The Hunt For Life On Mars
analytical Essay
1723 words
Jake Huffman
4/30/14
Pledged
Summary on The Hunt for Life on Mars
In The Hunt for Life on Mars the author, Donald Goldsmith, provides a very in depth look into the extensive search for life on the planet Mars. He gives us details of the history of exploring mars, future endeavors, and discoveries that have been made in this enormous, yet exciting task. He spends most of the book discussing a rock, ALH 84001, that is believed to be from Mars and contains evidence that has led scientists to believe that at one point there was life and could still be life hiding somewhere on the red planet.
While Donald Goldsmith is not a scientist by any means, he has done considerable research on signs of life in the cosmos and has interviewed several scientists and experts while writing this book. He has also written several other scientific books on life in space and beginning of life in the cosmos. While he may not have the direct knowledge of these topics, he has made up for it by doing extensive research and asked experts in this field for help if it was needed. He is very qualified to write this book and expresses his ideas and thoughts very clearly.
The book begins when a meteorite is found in Allan Hills, Antarctica in 1984. After years of research, it was determined that this rock was once on Mars, was launched off the planet, possibly by an explosion, orbited around earth for millions of years before it was buried in the ice on earth for tens of thousands of years. (Pg 19) The rock contained globules of carbonates, which are mineral deposits of carbon and oxygen atoms that were mixed with other atoms like calcium, iron or magnesium. Mixed in with these globules scientists found polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, whi...
... middle of paper ...
...s been no findings of extra-terrestrial life currently alive in the cosmos, the fact that there was ancient life at one time on Mars gives us hope to eventually find life on a planet.
Whether it is in one of our nearby planets or a distant planet, researchers are looking at every potential planet and moon that could possibly hold alien life on it. One of Jupiter’s moon, Europa, is currently being taken into consideration for exploration. Doing so is many years from happening but the encouragement from the results of exploring Mars has lead us to consider far distant planets for exploration, when just a few decades ago the notion that there was alien life out there was considered ignorant. If we were to find a planet that could support life forms in some way, it would allow us to colonize other planets and expand our horizons even further than we imagined.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes donald goldsmith's book, the hunt for life on mars, which provides an in-depth look into the extensive search for life on the planet mars.
- Explains that donald goldsmith is not a scientist by any means, but he has done considerable research on signs of life in the cosmos and interviewed several scientists and experts while writing this book.
- Explains that a meteorite was found in allan hills, antarctica in 1984. it was launched off the planet, orbited around earth for millions of years before it was buried in the ice.
- Explains that the meteorite alh 84001 had tiny ovoids that appeared to be similar to those of the smallest bacteria on earth.
- Explains that while many people think of martians when they hear there is life on mars, what scientists usually mean is bacteria or something similar.
- Analyzes goldsmith's argument that non-biological processes can produce the minerals and ovoids found in the rock even though they are all similar to ones found on earth.
- Explains that nasa sent the viking spaceship to mars in the 1970s to measure the atmosphere, take thousands of pictures, and record the cycle of days and nights, but there was still no sign of life on the planet.
- Explains how the three experiments worked as planned, but it was difficult to tell if the gases were released by biological or non-biological processes.
- Explains that the findings on and inside alh 84001 convinced scientists to perform an even more extensive search on mars.
- Explains that some scientists believe that instead of searching for life on mars, we should use terraforming to create a planet capable of sustaining life.
- Explains that alh 84001 has allowed scientists to gain a better knowledge of the beginning of life and extra-terrestrial life.
- Opines that the discovery of ancient life on mars gives us hope to eventually find a planet that could support life forms.
Related
- explanatory
- argumentative
- comparative
- analytical
- opinion
- The Theory of Cosmological Natural Selectionexplanatory essaySmolin, Lee. The Life of the Cosmos. 1997. Oxford University Press. New York , NY .
In this essay, the author
- Explains that philosophers and astronomers have been trying to determine the origin of our universe for thousands of years. some astrophysicists conjectured about the implications of quantum gravity for the universe's existence.
- Explains that lee smolin's theory of cosmological natural selection is based off of two different theories.
- Argues that smolin's theory of cosmological natural selection is not falsifiable, meaning that it cannot be proved wrong.
