Out There: A Scientific Guide to Alien Life, Antimatter, and Human Space Travel (For the Cosmically Curious)

by Michael Wall PhD, Karl Tate (Illustrator)

Overview

In the vein of Randall Munroe's What If? meets Brian Green's Elegant Universe, a senior writer from Space.com leads readers on a wild ride of exploration into the final frontier, investigating what's really "out there."

We've all asked ourselves the question. It's impossible to look up at the stars and NOT think about it: Are we alone in the universe? Books, movies and television shows proliferate that attempt to answer this question and explore it. In Out There Space.com senior writer Dr. Michael Wall treats that question as merely the beginning, touching off a wild ride of exploration into the final frontier. He considers, for instance, the myriad of questions that would arise once we do discover life beyond Earth (an eventuality which, top NASA officials told Wall, is only drawing closer).

What would the first aliens we meet look like?

Would they be little green men or mere microbes?

Would they be found on a planet in our own solar system or orbiting a star far, far away?

Would they intend to harm us, and if so, how might they do it?

And might they already have visited?

Out There is arranged in a simple question-and-answer format. The answers are delivered in Dr. Wall's informal but informative style, which mixes in a healthy dose of humor and pop culture to make big ideas easier to swallow. Dr. Wall covers questions far beyond alien life, venturing into astronomy, physics, and the practical realities of what long-term life might be like for we mere humans in outer space, such as the idea of lunar colonies, and even economic implications. Dr. Wall also shares the insights of some of the leading lights in space exploration today, and shows how the next space age might be brighter than ever.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538729380
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	11/13/2018
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Dr. Michael Wall is a senior writer at Space.com who has written extensively about the search for alien life. His work also has appeared in Scientific American, NBC News, Fox News and a number of other outlets. He holds a graduate certificate in science journalism from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Before becoming a writer, Dr. Wall worked as a biologist; he earned a Ph.D. in biology from the University of Sydney in Australia and has 15 peer-reviewed publications. He's based in San Francisco, where he also chronicles the space tech revolution in Silicon Valley.
Illustrations by Karl Tate.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part I What's Out There?

1 Where Is Everybody? 9

2 Are We All Martians? 27

3 What Does ET Look Like? 40

4 Do Aliens Have Sex? 66

5 What Are We Looking For? 74

6 Where Is ET Hiding? 98

7 How Would the World Be Told? 124

8 Could We Talk to ET? 133

9 How Would the World Respond? 142

10 Have We Already Found ET? 153

11 Will Aliens Kill Us All? 168

Part II Getting Out There

12 Will We Colonize the Moon and Mars? 183

13 Can We Go Interstellar? 200

14 Will There Be a Homo spaciens? 215

15 Is TIME Travel Possible? 222

16 What Will Happen to Us? 229

Bibliography 235

Index 237

Acknowledgments 244

About the Author 246

Editorial Reviews

11/01/2018
The author's introduction accurately describes this book as "a little tour of the great beyond, asking some pertinent (and some impertinent) questions about ET." While Wall, a senior writer at space.com, holds a PhD in biology, this work is more a popular treatment of the possibility of life beyond our planet than a scientific guide, though it is based on scientific research. Early foundations of SETI research such as Enrico Fermi's famous "Where is Everybody?" question and Drake's equation for estimated alien civilizations are explained, as well as recent discoveries such as the exoplanets in the Trappist system and the organisms thriving in the vents of Earth's deepest ocean floors. The work's overview of new understandings of other sentient species is marred a bit by an abundance of pop culture references (e.g., to the Karadashians) that may soon become dated. Fortunately, the many quotes from scientists somewhat balances that. The provocative chapter titles (e.g., "Are We All Martians?") encourage readers to keep exploring. VERDICT This book provides a simple introduction to possibilities of other intelligent species in a conversational approach that should appeal to a wide range of readers.{amp}mdash;Sara R. Tompson, Jet Propulsion Laboratory Lib., Pasadena, CA

