planetesimals
planetoids
planets
axes of
composition of
effects of star's death on
extrasolar, see extrasolar planets
formation of
habitability conditions of
in heliocentric system
outer, Voyager flybys to
see also specific planets
Planet X
plasma
Pluton, 23
atmosphere of
discovery of
mission to
moon of
as planet vs. Trans-Neptunian Object
Poe, Edgar Allan
Pohorille, Andrew
Polaris
politics, science linked with
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
Ponnamperuma, Cyril
potassium-40
prebiotic chemistry
in clays
in interstellar space
Princess of Mars, A (Burroughs)
Project Blue Book
Project Grudge
Project Ozma
Project Phoenix
Project Sentinel
Project Serendip
prokaryotic cells
proper motion
proteinoid microspheres
proteins
manufacture of
protostars
Proxmire, William
PSR1257+12
PSR1829
psychrophiles (cold-lovers)
Ptolemy (Claudius Ptolemaeus)
pulsars
pyrolitic release
Pyrolobus fumarii
Quaoar
Queloz, Didier
Quintanilla, Hector, Jr.
radioactive dating
radioactive decay
radioactivity
radiocarbon dating (carbon dating)
radio frequencies
radio telescopes
see also SETI
radium
Rare Earth (Ward and Brownlee)
red dwarfs
Redi, Francesco
Rees, Martin
reflecting telescopes
refractor telescopes
relativity, special theory ofn
reproduction
Reuyl, Dirk
Rhodesia
ribosomes
RNA (ribonucleic acid)
Roberge, Aki
Roman Catholic Church
Romans, ancient
Rosetta mission
Roswell cover-up
Russia
Ryle, Sir Martin
Sagan, Carl
Mars research and
SETI and
Sasselov, Dimitar D.
satellites, weather
Saturn
Cassini mission to
extrasolar planets compared with
as "gas giant"
gravity of
magnetosphere of
Pioneer flybys to
rings of
Saturn, moons of
life on
see also Titan
Schiaparelli, Giovanni
Schmidt reflector telescope
Schmitt, Harrison
science:
politics linked with
rise of
Sagan's popularizing of
science fiction
about Mars
Science of UFOs, The (Alschuler)
scientists, explorers compared with
Score, Roberta
Scott, Dave
Scout missions
"Searching for Interstellar Communications" (Cocconi and Morrison)
self-replicating machines
Senate, U.S.
SETI (Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence)
chances of finding an intelligent civilization and
Cyclops program and
Drake "alien" message and
Drake equation and
Dyson spheres and
galactic geobiology and
globalization of
LGM ("little green men") hypothesis of
Optical
political counterattack on
problems faced by
Project Ozma and
radio frequencies and
scientific counterattack on
uniqueness of Earth and
"water hole" and
SETI@home
SETI Institute
70 Ophiuchi
70 Virginis
Shakespeare, William
Shapley, Harlow
Shelley, Percy Bysshe
Sheppard, Scott S.