- Explains that albert einstein's theory of general relativity is a basis for many of the information that we have collected from space.
- Explains that the big bang theory is a postulate of how everything started, but there is no way to prove that it is accurate.
- Explains the multi-universe theory, which is based on modern physics and quantum mechanics.
- Opines that people are putting forth massive amounts of effort to try to answer every unanswerable question about our universe.
- Explains rothman, t., and ellis, g.f.r. "smolin's natural selection hypothesis."
- Explains that the theory of cosmological natural selection implies that black holes are essentially the gateways to newly created universes.
- Explains smolin, lee, alpher, ralph a., and herman, robert. the life of the cosmos.
2659 wordsRead More - The NASA Haughton-Mars Project.argumentative essayThe NASA Haughton-Mars Project. A thousand miles or so from the Earth's North pole lies our planet's largest uninhabited island, Devon Island. Devon Island is the largest uninhabited island on Earth, with a surface area of approximately 66,800 km2. Its geology presents two major provinces: a thick (presently ~ 1.3 km) subhorizontal sequence of Paleozoic (Cambrian to Devonian) marine sedimentary rocks dominated by carbonates (dolomite and limestone) forming part of the Arctic Platform; and a Precambrian crystalline (gneissic) basement lying unconformably under the stack of marine sediments, forming part of the Canadian Shield. The Paleozoic sediments present a gentle dip of approximately 4° towards the west.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that devon island is the largest uninhabited island on earth, with a surface area of approximately 66,800 km2.
- Analyzes how devon island's features and sites are strikingly reminiscent of the martian landscape, whether this resemblance is a coincidence or whether there are common underlying causes.
- Describes how the impactor struck devon island, delivering a pulse of energy equivalent to 100 million kilotons of tnt.
- Describes how they approached chris mckay at nasa ames research center to visit haughton crater with his visionary support. the site proved interesting beyond their wildest dreams.
- Explains that the ground-ice on devon island and across the high arctic represents an important repository of freshwater and might even trap a biological record covering several million years.
- Compares devon island's channels with the martian small valley networks, which date back to the end of the heavy bombardment.
- Explains that the martian small valley networks are the result of liquid water runoff flowing across the surface. this is thought to have occurred not in the form of gigantic floods, but rather as modest trickles.
- Opines that devon island has eerily similar features to mars, including vast canyons and small gullies. no single mars analog can be considered ideal.
938 wordsRead More - Life On Mars Essaycomparative essay“I think humans will reach Mars, and I would like to see it happen in my lifetime” was said by Buzz Aldrin, a NASA astronaut. The former American aeronaut from Montclair, New Jersey believes that since Mars does exist, it is waiting to be reached by humans. When this would happen, he says that the human race would “evolve into a two-planet species.” Present day Mars has a lot of canyons, mountains and volcanoes. Even though the surface is Mars is very old, scientists learned about different younger rift valleys, plains, hills and ridges. According to recent reports, there were lakes and rivers, along with an ocean billions of years ago. The low temperatures on the planet cause there to be polar ice caps and frozen water present. Scientists continue to notice several discoveries on the planet that lead them to think there was once life on the planet. Different clues have scientists wanting to find out about even more. Many scientists in the past few centuries have been curious if life on Mars is possible or if it has ever been before.
In this essay, the author
- Quotes buzz aldrin, a nasa astronaut, who believes humans will reach mars. the planet has canyons, mountains, and volcanoes.
- Explains that scientists have sent several probes and experimental vehicles to mars to prove that there is a possibility of life on the planet.
- Explains that mars has several distinctive features that have scientists thinking about a chance of surviving on the planet.
- Explains that people from earth are planning a trip to mars in 2023 to prove there is life on the red planet.
- Concludes that mars may have been a planet where there was life in the past and humans may be able to survive there now.
1081 wordsRead More - The Influence of Witchcraft on Feminismanalytical essaySjöö, M. & Mor, B. (1987). The Great Cosmic Mother. San Fransisco: Harper & Row.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the witch-hunt over north america and europe set new standards for how women were treated in society.
- Describes armstrong, pettigrew, and read, d. (producers). the burning times.
