Download Life in the Universe AST2037 Project: Alien Life

Life in the Universe
AST2037 Project: Alien Life
Hand in typed paper copy by end of class on
Thursday, April 6 2017
This will be a 9-page written report (1 title/summary page and 8 pages for the main
report, typed 12-point, single spaced) in which you explore the possibility that life now
exists, or did exist at one time, on two different worlds. The quality of the report (and
the grade) will be determined by:
1. How well you demonstrate that you understand the basis for life on Earth, how we
define it, and what it needs in order to survive and propagate. Feel free to speculate
(but justify) whether there are extreme environments on these planets that could harbor
life even if we might not initially expect it.
2. AST 2037 is GenEd course (see the course Syllabus), and so the quality of the writing
will be an important consideration.
Turn in paper copies of the typed report (9 pages) to me in class no
later than Thursday, April 6. Staple all pages together. 12-point font,
single-spaced.
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REPORT FORMAT
Page 1
• Your Name, Student ID, Signature, Date (top of page)
• Summary (1/2 page) that indicates your main conclusion about life on Ceres (3-4
sentences). Also indicate the primary conclusions (3-4 sentences) regarding the
possibility of life for the planet orbiting Tebow. 5
• List (1/2 page) of the key criteria that form the basis for our assessing if something is
alive or not (1-2 sentences for each). 12
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TWO WORLDS
Pages 2 - 5 (4 pages)
World 1: Ceres
Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt. It is now referred to as a dwarf planet.
Before answering the questions below, it will help if you do some reading about Ceres
so that you have a good understanding of its basic properties as context.
1. How big is Ceres (compared to our Moon, for example)? What is it made of? What
do its size and composition tell you about its probable internal properties
(temperature, structure, and anything else you want to add)? 10
2. What would be the main challenges for life to exist there? Are these challenges
significant enough for you to expect there to be no life there? 10
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3. What conditions plausibly exist there that allow for the possibility that life does exist
there? Be sure to consider all the criteria for life that we have considered during the
lectures and in the course textbook. 10
4. What kind of life might you expect? 10
5. What might be “proof” that life exists there now or previously existed there? 10
6. What might be “proof” that no life exists there now or ever existed there? 10
7. What are the main uncertainties that prevent a firm conclusion about whether life has
or has not ever existed there? 10
Pages 6-9 (4 pages)
World 2: Tebow
Using the Hubble Space Telescope, you have discovered a planet orbiting at a distance
of 2 AU from the star Tebow that is 15 light years away and very similar to our sun. The
planet is about the size of Earth, and you name it Planet Alpha. It also seems to have an
atmosphere, and because it is a transiting planet (one that passes in front of the star
during its orbit) you can determine some of the properties of that atmosphere from the
starlight that has passed through that atmosphere on its way to your telescope.
1. What atmospheric constituents or related properties, if detected by your
measurements, would you consider as strong evidence for life on Planet Alpha? 10
2. What atmospheric constituents or related properties, if detected by your
measurements, would you consider as strong evidence that there is not life there? 10
3. What are the implications arising from the fact that the orbital radius of Planet Alpha
is 2 AU? 10
4. How important is the age of Planet Alpha as you consider the possibility that it has
life? For example, how does you opinion depend on knowing that Planet Alpha and
Tebow are 20 million years old, or 1 billion years old, or 4 billion years old, or 9
billion years old? What difference does the age make? 10
5. What if you could detect other planets or even moons in the Tebow planetary
system. What might be one or two very useful pieces of information about these that
would help you decide if there is life on Planet Alpha. 10
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