Brief Introduction to the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Life

Cesare Barbieri is Emeritus Professor of Astronomy at the University of Padova, Italy. He is one of Europe’s leading scientists in astronomical science. His team was involved in the construction of the Halley Multicolour Camera for GIOTTO and the OSIRIS camera for Rosetta, two history-making European cometary space missions. He also directed the design and construction of the 3.5m Telescopio Nazionale Galileo, Italy’s largest telescope on the Canary Islands. Dr. Barbieri is also renowned for his research into the tenuous atmosphere of the Moon and Mercury with high resolution spectroscopy. He pioneered the application to astronomy of fundamental aspects of quantum optics, building single photon photometers that obtain light curves of optical pulsars of the highest quality.

• 1. Introduction. 2. Cosmological Process leading to life on Earth. 3. Events in the Milky Way and Solar System. 4. Main Characteristics of Living Organisms. 5. Water and Life. 6. Human Outposts on the Moon and Mars. 7. Comets, Asteroids, Meteorites .8. The Cometary Mission ROSETTA. 9. Planets of Nearby Dtars. 10. Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence, SETI. 11. Conclusions.