Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
LifeonOtherWorlds
ast251@astro.utoronto.ca
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 1
Welcome!
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 2
Istherelifeoutthere?
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Whoisheretohelpyoulearn?
Me=Dr.PaolaRodriguezHidalgo
+TeachingAssistants
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 4
Whoareyou?
WhoisfromToronto?WhoisnotfromCanada?Whohas
morethan30mincommuteeachwaytocometoclass?
Whoisarstyearstudent?Whohastakenan
Astronomyrelatedcoursebefore?Whohasseenthe
constellaPonsintheSouthernHemisphere?
Please,completetheIntroductorySurveyonPortalsowe
canlearnmoreaboutyouandyourinterests.
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Whoareyou?
Whohasaclassrightbeforethisone?
>ChangePmeofthebeginningoftheclass:4:15pm
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Whoareyou?
Whydidyouchoosethisclass?
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BasicGoalsofthisCourse
CatalogCourseDescripFon:Scholarlydiscussionofthe
probabilitythatthereareplanetswithlifeelsewhereinthe
universe,fromtheperspecPveofcurrentideasconcerningthe
originandevoluPonoftheuniverse,thesolarsystemandlife.
SearchtechniquesandpossibiliPesforinterstellartraveland
spacecoloniesarediscussed.Intendedforlifesciences
students.*
*Noprerequisitesthough.
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 8
BasicGoalsofthisCourse
WhereareweintheUniverse?Howdidthe
Earthform?
WhatisLife?WhatarethecondiFonsforLifeto
survive?
HowarewesearchingforLife?
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 9
BasicGoalsofthisCourse
L1:Beabletodescribe,assess,andappreciatewhatourposiFonin
theUniverseis,whattheUniverseconsistsof,andthemajor
Fmescales.
L2:BeabletoidenPfythekeyrequirementsforlifeonandbeyond
Earth,andassessthepossibilityoflifebeyondEarthandwhatit
representsforhumankind.
L3:Beabletodescribeandassesshowwearecarryingoutthesearch
forlifebeyondEarthintheSolarSystemandbeyond.
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 10
BasicGoalsofthisCourse
L4:BeabletoexplainhowweusethescienFcmethodtodevelop
newscienPcknowledge,inparPcularappliedtotheneweldof
Astrobiology.
L5:DemonstratecriFcalthinking,reasoninginthedevelopingof
ideas,andcriPcalreecPon.DevelopcriFcalassessmentofreference
sources.LearntocriPcizeconstrucPvely.
L6:ShowclearandcoherentcommunicaFonskills,bothorallyandin
wriFng.
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 11
SomeofmyExtraTeachingGoals
SPmulateyourcuriosity.
Transfermypassionforsciencetoyou.
HelpyoubecomeamoreawareciPzenoftheworld.
ShowyouthatyoucanenjoylearningaboutAstrobiology!
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 12
Howarewegoingtoreachthose
LearningGoals?
Firsthalfofeachclass:lectures,discussions,and
quesPons/answers.
Secondhalfofeachclass:groupdiscussionsand
acPvelearning.
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RequiredMaterial
TWOrequiredtextbooks:
1)LifeintheUniverse
BenneV&Shostak
AddisonWesley
3rdediFon(2010)
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 14
RequiredMaterial
TWOrequiredtextbooks:
1)LifeintheUniverse
BenneV&Shostak
AddisonWesley
3rdediFon(2010)
2)LifeintheUniverseAcFviFesManual
Prather,Oerdahl,&Slater
AddisonWesley
2ndediFon(2006)
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 15
RequiredMaterial
iClicker:Bringittoeveryclass
Why?
Ithelpsmetogetasenseofwhatyou
understand
Ithelpsyoutoremainengageintheclass,
getasenseofwhatyouunderstand,and
retainthematerialforlonger.
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 16
RequiredMaterial
iClicker:Bringittoeveryclass
Score:
Halfjustfortrying
Otherhalfifyouanswercorrectly
Wedropyourworst3days(including
zero)ofthesemester
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 17
RequiredMaterial
RegisteryouriClicker:
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 18
RequiredMaterial
Pen/pencilandpaper
Basiccalculator
OutsideofClass:
DailyaccesstoPortal
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 19
RequiredMaterial
Pen/pencilandpaper
Basiccalculator
OutsideofClass:
DailyaccesstoPortal:
ContactInformaFon,Lectures,Announcements,Registeryour
iClicker,DiscussionBoard,CourseOutline,CourseCalendar,and
otherHandouts.
