The Search for Extraterrestrial Life: Recent Developments: Proceedings of the 112th Symposium of the International Astronomical Union Held at Boston University, Boston, Mass., U.S.A., June 18–21, 1984

Front Matter....Pages i-xxv
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
Introduction....Pages 3-4
A Historical Introduction to the Search for Extraterrestrial Life....Pages 5-11
Twenty-Five Years of the Search for Extraterrestrial Communications....Pages 13-19
Seti is Coming of Age....Pages 21-22
Welcoming Address....Pages 23-24
Invocation....Pages 25-25
Front Matter....Pages 27-27
Introduction....Pages 29-32
A Review of the Scientific Rationale and Methods Used in the Search for Other Planetary Systems....Pages 33-41
Protoplanetary Material Around Nearby Stars....Pages 43-50
On the Number of Galactic Planetary Systems....Pages 51-58
Planetary Searches Using Optical Astrometric Interferometers....Pages 59-63
A New Objective for the Allegheny Observatory 30-Inch Refractor....Pages 65-74
Prospects for Space Telescope in the Search for Other Planetary Systems....Pages 75-84
Detecting Distant Planets with Space Telescope....Pages 85-89
Absolute Astronomical Accelerometry : A New Tool for Planetary Searching....Pages 91-95
Assisting Extrasolar Planetary Detection through the Determination of Stellar Space Orientations....Pages 97-100
Front Matter....Pages 101-101
Introduction....Pages 103-106
Titan’s Organic Chemistry....Pages 107-121
Prebiotic Matter in Interstellar Molecules....Pages 123-137
Recent Observations of Organic Molecules in Nearby Cold, Dark Interstellar Clouds....Pages 139-144
Front Matter....Pages 101-101
Infrared Spectral Identification of Complex Organic Molecules in Interstellar Grains....Pages 145-150
Universal Protein Ancestors from Hydrogen Cyanide and Water....Pages 151-156
Panspermia — a Modern Astrophysical and Biological Approach....Pages 157-164
No Valid Evidence Exists for Interstellar Proteins, Bacteria, etc.....Pages 165-169
Astronomical Sources of Circularly Polarized Light and their Role in Determining Molecular Chirality on Earth....Pages 171-175
Front Matter....Pages 177-177
Introduction....Pages 179-183
Synthesis and Analysis in Chemical Evolution....Pages 185-197
Molecular Replication....Pages 199-200
The Precambrian Evolution of Terrestrial Life....Pages 201-211
Human Evolution: The View From Saturn....Pages 213-221
Some Implications of Mass Extinction for the Evolution of Complex Life....Pages 223-232
Evidence for a Solar Companion Star....Pages 233-243
The Universal Diagrams and Life in the Universe....Pages 245-249
Universal Aspects of Biological Evolution....Pages 251-254
On the Occurrence and Appearance of Galactic Life Forms: A Thermodynamic Approach....Pages 255-259
Front Matter....Pages 261-261
Introduction....Pages 263-270
Seti Observations Worldwide....Pages 271-290
Project Sentinel: Ultra-Narrowband SETI at Harvard/Smithsonian....Pages 291-303
The Ohio SETI Program — The First Decade....Pages 305-314
A Search in the Infrared to Microwave for Astroengineering Activity....Pages 315-319
Front Matter....Pages 261-261
Search for Strongly Polarized Radio Emission from E.T.I., and an Optimist Approach to the Great Silence (Fermi’s Paradox)....Pages 321-325
Lunar Reflections of Terrestrial Radio Leakage....Pages 327-334
Eavesdropping Detection of Radio Signals from Other Planets, with One Bit-Implementation Techniques Using Existing Computers....Pages 335-339
Front Matter....Pages 341-341
Introduction....Pages 343-349
Seti: A More Eclectic Approach....Pages 351-360
The 8-Million Channel Narrowband Analyzer....Pages 361-371
The Multichannel Spectrum Analyzer....Pages 373-383
Software Implementation of Detection Algorithms for the MCSA....Pages 385-390
Seti: The Microwave Search Problem and the Targeted Search Approach....Pages 391-395
Seti: The Microwave Search Problem and the NASA Sky Survey Approach....Pages 397-403
An Analysis of the Elements of an All Sky Survey....Pages 405-410
Optimum Search Strategy for Randomly Distributed CW Transmitters....Pages 411-417
A Milky Way Search Strategy for Extraterrestrial Intelligence....Pages 419-419
The Serendip II Design....Pages 421-424
New 45m Radio Telescope and Fourier-Transform Type Spectrometer at Nobeyama Radio Observatory....Pages 425-433
Front Matter....Pages 435-435
Introduction....Pages 437-442
A Comparative Analysis of Space Colonization Enterprises....Pages 443-447
On the Question of Interstellar Travel....Pages 449-454
Exponential Expansion: Galactic Destiny or Technological Hubris?....Pages 455-463
Where are They? Implications of Ancient and Future Migrations....Pages 465-475
Front Matter....Pages 435-435
Galactic Colonization and Competition in a Young Galactic Disk....Pages 477-482
Extraterrestrial Intelligence: Where is Everybody?....Pages 483-486
Fermi Question, Fermi Paradox: One Hit, One Out....Pages 487-491
On a Cosmic Alphabet....Pages 493-496
On the Inevitability and the Possible Structures of Supercivilizations....Pages 497-504
An Infrared Search in our Solar System as Part of a More Flexible Search Strategy....Pages 505-511
Front Matter....Pages 513-513
Introduction....Pages 515-521
Summary of First Session....Pages 523-526
Summary of Session II Planetary, Interplanetary and Interstellar Organic Matter....Pages 527-528
Summary of Session III Universal Aspects of Biological Evolution....Pages 529-533
Questionmarks Remaining....Pages 535-537
Two Additional Comments....Pages 539-541
A Look into the Future....Pages 543-546
Concluding Remarks....Pages 547-551
Activities and Resolutions of IAU Commission 51....Pages 553-556
Epilogue....Pages 557-559
Back Matter....Pages 561-579