles from Earth, Jupiter is a colossal riddle. Disc...

Roy Neary witnesses the arrival of flying saucer from an alien world. Thus begins an incredible series of events, culminating in the ultimate encounter with other-worlders as Neary is led aboard the awesome Mothership.

In the past ten years, fast-paced developments in astronomy have revealed over 140 extrasolar planets--with more discoveries on the way. The newly discovered planets boggle astronomers' minds with their bizarre characteristics, including an unimagined diversity of sizes and orbits. Though it will be years before we have direct images of these far-flung worlds, this lavishly illustrated book gives us an idea of what they might look like. It brings...

"Fifty years of intensive searching for other solar systems produced no credible claim for an extrasolar planet. Then, in the last two exciting years, several teams of astronomers around the globe caught the first glimpses of a rich crop of giant, Jupiter-sized gas planets - the first compelling evidence that not only are there others Earth-like planets, but that they may well be more plentiful than ever imagined." "With an insider's perspective,...

"With the discovery in 1995 of the first planet orbiting another ordinary star, we know that planets are not unique to our own Solar System. For centuries, humanity has wondered whether we are alone in the Universe. We are now finally one step closer to knowing the answer. The quest for exoplanets is an exciting one, because it holds the possibility that one day we might find life elsewhere in the Universe, born in the light of another sun. Written...

Explores the question whether it is possible that there is life anywhere else in the universe or whether life is something special that could only happen on earth. Introduces the latest theories about how life started on earth and the latest findings about what other places in the universe might be able to support life. Planetary Dreams: The Quest To Discover Life Beyond Earth. "The dreams that I write of are not the usual ones, the images that come...

Kaufman details the incredible true story of science's search for the beginnings of life on Earth and the probability that it exists elsewhere in the universe.

In this book, the author focuses on the similarities between Mars and the early Earth. Utilizing his expert knowledge of microbial life in boiling hot springs on Earth, where many scientists believe life on our planet may well have originated, the author unveils his dramatic plan - already adopted by NASA - for finding life in the rocks and subsurface water of Mars. Then, taking a hard look at that alleged "fossil" in the now famous Mars-rock found...

"There is a lot to be learned from studying extrasolar planets. However, the most tantalizing data is the possible discovery of Earthlike extrasolar planet, with a mass comparable to that of Earth, located at the right distance from its star to host liquid water - in other words, a place where life might have evolved or still could evolve."--Jacket.

There are around 600 known alien planets. The recent launch of the Kepler space telescope opens the prospect of hundreds, maybe thousands, of further exoplanets being found. Could these alien worlds provide alternative homes for humankind, new supplies of mineral resources, or even be home to alien life?