The Sirens of Mars: Searching for Life on Another World

The Sirens of Mars: Searching for Life on Another World

â€œSarah Stewart Johnson interweaves her own coming-of-age story as a planetary scientist with aÂ vivid historyÂ of the exploration of Mars in thisÂ celebration of human curiosity,Â passion, and perseverance.â€â€”Alan Lightman, author ofÂ Einsteinâ€™s Dreams

Mars was once similar to Earth, but today there are no rivers, no lakes, no oceans. Coated in red dust, the terrain is bewilderingly empty. And yet multiple spacecraft are circling Mars, sweeping over Terra Sabaea, Syrtis Major, the dunes of Elysium, and Mare Sirenumâ€”on the brink, perhaps, of a staggering find, one that would inspire humankind as much as any discovery in the history of modern science.

In this beautifully observed, deeply personal book, Georgetown scientist Sarah Stewart Johnson tells the story of how she and other researchers have scoured Mars for signs of life, transforming the planet from a distant point of light into a world of its own.

Johnsonâ€™s fascination with Mars began as a child in Kentucky, turning over rocks with her father and looking at planets in the night sky. She now conducts fieldwork in some of Earthâ€™s most hostile environments, such as the Dry Valleys of Antarctica and the salt flats of Western Australia, developing methods for detecting life on other worlds. Here, with poetic precision, she interlaces her own personal journeyâ€”as a female scientist and a motherâ€”with tales of other seekers, from Percival Lowell, who was convinced that a utopian society existed on Mars, to Audouin Dollfus, who tried to carry out astronomical observations from a stratospheric balloon. In the process, she shows how the story of Mars is also a story about Earth: This other world has been our mirror, our foil, a telltale reflection of our own anxieties and yearnings.

Empathetic and evocative,Â The Sirens of MarsÂ offers an unlikely natural history of a place where no human has ever set foot, while providing a vivid portrait of our quest to defy our isolation in the cosmos.
Country USA
Brand CROWN
Manufacturer Crown
Binding Hardcover
Color Multicolor
ReleaseDate 2020-07-07
UnitCount 1
EANs 9781101904817

Country	USA
Brand	CROWN
Manufacturer	Crown
Binding	Hardcover
Color	Multicolor
ReleaseDate	2020-07-07
UnitCount	1
EANs	9781101904817

The Sirens of Mars: Searching for Life on Another World

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