- Opines that women lived in a naturally occurring social feminist utopia because there was no bias for or against men or women within the rural community and without repression or bias there can be no feminist movement.
- Explains that the witch-hunt stripped women of much of their power over the 15th to 18th centuries. women were highly revered and respected pillars of rural community life.
- Explains how the witch-hunt began in the 11th century, when the catholic church did not recognize the existence of witches.
- Argues that women of the post-burn era occupy new places in society and gather their power bases in the domains that were still open to them.
- Cites karlsen, c.f., kors, a.c. & peters e.
- Explains sjöö, mor, and trevor-roper's the european witch-craze of the 16th and 17th centuries.
1782 wordsRead More - Reconciling Religious and Scientific Perspectives of Creationanalytical essay“In the beginning was the big bang,”[i] writes John Polkinghorne, a physicist turned theologian. As the reader follows through the remainder of his cosmic creation story, the reader is intrigued at how mystical and religious the story sounds. “The space boiled, in the rapid expansion of the inflation era, blowing the universe apart with incredible rapidity in the much less than 10-30 seconds that it lasted. . . . The world suddenly became transparent and a universal sea of radiation was left to continue cooling on its own . . .”[ii] Then, the story unfolds to tell of the creation of hydrogen and helium and the creation of stars. The death of stars follow, which in turn gives rise to conditions that are favorable for the formation of life.[iii]
In this essay, the author
- Opines that the question of the origin is complicated when we see how finely tuned the universe is.
- Explains that the expansionary universe theory was conceived by albert einstein in his work concerning relativity.
- Explains that matter came from fluctuations in a preexisting quantum vacuum, which are caused by virtual particles that simply come in and out of existence.
- Compares the universe to a library full of books, which are made of molecules and are purely matter, but are pages after pages of words that tell some story.
- Cites john polkinghorne's the faith of a physicist: reflections of a bottom-up thinker.
- Analyzes the effect of the strong nuclear force in determining the emergence of hydrogen.
- Explains that john polkinghorne, "creation and the structure of the physical world," theology today, april 1987, p.
- Explains brian greene's the elegant universe: superstrings, hidden dimensions and the quest for the ultimate theory.
- Explains that einstein's equation can be used to translate the vibration of a string into mass, because its vibration is assigned an e. the quantum mechanical energy of oscillating electromagnetic field is e=hf.
- Analyzes steven weinberg's dreams of a final theory.
- Analyzes the russellian paradox of self-referential paradoxes that strike at the very heart of logic.
- Explains that brandenberger and vafa verified this phenomenon through detailed calculations.
- Opines that the theory about the cosmic prehistory should be taken as a possible solution and not as the definite answer.
- Analyzes how the story of the cosmic creation is also the epitome of logic.
- Argues that stephen w. hawking devised a theory that could smear the point of creation.
- Argues that the string theory can be used to explain creation out of nothing.
- Explains that it is impossible to prove through science that god exists, but it's equally valid as saying that the book had an author.
- States that the essay will not be an attempt to prove the big bang theory is correct.
- Explains that the picture of the universe after the big bang can be imagined to be like a cone.
- Explains that the physics behind the explanation is too complex and detailed for this essay. alan guth’s book on the inflationary model and timothy ferris’ books explain this model.
- Explains douglas lackey's "the big bang and the cosmological argument." the uncertainty principle says that some features of the universe cannot be known with complete precision. the law of conservation of matter and energy holds.
7375 wordsRead More - Evience of Alien Lifeexplanatory essayPickrell, John. "Top 10: Controversial Pieces of Evidence for Extraterrestrial Life." New Scientist. Reed Business Information Ltd, 4 Sept. 2006. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. .
In this essay, the author
- Explains that extraterrestrials exist and have left evidence in the modern and ancient world to prove so.
- Explains that an extraterrestrial is a being not of the human race or the earth we live on. the movies and cartoons portray cute cuddly aliens or giant evil creatures that intend to enslave the earth.
- Explains that scientists are studding space dirt and moon rocks to find microbial proof of life. they have found fossils of microbes in the artic, organic compounds on planets, and meteorites.
- Explains that evidence of intelligent beings making radio contact from space has also been reported. radio signals sent to seti in 2004 were sent by hydrogen frequency.