Shermer, Michael
Shoemaker, Eugene
Siberia
Sigurdsson, Steinn
silanes
silicates
silicon
silicon dioxide
silicones
siloxanes
Simpson, George Gaylord
Sirius
Sirius B
Siwa
61 Cygni
Sizesaurus, The (Strauss)
sky:
perfection associated with
separation between Earth and
SLiMEs (Subsurface Lithotropic Microbial Ecosystems)
SNC meteorites
soil, use of term
solar system
angular momentum of
birth of
evolution vs. catastrophe as origin of
uniqueness of
violence and dangers of
see also Sun; specific moons and planets
solar wind
Sondheim, Stephen
South Carolina, subsurface bacteria discovered in
Southwest Research Institute
Soviet Union
space program of
Space Interferometry Mission (SIM)
spectrographic analysis
Spielberg, Steven
"spiral nebulae"
spontaneous generation
Sproul Observatory
stadium, as unit of measure
Stardust spacecraft
stars
angular momentum of
astrometric technique and
birth of
death of
dwarfs
extrasolar planets swallowed by
extrasolar planets without
failed, see brown dwarfs
formation of
planetary systems of, see extrasolar planets
radio energy emitted by
spectrographic analysis of
as suns
Steady State theory
stellar encounter (tidal) hypothesis
sterilization
Stern, Alan
Stone Age
Stonehenge
Strand, Kaj Aage
Strauss, Stephen
Streptococcus mitus
stromatolites
Strughold, Hubertus
Struve, Otto
sub-brown dwarf stars
Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS)
Subsurface Science Program
Suitcase SETI
sulfides
Sulfolobus
sulfur
sulfur dioxide
sulfuric acid
Sun
accretion disk of
angular momentum of
composition of
as energy source
entropy and
as god
gravity of
in heliocentric system
life without
Mercurian day and
Mercury's closeness to
as "metal rich" star
origin of
proper motion of
surface of
thermally habitable (TH) zone of
sunspots
supernova explosions
Surveyor 3 probe
Swaziland
Sweden, deep-drilling exper
iment in
Syene
symbiosis, symbiotes
Tagish Lake meteorite
Tales from the Underground (Wolfe)
Tarcher, Jill
Tau Ceti
telescopes
asteroids and
extrasolar planets and
of Galileo
Mars and
on Moon
Neptune and
radio, see radio telescopes; SETI
reflecting
refractor
Sproul
Venus and
Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF)
terrorism
Tesla, Nikola
Tharsis Bulge
theory
thermally habitable (TH) zone
giant planets and
thermonuclear fusion (hydrogen fusion)
thermophiles (heat-lovers)
Thermoplasma
Thermus aquaticus
Thing from Another World, The
thorium
Thuban
tidal flexing
tidal (stellar encounter) hypothesis
Tikhov, Gavriil Adrianovich
Tipler, Frank
Titan
atmosphere of
future research on
life on
Todd, David
Tombaugh, Clyde
Townes, Charles
TrailBlazer
Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs)
Trans-Orbital, Inc.
Triton
TRW Corporation
tube worms
Tunguska
UFOs (unidentified flying objects)
Air Force investigation of
Condon Committee study of
evidence vs. opinion on
Hills' abduction and
Roswell cover-up and
ultraviolet radiation (UV)
Venus and
units and conversions
universe
Big Bang theory of
cosmology and
geocentric view of
as infinite
Steady State theory of
Upsilon Andromedae
uranium
uranium-
Uranus
axial tilt of
as "gas giant"
magnetosphere of
moons of
perturbations in orbit of
rings of
Urey, Harold C.
Utah State University
Valles Marineris
Van Allen belts
van de Kamp, Peter
Van Dover, Cindy Lee
Vaughn, Susan
Velikovsky, Immanuel
Venera 7
Venus
atmosphere of
cloud cover of
craters of
Earth compared with
future missions to
greenhouse effect on
life on
missions to
phases of
plate tectonics on
rotation of
superrotation winds of
water on
Venus Express
Vernadsky, Vladimir I.
Vida, Lake
Viewing, David
Viking missions
VIRTIS (Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer)
volcanoes:
on Io
on Mars
on Triton
on Venus
Von Daniken, Erich
Vonnegut, Bernard
Vonnegut, Kurt
Vostok, Lake
Voyager flybys
Vulcans
Ward, Peter D.
Warhol, Andy
War of the Worlds, The (Wells)
Washington, subsurface microbes in
water
drinking
hydrates
liquid
as requirement for life
see also ice, water; specific planets
"water hole, the,"
water vapor
on Earth
weather
weather satellites
Webber, Frank J.
Weiler, Ed
Weizmann, Chaim
Welles, Orson
Wells, H. G.
Werthimer, Dan
Whipple, Fred
white dwarfs
White House
"white Mars" hypothesis
Wickramasinghe, Chandra
William the Conqueror
Wilson, John
wind tunnels
Woese, Carl
Wolfe, David W.
