Comets and the Origin and Evolution of Life [Hardcover]

Paul J. Thomas (Editor), Christopher F. Chyba (Editor), Christopher P. McKay (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0387946500 | ISBN-13: 978-0387946504 | Publication Date: October 25, 1996 | Edition: 1

This volume considers the role comets may have played in the origins and evolution of life, particularly 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, accessible to graduate students and others new to the field. Each chapter was prepared by an expert to give an overview of an aspect of the field, and carefully revised by the editors for uniformity in style and presentation.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 296 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (October 25, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0387946500
• ISBN-13: 978-0387946504
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,882,582 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comets important in the evolution of biosphere, November 26, 2000

By 

Howard Schneider (Thornhill, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Comets and the Origin and Evolution of Life (Hardcover)

Series of articles considering the role of comets in the evolution of Earth's biosphere. For example, A. Delsemme writes about The Origin of the Atmosphere and of the Oceans. It is argued that Earth's atmosphere and its oceans, as well as much of the carbon found in its biosphere, was brought to the Earth by comets. Although present-day impacts of comets are modest, in the first billion years, and especially first half billion years, of the Earth's existence, a large bombardment of comets occurred, as reflected by the cratering record observed on the Moon, Mars and Mercury. The cometary delivery of matter would explain the siderophile metals in the Earth's crust, and would explain how an ocean and atmosphere remained despite depletion by large body impacts.