- Explains that there are two different kinds of aliens: microbes and physical space intelligence. grays, reptilians, and nordics have encounters with them.
- Explains that grays are benevolent aliens who come to do research on us and are curious. their civilization was captured and cloned by the reptilians, and they have rebelled.
- Explains that reptilians are not nice aliens who want to enslave the human race. they use fear and force to coerce you into their bidding.
- Describes the nordics as friendly outer space renaissance folk with blonde hair and blue eyes. they are humanoid and like to visit earth to help us.
- Explains that intelligent beings can live in other dimensions and enter ours. there are also life bearing planets that scientists say can harbor life, mostly for microbial life.
- Explains that there are hundreds of landings, sightings and popular places that show human and alien interaction. the extraterrestrial highway is the highway near area 51.
- Explains that roswell, new mexico, and wisconsin are famous for aliens and mythical creatures. canada has an alien landing pad and information stand for them when they explore st. paul, alberta.
- Explains that falkirk triangle scotland is a very busy alien sighting area. other major landing spots for alien travelers are in brazil and peru.
- Explains stephen hawking's belief that if the aliens out in space are superior in technology and in knowledge, we need to lie low and stop making ourselves noticeable.
- Explains that apollo 14 astronauts radioed down to houston, asked if there was a release of any sort of shuttle equipment, and then kept their mouths shut. the government has been trying to cover up the alien issues for about sixty years.
- Concludes that aliens have left a mark on the earth and in human history, and that they can play an important role in our future.
- Explains that the universe is a pretty big place. it's bigger than anything anyone has ever dreamed of before.
- Cites space.com's "5 bold claims of alien life" and "alien-approved" by fordor’s travel.
- Describes the six most famous alien abductions from the fw. kalay, jonathan. "5 pieces of evidence that suggests intelligent alien life exists."
- Summarizes pickrell's article, "top 10: controversial pieces of evidence for extraterrestrial life." reed business information ltd.
1335 wordsRead More - Analysis Of Dr. Robert Lanza's Biocentrismopinion essayBiocentrism: How Life and Consciousness are the Keys to Understanding the True Nature of the Universe
In this essay, the author
- Opines that beyond biocentrism is an enlightening and fascinating journey that will forever alter your understanding of your own existence.
- Opines that beyond biocentrism is a joyride through the history of science and cutting-edge physics, with the serious purpose of finding the long-overlooked connection between the conscious self and the universe around us.
- Explains that this intriguing and provocative book will challenge some of what you know and push you into rethinking your view of science—all the while entertaining you with a fast-paced, exhilarating narrative journey.
- Argues that the intrinsic properties of quantum gravity and matter alone cannot explain the tremendous effectiveness of the emergence of time and the lack of entanglement in our everyday world.
- Explains that robert lanza, md is one of the most respected scientists in the world, and a u.s. news & world report cover story called him "genius" and "renegade thinker."
- Opines that beyond biocentrism is an enlightening and fascinating journey that will forever alter your understanding of your own existence.
- Opines that beyond biocentrism is a joyride through the history of science and cutting-edge physics. it aims to find the long-overlooked connection between the conscious self and the universe around us.
- Analyzes how biocentrism shocked the world: how consciousness is the key to understanding the true nature of the universe.
- Argues that cosmology misses the big picture unless it includes biology.
- Explains that stem-cell guru robert lanza presents a radical new view of the universe.
- Narrates how they finished reading dr. robert lanza's book biocentrism and said to themselves, "finally, aha, someone that i can totally relate to."
- Analyzes how biocentrism shocked the world with its radical rethinking of the nature of reality. it shatters the reader's ideas of life-time and space, and even death.
- Opines that beyond biocentrism is a must-read for anyone interested in science and religion.
- Opines that biocentrism, by robert lanza and bob berman, is a radical rethinking of the nature of reality. it shatters the reader's ideas of life-time and space and even death.
