Lecture 1 ... 25 Aug 2008 ---
Welcome and course info; Mars thought experiments
Lecture 2 ... 27 Aug 2008 ---
Tours of biology, astronomy, astrobiology;
brief history of science;
what is science?
Lecture 3 ... 29 Aug 2008 ---
Tour of astrobiology;
brief history of science;
what is science?;
definitions of life.
Lecture 4 ... 3 Sept 2008 ---
Initial conditions; prebiotic conditions on Earth.
Lecture 5 ... 5 Sept 2008 ---
Miller-Urey; panspermia; anthropic principle
Lecture 6 ... 8 Sept 2008 ---
Chemistry: atoms, molecules, periodic table, bonds, radioactivity, chirality.
Lecture 7 ... 10 Sept 2008 ---
Chemistry continued: atoms, molecules, periodic table, bonds, radioactivity, chirality.
Lecture 8 .. 12 Sept 2008 ---
There is no lecture 8.
Lecture 9 .. 15 Sept 2008 ---
Biology: Why carbon?; amino acids; RNA and DNA.
Lecture 10 .. 17 Sept 2008 ---
Biology: RNA and DNA; the RNA
world; conundra; cells; prokaryotes, eukaryotes; energy production;
three domains; extremophiles
Lecture 11 .. 19 Sept 2008 ---
Biology:
Conundra; cells; prokaryotes, eukaryotes; energy production;
three domains; extremophiles
Lecture 12 .. 22 Sept 2008 ---
Biology: three domains, extremophiles. Physics: Electromagnetic radiation, light, and the spectrum
Lecture 13 .. 24 Sept 2008 ---
Biology: Extremophiles. Physics: Electromagnetic radiation, light,
and the spectrum; spectroscopy; history of astronomy.
Lecture 14 .. 26 Sept 2008 ---
Physics: Spectroscopy; history of astronomy;
Kepler; Galileo; Newton; Gravity
Lecture 15 .. 29 Sept 2008 ---
Physics: Thermodynamics. Astronomy: Earth and moon, seasons, phases, eclipses;
tides; stars; formation of stars and planets.
Lecture 16 .. 1 Oct 2008 ---
Stars; formation of stars and planets; meteorites;
LHB; main sequence; after the main sequence;
cosmology.
Lecture 17 .. 3 Oct 2008 ---
Main sequence and after the main sequence;
Doppler shift; extrasolar planets;
galaxies and cosmology;
the Solar neighborhood;
characterization of stars.
Lecture 18 .. 6 Oct 2008 ---
Extrasolar planets; characterization of stars; brown
dwarfs; Solar neighborhood.
Lecture 19 .. 8 Oct 2008 ---
Geology: Composition of the Earth;
minerals and rocks;
carbon and hydrological cycles.
Lecture 20 .. 15 Oct 2008 ---
Astrobiology! Why water? Evolution of Earth;
habitability.
Lecture 21 .. 17 Oct 2008 ---
Astrobiology: Early Earth; Early life; greenhouse effect;
habitability
climate change.
Lecture 22 .. 20 Oct 2008 ---
Astrobiology: Comparative planetology, Europa
Lecture 23 .. 22 Oct 2008 ---
More comparative planetology; Europa
Lecture 24 .. 24 Oct 2008 ---
Europa, Enceladus, Titan, Mars
Lecture 25 .. 27 Oct 2008 ---
There is no Lecture 25.
Lecture 26 .. 29 Oct 2008 ---
Drake equation (Ed Anderson).
Lecture 27 .. 31 Oct 2008 ---
There is no Lecture 27.
Lecture 28 .. 3 Nov 2008 ---
Mars and Mars explorations
Lecture 29 .. 5 Nov 2008 ---
Results from Mars rovers, MRO, and Mars Phoenix;
future explorations of Mars.
Lecture 30 .. 7 Nov 2008 ---
Titan (Guest lecture: Dr. Henry Roe).
Lecture 31 .. 10 Nov 2008 ---
Detection of life elsewhere
Lecture 32 .. 12 Nov 2008 ---
Detection of life elsewhere; eukaryotes and evolution
Lecture 33 .. 14 Nov 2008 ---
Evolution, mass extinctions, Chicxulub
Lecture 34 .. 17 Nov 2008 ---
Evolution, mass extinctions, Chicxulub
Lecture 35 .. 19 Nov 2008 ---
Evolution, mass extinctions, Chicxulub, signatures of advanced
life, the Drake equation
Lecture 36 .. 21 Nov 2008 ---
Signatures of advanced life, Drake equation,
SETI, messages sent to space.
Lecture 37 .. 24 Nov 2008 ---
SETI, messages sent to space, Fermi paradox
Lecture 38 .. 1 Dec 2008 ---
Mars Phoenix and a stroll back through the course
Lecture 39 .. 3 Dec 2008 ---
Mars Phoenix and a stroll back through the course
Lecture 40 .. 5 Dec 2008 ---
Question and answer session
Last modified: 1 Dec 2008