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MarkingScheme
Totalof100pointsduringthesemester
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Grades
ThisisnotaneasyAorbirdcourse
Noextrapointswillbeoered
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FinalComments
WriFngCentres
AcademicHonestyPlagiarism
hVp://www.wriFng.utoronto.ca/advice/using
sources/hownottoplagiarize
StudentswithDisabiliFes
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WeareheretoHelp!
WewantyoutoLEARN!
IfatanypointyouarehavingdiculPeswiththe
course,contactus:onPortal,OceHours,talktome
alerclassortoyourTA,emailusat
ast251@astro.utoronto.ca
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OceHours
WhatPmeworksbestforyou?
A
B
D
E
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 25
Istherelifeoutthere?
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 26
Star Trek
Alien(s)
Astrobiology:
Sciences Answer
We are
science
detectives
Istherelifeoutthere?
Wherearewe?Whatisoutthere?Whatare
thecondiFonsoutthere?
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 32
Istherelifeoutthere?
Wherearewe?Whatisoutthere?Whatare
thecondiFonsoutthere?
WhatisLife?UnderwhichcondiFonsdoesit
survive?
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 33
WhatisLife?
Weseemtorecognizelifewhenweseeit.Butdowe
knowwhatwearelookingfor?
Whendowethinkthatsomethingisliving?
Itgrows?Sodocrystals
Itmoves?Sodoclouds
Iteats,spreadsandreplicates?Sodoesre
WehavenogooddeniFonoflife.
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WhatisLife?
ThesituaFoninanalogoustothedeniFonof
waterafewhundredofyearsago,beforewe
knewitschemistry.
WhatisWater?AtthatFme,itcouldnotbe
denedbutitcouldbedescribedandrecognized.
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WhatisWater?
Answer:Lavoisiershowed(in1783)thatwater
consistsofhydrogenandoxygeninatomic
proporFons2:1.Nowwaterisdenedasthe
chemicalcompoundH2O.
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 36
ISTHERELIFEOUTTHERE?
Wherearewe?Whatisoutthere?Whatare
thecondiFonsoutthere?
WhatisLife?UnderwhichcondiFonsdoesit
survive?
HowcanwesearchforLife?
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 37
Wherearewe?Whatisoutthere?Whatare
thecondiFonsoutthere?
WhatisLife?UnderwhichcondiFonsdoesit
survive?
HowcanwesearchforLife?
PhilosophicalorScienFcQuesFons?
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 38
WhatisScience?
(andwhatisnot?)
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 39
WhatisScience?
Alsodiculttodene
CarefulobservaFonsofphenomena
Canwestudypastevents?
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 40
WhatisScience?
Alsodiculttodene
CarefulobservaFonsofphenomena
Canwestudypastevents?
Carefulstudyofevidence
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 41
TheScienFcMethod
1.Look
2.Comeupwithrules
3.Lookmorecarefully/
dierently/elsewhere
totestrules
4.Ifruleswork,repeat3.
Iftheyfail,gobackto2
Key ingredients:
Observations
Rules that make predictions
(aka models/hypotheses)
Tests (i.e. more observations)
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 42
WhatisScience?
Hypothesis.MustbetestedobservaPonallyorbyexperiments.
Model.Asystemofhypothesesoragood,workinghypothesis.
Makesspecic,testablepredicPons.
Theory.Asystemofmodelswhichareknowntowork.
Law.ATheorythatexplainsmanyexperiments.
(Newtonslawofgravity).
(Thereareexceptions,EinsteinsTheoryofGeneralRelativityexplains
moreobservationsthanNewtonsLawofGravity)
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 43
WhatisScience?
Hypothesis.MustbetestedobservaPonallyorbyexperiments.
Model.Asystemofhypothesesoragood,workinghypothesis.
Makesspecic,testablepredicPons.
Theory.Asystemofmodelswhichareknowntowork.
Law.ATheorythatexplainsmanyexperiments.
(Newtonslawofgravity).
Canascientifictheorybeprovedtruebeyondalldoubt?
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 44
WhatisScience?
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 45
OccamsRazor
ThesimpleroftwomodelsorhypothesisisthebeVerone
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VeriableObservaFons
TheobservaFonsneedtoberepeatable
DopersonaltesFmonialscountasscienFcevidence?Why?