Wolsczan, Alexander
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Worlds in Collision (Velikovsky)
World War I
World War II
xenon
X-Files, The
Yellowstone National Park
Yoder, Charles
Yucatán
Zagami meteorite
Zeppelin, Count von
Zero-Base Review
Zeus
Zubrin, Robert
Acknowledgments
This book could not have been written without the generous assistance of literally hundreds of people. It is impossible to name all the scientists, administrators, technicians, librarians, and e-mail “pen pals” who contributed significant insights and information. However, my very special thanks are due to Lynn Harper, Baruch Blumberg, Bruce Jakosky, Wesley Huntress, Scott Hubbard, Alan Stern, David Morrison, Michael Meyer, and Donald DeVincenzi for their generous assistance and unfailing willingness to answer questions and enlighten an often puzzled author. If there are errors of fact or interpretation in this book, they are my doing, not theirs.
My thanks also to Brian Marsden, who kept me up-to-date on the number of moons discovered around Jupiter and Saturn, numbers that changed more than once during this book’s gestation. And to Michael Shohl, who provided invaluable editorial insights. My very special thanks to Amanda Collins, whose research assistance was indispensable and truly invaluable; and to Lloyd McDaniel, my indispensable Web master and friend. My most profound thanks and appreciation go to Barbara Bova, whose encouragement and vision have been constant inspirations to me for more than three decades.
About the Author
Dr. Ben Bova has not only helped to write about the future, he helped create it. The author of more than one hundred futuristic novels and nonfiction books, he has been involved in science and advanced technology since the very beginnings of the space program. President Emeritus of the National Space Society, Dr. Bova is a frequent commentator on radio and television, and a widely popular lecturer. He has also been an award-winning editor and an executive in the aerospace industry.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
Fiction by Ben Bova
Brothers
Death Dream
Mars
The Trikon Deception (with Bill Pogue)
Orion in the Dying Time
Future Crime
Voyagers III: Star Brothers Cyberbooks
Peacekeepers
Vengeance of Orion
The Kinsman Saga
Battle Station*
Voyagers II: The Alien Within Prometheans*
Privateers
The Astral Mirror*
Orion
Escape Plus*
The Winds of Altair
Test of Fire
Voyagers
The Exiles Trilogy
Kinsman
Maxwell’s Demons*
Colony
The Multiple Man
Millennium
City of Darkness
The Starcrossed
Gremlins, Go Home! (with Gordon R. Dickson)
Forward in Time*
When the Sky Burned
As on a Darkling Plain
THX 1138 (with George Lucas)
Escape!
The Dueling Machine
Out of the Sun
The Weathermakers
Star Watchman
The Star Conquerors
Moonwar Moonrise
Return to Mars
Credits
Cover illustration by John Lewis
Copyright
FAINT ECHOES, DISTANT STARS. Copyright © 2004 by Ben Bova. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition © FEBRUARY 2004 ISBN: 9780061854484
FIRST EDITION
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* collection
* In kilometers from Jupiter’s center.
** In kilometers. For comparison, Earth’s Moon is 3,476 kilometers in diameter; the planet Mercury’s diameter is 4,880 kilometers.
1While paleontologists and anthropologists argue over the reason why ancient Britons built their stone circles, astronomers have shown that they can be used to predict the arrival of the seasons and even the intricate, fifty-six-year cycle of lunar eclipses.
2The more-distant planets Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto were not discovered until astronomers began using telescopes, although Uranus can be seen with the naked eye, if you know precisely where to look.
3In 1971, Apollo 15 astronaut Dave Scott repeated Galileo’s experiment on the airless surface of the Moon, dropping a hammer and a feather together. As a global television audience watched, they hit the ground at the same instant.
4Strictly speaking, the surface of Mars is a regolith, not soil. The term soil implies living creatures, such as worms and insects. None were found on Mars.
5The Moon’s major features were named centuries ago, when the dark areas were thought to be regions of water. Thus we have the Ocean of Storms, the Sea of Tranquility, etc. There is no liquid water on the Moon.