Coronal and Chromospheric Physics Group
Beijing Lecture notes: "Life in the Universe" by P. Ulmschneider
Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, April - May 2006
Title Content Literature pdf(28KB)
References pdf(166KB)
Chapter 1 The universe
1. Basic astronomical parameters
2. Distance measurements
3. Hubble diagram and Cosmic Microwave Background
4. Formation of galaxies and stars
5. Stellar evolution
6. Dating the oldest objects
pdf(1.9MB)
Chapter 2 Planetformation
7. Meteorites
8. Asteroids
9. Comets
10. Planetformation
pdf(2.1MB)
Chapter 3 Earth and terrestrial planets
11. Accumulation phase of the Earth
12. Earth: Surface and interior
13. Land/sea ratio, and the growth of continents
14. Plate Tectonics on Mars and Venus
pdf(6.7MB)
Chapter 4 Extrasolar planets
15. Discovered extrasolar planets
16. Detection methods of extrasolar planets
17. New telescopes and satellite instruments
pdf(1.4MB)
Chapter 5 Earth-like Planets
18. Habitable Zones
19. Solar and planetary variability
20. Number of Earth-like planets
pdf(2.2MB)
Chapter 6 Formation of life
21. Natural phenomena and laws of nature
22. What is life?
23. Chemical elements important for life
24. A little organic chemistry
25. A little biochemistry
26. A little cell biology
27. Sequencing and molecular clocks
28. Laboratory Earth in the Hadean Era
29. Formation of life
pdf(2.9MB)
Chapter 7 Evolution
30. What is evolution?
31. Darwin‘s theory
32. Earliest traces of life
33. Eukaryotic cells, multi-celled organisms
34. The conquest of the land
35. The great K/T event
pdf(3.9MB)
Chapter 8 Intelligence
36. The primates
37. Evolution of the hominids
38. Logic of the human body plan
39. Is the evolution directed?
pdf(5.1MB)
Chapter 9 Search for life, SETI
40. Search for life in the solar system
41. Moons of the giant planets
42. Mars
43. Mars meteorites
44. Search for life outside the solar system
45. UFOs - Myth or reality?
pdf(1.3MB)
Chapter 10 Future of Mankind
46. Predicting the future
47. Conquest of the solar system
48. Interstellar travel
49. Mastering the biological world
50. Dangers for mankind
pdf(3.3MB)
Chapter 11 Extraterrestrial intelligence
51. What can we know about extraterrestrials?
52. Drake-equation: Number of intelligent societies in our galaxy
53. Fermi-Paradox: Where are the ET‘s?
pdf(1.4MB)
Additional topics
How do scientists look at this world? Science versus religion.
How does science handle objects?
Examples: Mythological beings (Centaur, Pegasus), Black Holes,Intelligence,
Tetrapod animals, Our own existence (Grand theater), God,
World history a frozen archive, Creationism, Intelligent Design
pdf(1.5MB)
Basic Textbook:
Intelligent life in the universe; from common origins to the future of humanity.
Advances in Astrobiology and Biogeophysics, Second edition,
Ulmschneider, P.,
Springer-Verlag (2006), 328 pp. ISBN 3-540-43988-9
pdf(77KB)
Interesting articles:
Mentality of Crows: Convergent
Evolution of Intelligence in Corvids and Apes, Emery+Clayton 2004 pdf(352KB)
Neandertals and the modern human colonization of Europe, Mellers 2004 pdf(304KB)
Dark Matter and Dark Energy, Seife 2003 pdf(142KB)
Inflationary Cosmology, Guth+Kaiser 2005 pdf(301KB)
Transition from fishes to land vertebrates, Ahlberg+Clack 2006 pdf(408KB)
Evolution of tetrapod body plan, DaeschlerEtAl 2006 pdf(523KB)
Origin of tetrapod limbs, ShubinEtAl 2006 pdf(899KB)
Judge rules against Intelligent Design in class room, Dec. 2005pdf(97KB)
Verdict against Intelligent Design, Dec. 2005 pdf(311KB)
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