Library Journal

08/20/2018
With a humorous, accessible tone, Wall, a senior writer for Space.com, answers questions about alien life and space travel. He draws on the opinions of various experts—for instance, on the question of “Will Aliens Kill Us All?” he shares both the concerns of Stephen Hawking and the optimism of others like Doug Vakoch, president of METI (“messaging extraterrestrial intelligence”) International. Wall does remind readers that, as on Earth, extraterrestrial life will be “mostly microbes,” and returns several times to the subject of ALH 84001, the Martian rock that, in 1996, researchers reported had signs of life. After discussing these and other questions, such as “Could We Talk to ET?” (possibly not—the gulf between species might be too vast), Wall turns to human space travel. Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos get their obligatory mentions in the chapter on colonizing the Moon and Mars, while Mexican physicist Miguel Alcubierre and his theoretically possible warp drive leads off the chapter on interstellar travel. Readers of Michio Kaku’s The Future of Humanity will find some overlap, but this should appeal to anyone who has ever looked up into the sky and wondered what is out there. Agent: Matt Latimer, Javelin. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

"This look at some of the key questions of the cosmos and human interactions—it is brain food with flair, and nearly impossible to put down—what a fun ride this book is!"—Alan Stern, principal investigator of NASA's New Horizons Pluto mission and former head of the space agency's Science Mission Directorate

"Perhaps since the dawn of language, humankind's most profound quest has been to answer the question-'Are we alone?' Mr. Wall's book takes us on an insightful, engaging, and at times humorous journey through the cosmos, and explains why we may now be on the verge of answering that question!"—Bill Diamond, president and CEO of the SETI Institute.

"With a humorous, accessible tone, Wall, a senior writer for Space.com, answers questions about alien life and space travel...this should appeal to anyone who has ever looked up into the sky and wondered what is out there."—Publishers Weekly

"Wall's witty and readable style is never preachy, and he readily acknowledges that new discoveries continue to turn long-held assumptions upside down (although it's probably safe to rule out moon-dwelling lunarians). This approach is effective in conveying lots of technical information within a context of manageable scenarios, bolstered by multiple pop-culture references."—Booklist

"This book provides a simple introduction to possibilities of other intelligent species in a conversational approach that should appeal to a wide range of readers."—Library Journal

"Out There is a refreshingly playful romp through the most exciting aspects of space exploration."—Scientific American

"[A] succinct and accessible summary of the search for extraterrestrial life in the 21st Century...Out There goes a long way toward fostering a basic, scientific literacy on its topic. For anyone interested in research-based information about the search for ET, Wall proves the perfect guide and a sure hand. As an introduction for lay-readers, it's the perfect primer."—-Scientific Inquirer

From the Publisher

2018-09-02

A conversational exploration of the possibility of life beyond Earth.

Within a section on how the Earth may have been visited long ago by "voyaging aliens," perhaps even before humans had evolved, Wall writes, "let's indulge in some wild speculation, because it's fun!" Though his byline as a senior writer for Space.com includes his doctorate in biology, the speculation throughout his first book is more playful than scientifically rigorous, as befits a book with a bibliography that includes The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Physics of Star Trek, and Alien Invasion: How to Defend Earth. Each chapter title poses a question: "Are We All Martians?"; "Do Aliens Have Sex?"; "Will Aliens Kill Us All?"; "Is Time Travel Possible?" In nearly every case, the answer is a qualified maybe. Instead of asking "why?" Wall asks, "why not?" Since the universe is so vast and there are so many possibilities of planets or moons or other bodies that might possibly sustain life, or once could have, isn't it more likely than not that life exists somewhere other than here? Again, one answer could stand for all: "We just don't have enough information at the moment to know what's actually going on." If there are aliens out there, they might be microbes or they might be more like machines. They might be hostile, in which case, "engaging an alien colony ship over Los Angeles or London, even with humanity's full complement of 15,000 nuclear weapons, would be comically fruitless, like fending off a charging rhino with a spatula." Or, perhaps, "advanced aliens may be silently monitoring us from afar like cosmic peeping toms, waiting for us to show that we want to talk."

Somewhere between science fiction and science fact, there's a wide range of possibility concerning life in the great unknown.

Kirkus Reviews