1231 wordsRead More - Space Exploration - We Must Explore Marsanalytical essayHave you ever looked up in the sky and wondered if there is life elsewhere in the universe? Have you ever looked at a photograph of Mars and wondered if there really was ever life on it? People have a wide variety of opinions regarding these questions and with good reason. As far back as the broadcast of H. G. Well's novel, "The War of the Worlds", the world has been fascinated with the possibilities of what Mars may hold. Over time, the majority of people have come to realize that there is no way that life can currently be on Mars. Those who are uncertain think there may be microscopic bacteria underground.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes britt, robert roy salty sea covered part of mars.
- Quotes britt, robert roy, "the growing case for water on mars". space.com.
- Describes mars info's 18 july 2000, space.com, 23 march 2004.
- Explains graham, john f., "chapter 4 -- the solar system", university of north dakota.
- Explains planet mars, mars exploration and mars missions.
- Explains that williams, dr. david r., "mars 2005 missions and beyond" 17 nov. 2003.
- Explains that people have a wide variety of opinions regarding the possibility of life on mars. they will describe mars, present evidence of ice and water, and explain why it is important.
2978 wordsRead More - The Multiverse Theoryanalytical essayJenkins, Alejandro, and Gilad Perez. "Looking for Life in the Multiverse." Scientific American Jan. 2010: 42-49. Print.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the multiverse theory suggests that humans on earth live within one universe of many others that reside within a primordial vacuum containing many other universes.
- Explains that the multiverse theory is a definite possibility for many physicists, astronomers, and especially cosmologists.
- Explains that each pocket universe has a wide range of variables—natural constants and physical laws—causing them to differ from our own. slightly shifting any of these variables individually can result in the destruction of life.
- Explains that physicists alejandro jenkins and gilad perez eliminated the weak nuclear force and studied the resulting possibilities via simulations and graphical reasoning.
- Explains that the implications of such findings are purely philosophical because humans will never be able to communicate with or reach the other universes. however, there are still conflicts among secular and religious scientists.
- Quotes steven weinberg as saying he was not impressed with "supposed instances of fine-tuning," citing and denouncing the religion-supporting claim related to the radioactive decay of carbon.
- Opines that one of the great achievements of science has been, if not to make it impossible for intelligent people to be religious, we should not retreat from this accomplishment.
- Quotes lee strobel's book the case for the creator, stating that even an infinitely large space will become filled at some point. the cosmological constant’s variation in the positive or negative direction should not be taken lightly.
- Argues that human reasoning abilities have allowed mankind to develop a virtual telescope far beyond the reach of our newest space viewing technologies. the conflicting ideas provide an impetus that will stimulate further research into this field.
1015 wordsRead More - Deception Pointanalytical essayThe findings in this book could easily be compared to real findings, throughout history we have been looking at finding proof for existence of life out in the universe and we have found several meteorites throughout times. Though they are not as significant as the discovery in the book where they are found during presidential elections and with fossils on it, but today when people are looking in space and saying our future lies there; reading the book has made everything just more interesting and exciting. "If this discovery is confirmed, it will surely be one of the most stunning insights into our universe that science has ever uncovered. Its implications are as far-reaching and awe-inspiring as can be imagined. Even as it promises answer to some of our oldest questions, it poses still others even more fundamental"
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes the plot of a new nasa satellite detecting an object buried deep beneath the arctic ice. senator sexton has been criticising nasa for errors throughout the campaign.
- Analyzes how rachel and the others discover evidence of fraud after a scientist is found dead under strange circumstances, but before rachel can get in contact with the president, they realize that this kind of knowledge will put them in dangerous situations.
- Opines that the only hope for survival is to find out who is behind this plot and why, and fight for their lives against those who want to see them dead.
- Opines that the findings in the book could easily be compared to real findings.
- Opines that the language of this book can be difficult when uses scientific or high tech terms, but otherwise it is easily read by people in their own age.
- Analyzes how the book's structure is easy and has divided chapters into different scenarios to make it comprehensible and less confusing for the reader.
- Opines that even though there are no images in the book, imagination is a way to picture the situations, characters, and places.
- Analyzes how the different characters played a huge role in this exciting novel. each of them were linked to each other in different ways. the characters contribute with different thoughts and actions in the book.
- Analyzes how brown's deception point includes several themes in which none is used more frequently than the other.
- Opines that dan brown is trying to tell us how the world is looking today by making the book as realistic as possible.
1075 wordsRead More