This image was created by Jon Lomberg for the Fifth International Conference
on Bioastronomy and is on the cover of the Conference Proceedings in
full color.
The artwork combines various bioastronomy topics in a surrealistic
fashion. The foreground rocks in the ocean, known as the Faraglioni, are a
famous landmark of Capri. In the sky important organic molecules such as
the amino acid glycine are shown where they have been found in nebulae and
searched for in comets. These represent the naturally synthesized substances involved
in the origin of life. Emerging from the ocean is the DNA molecule, with
one of the helices replaced by an arrangement of extrasolar planets. Some
are life-bearing (represented by a connection with the DNA); others are
not. Knowledge of the scientific principles that gave rise to life may also
form the basis of interstellar communication, linking planets in an order
as significant as the ordering of the molecules in the DNA.
The artwork was created digitally by Jon Lomberg in Hawaii, working
closely with Cristiano Cosmovici in Rome, almost entirely over the
Internet. This itself is a nice symbol of how widely separated
intelligences can communicate productively.
The publication is organized into five sections:
Organic Material in Interstellar Clouds, Comets, and Meteorites
G. Winnewisser, L., J. Allamandola, T. Snow, N. C. Wickramasinghe,
V. Pirronello, J. Cronin, M. Mumma, J. Oro, M. A'Hearn
Planetary Atmospheres and Catastrophic Impacts in the Solar System
C. Chyba, T. Owen, D. Gautier, M. Marov
The Search for Extrasolar Planets
P. Morrison, T. Montmerle, J. Lissauer, J. M. Marriotti, M. Mayor, G.
Marcy
The Origin and Evolution of Life and Intelligence
C. de Duve, M. Eigen, F. Raulin, A. Lazcano, L. Narens
The Search for Extraterrestrial Civilizations
C. Townes, S. Bowyer, J. C. Tarter, G. Lemarchand, R. Dixon, J.
Heidmann, C. Maccone, F. Drake
Three Nobel Laureates, Christian de Duve (Belgium), Manfred Eigen
(Germany) and Charles Townes (USA), and SETI pioneers Frank Drake and
Philip Morrison provide fundamental review papers. Philip Morrison's
paper on the evolution of technology brilliantly weaves together
science, archaeology, history and philosophy.
Other highlights of the book are summaries of the discoveries of the
first extrasolar planets, presented by planet hunters Michel Mayor,
Geoff Marcy and Paul Butler.
The book is available from
Editrice Compositori
Via Stalingrado 97/2
40128 Bologna, Italy
FAX : (39) 51 327877
email
The price is $100.00, plus $20 for airmail delivery to the USA.
Payment may be by check, VISA, or MasterCard.
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