Space, Time, and Aliens: Collected Works on Cosmos and Culture

Front Matter ....Pages i-xxii
Front Matter ....Pages 1-4
 Plurality of Worlds: A Persistent Theme in Western Civilization  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 5-26
 The Twentieth Century History of the Extraterrestrial Life Debate: Major Themes  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 27-42
 From the Physical World to the Biological Universe: Historical Developments Underlying the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI)  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 43-51
 The Biophysical Cosmology: The Place of Bioastronomy in the History of Science  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 53-58
 The Biological Universe Revisited  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 59-69
 Back to the Future: SETI before the Space Age  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 71-80
 The Drake Equation in Context  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 81-99
Front Matter ....Pages 101-104
 Cosmic Evolution: History, Culture, and Human Destiny  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 105-128
 Consequences of Success in SETI: Lessons from the History of Science  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 129-142
 Cultural Aspects of Astrobiology: A Preliminary Reconnaissance at the Turn of the Millennium  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 143-158
 The Role of Anthropology in SETI: A Historical View  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 159-169
 Bringing Culture to Cosmos: Cultural Evolution, the Postbiological Universe, and SETI  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 171-190
 Toward a Constructive Naturalistic Cosmotheology  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 191-206
 Astroethics and Cosmocentrism  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 207-212
 Should We Message ET, and Is an Asilomar Consultation Process Possible?  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 213-228
 Astrobiology and Society: An Overview at the Beginning of the Twenty-First Century  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 229-238
Front Matter ....Pages 239-242
 Exploring the Unknown: 50 Years of NASA History  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 243-268
 Exploration, Discovery, and Culture: NASA’s Role in History  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 269-310
 Space, Time and Aliens: The Role of Imagination in Outer Space  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 311-329
 The Impact of the Hubble Space Telescope  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 331-336
 The Decision to Cancel the Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission 4 (SM4) and Its Reversal  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 337-370
 Reflections on French-American Relations in Space, 1957–1975  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 371-376
Front Matter ....Pages 377-380
 Measuring the Universe: A Brief History of Astrometry  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 381-401
 Pulkovo Observatory and the National Observatory Movement: A Historical Overview  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 403-416
 John Quincy Adams, the Smithsonian Bequest and the Founding of the U. S. Naval Observatory  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 417-431
 The First Time Balls and the First North American Time Ball  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 433-453
 The U. S. Naval Astronomical Expedition of James Melville Gilliss in the Southern Hemisphere, 1849–1852  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 455-464
 Measuring the Astronomical Unit: The American Transit of Venus Expeditions of 1874 and 1882  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 465-477
 Geodesy, Time, and the Markowitz Moon Camera Program: An Interwoven International Geophysical Year Story  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 479-500
Front Matter ....Pages 501-503
 Pluto, Discovery, and Classification in Astronomy  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 505-519
 Astronomy’s Three Kingdoms: A Comprehensive Classification System of Celestial Objects  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 521-531
 The Discovery of Polar Motion and Its Importance  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 533-547
 Observation and Interpretation of the Leonid Meteors Over the Last Millennium  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 549-569
 The Discovery and Exploration of the Moons of Mars  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 571-586
 The Universe and Alfred Russel Wallace  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 587-609
 Discovering a New Realm of the Universe: Hubble, Galaxies, and Classification  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 611-625
Front Matter ....Pages 627-629
 The Philosophy of Astronomy, Cosmology, and Astrobiology: A Preliminary Reconnaissance  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 631-653
 Critical Issues in the History, Philosophy, and Sociology of Astrobiology  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 655-693
 Lessons Learned from the Twentieth-Century Extraterrestrial Life Debate  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 695-721
 Cosmology and Biology: An Entangled Web?  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 723-736
Front Matter ....Pages 737-739
 Interstellar Humanity  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 741-753
 The Consolations of Astronomy and the Cosmic Perspective  (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 755-769
Back Matter ....Pages 771-799