But,arescienFstseyewitnesses?
Itcanbeveriedbyanyone(withpreviousknowledge).
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 47
TheScienFcMethod
Ingroups:Comeupwithan
observaPonandascienPc
methodprocesstostudyit
(5min)
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TheUniverseisbeauFful
TheLawsofPhysicsandChemistryareUniversal
WhatabouttheLawsofBiology?>Wedontknow
HowdidlifeformonEarth?UnderwhichcondiFonsit
emerges?WhereshouldwesearchforLifethen?>
WeneedtoknowthecondiFons
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Marsnow
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 50
(Possibly)MarslongFmeago
>condiFonschange
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FindingNOlifewouldbea
signicantresult
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 52
Butwethinklifeseemsplausible!
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 53
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 54
EvaluaFngScienFcSources
Page4AcFvityManual:ClaimsthatsoundscienPccometo
usfromavarietyofmediasources.Imagineyousawthe
following2stories:
NewsItemA
NewsItemB
Headline:CancerRiskReducEons
MayLieinFoodsWeEat
Headline:BlazingLaserGunCures
Cancerfrom1MileAway
PublicaPon:NewEnglandJournal
ofMedicine
PublicaPon:HealthyLivingTimes
Author(s):SusanYiandD.L.
Strendinsky,DavidsonSmithUniv.
Author(s):J.Clarke,Centerfor
HealingwithoutNarcoEcsDivision
ofLaserSalesandMarkeEng
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 55
EvaluaFngScienFcSources
NewsItemA
NewsItemB
Headline:CancerRiskReducEons
MayLieinFoodsWeEat
Headline:BlazingLaserGunCures
Cancerfrom1MileAway
PublicaPon:NewEnglandJournal
ofMedicine
PublicaPon:HealthyLivingTimes
Author(s):SusanYiandD.L.
Strendinsky,DavidsonSmithUniv.
Author(s):J.Clarke,Centerfor
HealingwithoutNarcoEcsDivision
ofLaserSalesandMarkeEng
WhenevaluaFngthescienFccredibilityofanewsitem,
the1ststepistoconsideriftheclaimisplausiblefroma
scienFcperspecFve.Whichclaimdoyouthinkseemsmore
plausible?Why?
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 56
EvaluaFngScienFcSources
NewsItemA
NewsItemB
Headline:CancerRiskReducEons
MayLieinFoodsWeEat
Headline:BlazingLaserGunCures
Cancerfrom1MileAway
PublicaPon:NewEnglandJournal
ofMedicine
PublicaPon:HealthyLivingTimes
Author(s):SusanYiandD.L.
Strendinsky,DavidsonSmithUniv.
Author(s):J.Clarke,Centerfor
HealingwithoutNarcoEcsDivision
ofLaserSalesandMarkeEng
WhichpublicaFondoyouthinkseemsmostscienFcally
credible?Why?
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 57
EvaluaFngScienFcSources
NewsItemA
NewsItemB
Headline:CancerRiskReducEons
MayLieinFoodsWeEat
Headline:BlazingLaserGunCures
Cancerfrom1MileAway
PublicaPon:NewEnglandJournal
ofMedicine
PublicaPon:HealthyLivingTimes
Author(s):SusanYiandD.L.
Strendinsky,DavidsonSmithUniv.
Author(s):J.Clarke,Centerfor
HealingwithoutNarcoEcsDivision
ofLaserSalesandMarkeEng
WhichauthordoyouthinkseemsmostscienFcally
credible?Why?
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 58
EvaluaFngScienFcSources
NewsItemA
NewsItemB
Headline:CancerRiskReducEons
MayLieinFoodsWeEat
Headline:BlazingLaserGunCures
Cancerfrom1MileAway
PublicaPon:NewEnglandJournal
ofMedicine
PublicaPon:HealthyLivingTimes
Author(s):SusanYiandD.L.
Strendinsky,DavidsonSmithUniv.
Author(s):J.Clarke,Centerfor
HealingwithoutNarcoEcsDivision
ofLaserSalesandMarkeEng
WhichauthordoyouthinkseemsmostscienFcally
credible?Why?
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 59
ReadingsfornextweekwillbeintheClassCalendaronPortal
(butyoucanstartbyreadingChapter3:3.1,3.2&3.3)
AST251|UofT|Dr.RodriguezHidalgo| 60