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Are we alone in the Universe, or are there as many planets supporting life as there are stars in the sky?

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Extraterrestrial life is a common theme in
science fiction, but is it a serious prospect in the real world? Astrobiology
is the emerging field of science that seeks to answer this question.
The possibility of life elsewhere in the cosmos
is one of the most profound subjects that human beings can ponder. Astrophysicist
Andrew May gives an expert overview of our current state of knowledge, looking
at how life started on Earth, the tell-tale ´signatures´ it produces, and how
such signatures might be detected elsewhere in the Solar System or on the many ´exoplanets´
now being discovered by the Kepler and TESS missions.

Along the way the book addresses key questions such as the riddle of Fermi´s
paradox (´Where is everybody?´) and the crucial role of DNA and water - they´re
essential to ´life as we know it´, but is the same true of alien life? And the really
big question: when we eventually find extraterrestrials, will they be friendly
or hostile?

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Andrew May is a freelance writer and science consultant. He has written on subjects as diverse as the physical sciences, military technology, British history and the paranormal. His recent books include pocket-sized biographies of Newton and Einstein, an eye-opening study of the relationship between pseudoscience and science fiction, and Destination Mars and Cosmic Impact in the Hot Science series.

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