Springer Comets and the Origin and Evolution of Life (Advances in Astrobiology and Biogeophysics)

This volume considers the role comets may have played in the origins and evolution of life. This is the only book dealing in depth with this subject. It is particularly relevant in light of recent investigations of Halley's comet, of new insights into organic synthesis in meteorites and comets, and of new results of numerical simulations of cometary orbits and impacts on Earth. The book is intended as a comprehensive review of current research. Review Aus den Rezensionen zur 2. Auflage: "… das aktuellste und wichtigste Buch zu diesem Thema … Die Buchbeiträge geben einen Einblick in die neuen Erkenntnisse über Kometen … und beschreiben die kometaren Einwirkungen auf Atmosphäre und Ozeane … Das exzellente Buch …" (in: The Science Fiction Jahr 2008, 2008, S. 790 f.) From the Back Cover Nine years after the publication of Comets and the Origin and Evolution of Life, one of the pioneering books in Astrobiology, this second edition revisits the role comets may have played in the origins and evolution of life. Recent analyses of Antarctic micrometeorites and ancient rocks in Australia and South Africa, the continuing progress in discovering complex organic macromolecules in comets, protostars and interstellar clouds, new insights into organic synthesis in comets, and numerical simulations of comet impacts on the Earth and other members of the solar system yield a spectacular wealth of new results. This second edition is thus actually a new book. As the first edition it is intended as a comprehensive review of current research, accessible to graduate students and others new to the field. Each chapter was prepared by experts to give an overview of an aspect of the field, and carefully revised by the editors for uniformity in style and presentation.