Astronomy 141 - Life in the Universe - Autumn Quarter 2009
Astronomy 141, Life in the Universe, is a one-quarter introduction to
Astrobiology for non-science majors taught at The Ohio State University.
This podcast presents audio recordings of Professor Richard Pogge's
lectures from his Autumn Quarter 2009 class. All of the lectures were
recorded live in 1005 Smith Laboratory on the OSU Main Campus in Columbus,
Ohio.
- Update frequency
- every day
- Average duration
- 44 minutes
- Episodes
- 47
- Years Active
- 2009
Lecture 26: The Deserts of Mars
For many, the most likely place in the Solar System to search for life
beyond the Earth is Mars. This lecture describes the properties of
Mars, a desert world with a thin, dry, cold carbon dioxide a…
00:47:26 |
Fri 30 Oct 2009
Lecture 25: The Requirements for Life in the Solar System
Having completed our tour of the Solar System, we now turn to a
discussion of the requirements for life, and where those requirements
might be satisfied elsewhere in the Solar System. Some - energy,…
00:47:04 |
Thu 29 Oct 2009
Lecture 24: The Jovian Planets
We turn our attention to the Giant Planets of the outer Solar System:
the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn, and the ice giants Uranus and Neptune.
We will review their structure and properties, and t…
00:47:50 |
Wed 28 Oct 2009
Lecture 23: Terrestrial Worlds in Comparison
We follow our tour of our Solar System with an in-depth comparison of
the Terrestrial Planets. In particular, we want to contrast and compare
their geological and atmospheric histories. This will i…
00:46:41 |
Tue 27 Oct 2009
Lecture 22: The Family of the Sun
This first lecture of Unit 4 - Life in the Solar System - is a quick
tour of our Solar System reviewing the planets, dwarf planets, moons,
and small bodies that make up our celestial home. This lect…
00:46:22 |
Mon 26 Oct 2009
Lecture 21: Impacts and Extinction
We end our exploration of life on the Earth with a look at death in the
fossil record. This lecture looks at the role asteroidal impacts have
played in the history of the Earth, and their possible r…
00:46:31 |
Thu 22 Oct 2009
Lecture 20: The History of Life on Earth
In this lecture we step back and look at the history of life on Earth
from the first signs of life at start of the Archaean Eon 3.5 billion
years ago to just up to the present day. We will review th…
00:47:19 |
Wed 21 Oct 2009
Lecture 19: The Origin of Life on Earth
How did life arise from non-life? Frankly, we don't know, but current
experimental work is aimed at trying to understand how it might work in
biochemical terms. This lecture sets out the problem of…
00:46:08 |
Tue 20 Oct 2009
Lecture 18: The First Living Things on Earth
What are the first recognizable forms of life that we find in the
geological record? How far back can we go in geological time and still
find life? This lecture reviews three lines of evidence that…
00:46:08 |
Mon 19 Oct 2009
Lecture 17: Life on the Edge
Extremophiles are organisms that are adapted to survive in extreme
environments. This lecture describes the challenges that
extremes of heat, cold, acidity, salinity, and radiation pose to
organism…
00:46:54 |
Fri 16 Oct 2009
Lecture 16: DNA and Heredity
DNA and RNA are the key molecules of living cells. DNA plays a vital role
in storing and transmitting the hereditary information that constitutes
the "operating instructions" of living cells; how to…
00:46:53 |
Thu 15 Oct 2009
Lecture 15: The Chemistry of Life
What is the basic chemistry of living organisms?
We introduce the requirements for metabolism (raw
materials and energy), the ATP/ADP energy cycle in cells, auto- and
heterotrophs, photosynthesis an…
00:45:04 |
Wed 14 Oct 2009
Lecture 14: Cells
Cells are the basic structural and functional unit of all life on Earth.
This lecture reviews the basic building blocks of cells, the main
chemical components, the two basic types of cells (Prokaryot…
00:45:32 |
Tue 13 Oct 2009
Lecture 13: What is Life?
How do we define life? This lecture reviews the six basic criteria
for living systems described by biologists: order, reproduction, growth and
development, energy utilization, reaction to environmen…
00:46:16 |
Mon 12 Oct 2009
Lecture 12: Climate Regulation and Climate Change
What are the main mechanisms of climate regulation and climate
change that have operated through Earth's history? The Earth's
climate is regulated by a Carbon Dioxide thermostat that is the
interact…
00:45:19 |
Thu 08 Oct 2009
Lecture 11: The History of the Earth
How have we pieced together the geological history of the Earth?
This lecture reviews the different types of rocks and the cycle
of transformation between them, with particular emphasis on stratigrap…
00:42:39 |
Wed 07 Oct 2009
Lecture 10: The Earth's Atmosphere Erratum
This lecture was to be about the Earth's atmosphere, its composition and
structure, the greenhouse effect, and the primordial atmosphere, but
about 2 seconds into the lecture, unbeknownst to me, the …
00:01:17 |
Tue 06 Oct 2009
Lecture 9: Inside the Earth
What is the interior structure of the Earth and how does it drive the
Earth's magnetic and geologic activity? We will review our current
knowledge of the interior of the Earth, how we measure it usi…
00:42:47 |
Mon 05 Oct 2009
Lecture 8: The Cosmological Revolution - The Depths of Space and Time
Cosmology is the study of the entire Universe as a physical system. The
past century has witnessed a revolution in cosmological thought that has
revealed the vastness of space and the depths of cos…
00:46:29 |
Fri 02 Oct 2009
Lecture 7: The Biological Revolution - What is Life?
What is the nature of life? In this lecture I will review the revolution
in biological thinking that has dramatically changed how we view life.
I will review such persistent ancient ideas as spon…
00:44:16 |
Thu 01 Oct 2009
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