Five Billion Years of Solitude (46 page)

photolysis,
156
,
172

photons,
72
,
89
,
115
–16,
156
,
191
,
193
–94,
201
,
202
,
213
,
216
,
237
–38

photosynthesis,
29
,
33
,
131
,
140
–43,
154
,
169
,
175
,
180
–82

Pioneer,
239

Planetary Resources, Inc.,
258
–59

planetesimals,
2

planets:

extrasolar,
see
exoplanets

formation of, in our solar system,
2
–3,
31
,
109
,
238

Kepler’s laws of motion of,
82
–84

protoplanets,
2

transits of,
53

plants,
130
–32,
143

photosynthesis in,
29
,
33
,
131
,
140
–43,
154
,
169
,
175
,
180
–82

plate tectonics,
30
,
105
,
111
,
128
,
140
,
144
,
169
,
172
,
176
,
179
,
229

Plato,
78
–80,
82

Pluto,
110
,
191
,
239

polarization,
115
–16

POLISH,
115
–17

Pollack, James,
158

Pong, Christopher,
259

Precambrian period,
139
–40,
144
,
154
,
238

precious metals,
105
–6,
111

primordial soup,
19

Proceedings of the Royal Society,
84

Project Ozma,
11
,
14
,
47
–48

prokaryotes,
139
,
140
,
143
,
144

Proterozoic Eon,
140
–44,
171
,
179

protons,
88

protoplanets,
2

Proxima Centauri,
94
,
97

psychohistory,
152

pyrite,
173

Pythagoras,
78
,
82

Quaternary Period,
133

Queloz, Didier,
58

radio,
42
–43,
45

Radio Astronomy Laboratory,
12

Recession, Great,
13
,
106
–7,
165
,
196

recombination,
248
,
249

red beds,
131

redox reactions,
168

redwood trees,
30
–31,
106
,
110

Regulus,
239

Renaissance,
22
,
81

Reynolds, Ray,
155
–56

Ricketts, Taylor,
74
–77

Rittenhouse, David,
86

Road Map for the Exploration of Neighboring Planetary Systems, A,
211
–12,
214
,
221

rocket equation,
186

Sagan, Carl,
16
,
19
,
20
,
24
–25,
174
,
239
–42,
243

San Diego Air & Space Museum,
100

Sasselov, Dimitar,
226
,
249

Saturn,
28
,
83
,
109
,
191

Saturn
rockets,
151
–52,
187
,
188
,
202
,
203

Schmidt, Eric,
258

Science,
104

scientific method,
78

Seager, Sara,
243
–65

children of,
251
–53,
156
,
160
–61,
264

ExoplanetSat project of,
256
–57

“Next 40 Years of Exoplanets” conference of,
225
–35,
263

as Planetary Resources advisor,
258
–59

TPF work of,
225
–28,
232
–35,
249
–53,
255
–58,
262

Wevrick and,
244
–49,
251
–56,
264

Wevrick’s illness and death and,
253
–56,
264
,
265

Wevrick’s marriage to,
249

SETI (search for extraterrestrial intelligence),
9
–14,
38
,
41

Arecibo Observatory and,
41

Drake equation and,
16
–25

first modern search by,
10
–11

Green Bank conference of,
15
–25,
27
–28,
101
,
167
–68,
240

lack of funding for,
10
–14

Laughlin’s view of,
99

NASA and,
11
–12

Project Ozma,
11
,
14
,
47
–48

SETI Institute,
12
,
43

Allen Telescope Array of,
12
–14,
41
,
42

shales,
see
black shales

Simonyi, Charles,
258

Smith, Matt,
259

Snowball Earth events,
142
,
174
,
179

solar eclipse,
119

solar system,
19
,
87

evolution of, as viewed from stars,
238
–39

formation of,
1
–3,
31
,
139

formation of Earth in,
2
,
7
,
20
,
139
,
173

formation of planets in,
2
–3,
31
,
109
,
238

heliocentric model of,
79
–82

measuring size of,
86

shell of light surrounding,
237
–38

Soviet Union,
11

nuclear weapons and,
23

Soyuz rocket,
233
–34

Venera 13,
50

Space Age,
48
,
50
,
87
,
99
,
112
,
151

Space Interferometry Mission (SIM),
215

space junk,
13

Space Launch System,
204

space missions,
187
–99