SPACE, TIME, AND ALIENS collected works on the cosmos and culture

In this comprehensive and interdisciplinary volume, former NASA Chief Historian Steven Dick reflects on the exploration of space, astrobiology and its implications, cosmic evolution, astronomical institutions, discovering and classifying the cosmos, and the philosophy of astronomy. The unifying theme of the book is the connection between cosmos and culture, or what Carl Sagan many years ago called the “cosmic connection.” As both an astronomer and historian of science, Dr. Dick has been both a witness to and a participant in many of the astronomical events of the last half century. This collection of papers presents his reflections over the last forty years in a way accessible to historians, philosophers, and scientists alike. From the search for alien life to ongoing space exploration efforts, readers will find this volume full of engaging topics relevant to science, society, and our collective future on planet Earth and beyond. Front Matter ....Pages i-xxii Front Matter ....Pages 1-4 Plurality of Worlds: A Persistent Theme in Western Civilization (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 5-26 The Twentieth Century History of the Extraterrestrial Life Debate: Major Themes (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 27-42 From the Physical World to the Biological Universe: Historical Developments Underlying the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 43-51 The Biophysical Cosmology: The Place of Bioastronomy in the History of Science (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 53-58 The Biological Universe Revisited (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 59-69 Back to the Future: SETI before the Space Age (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 71-80 The Drake Equation in Context (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 81-99 Front Matter ....Pages 101-104 Cosmic Evolution: History, Culture, and Human Destiny (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 105-128 Consequences of Success in SETI: Lessons from the History of Science (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 129-142 Cultural Aspects of Astrobiology: A Preliminary Reconnaissance at the Turn of the Millennium (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 143-158 The Role of Anthropology in SETI: A Historical View (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 159-169 Bringing Culture to Cosmos: Cultural Evolution, the Postbiological Universe, and SETI (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 171-190 Toward a Constructive Naturalistic Cosmotheology (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 191-206 Astroethics and Cosmocentrism (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 207-212 Should We Message ET, and Is an Asilomar Consultation Process Possible? (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 213-228 Astrobiology and Society: An Overview at the Beginning of the Twenty-First Century (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 229-238 Front Matter ....Pages 239-242 Exploring the Unknown: 50 Years of NASA History (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 243-268 Exploration, Discovery, and Culture: NASA’s Role in History (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 269-310 Space, Time and Aliens: The Role of Imagination in Outer Space (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 311-329 The Impact of the Hubble Space Telescope (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 331-336 The Decision to Cancel the Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission 4 (SM4) and Its Reversal (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 337-370 Reflections on French-American Relations in Space, 1957–1975 (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 371-376 Front Matter ....Pages 377-380 Measuring the Universe: A Brief History of Astrometry (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 381-401 Pulkovo Observatory and the National Observatory Movement: A Historical Overview (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 403-416 John Quincy Adams, the Smithsonian Bequest and the Founding of the U. S. Naval Observatory (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 417-431 The First Time Balls and the First North American Time Ball (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 433-453 The U. S. Naval Astronomical Expedition of James Melville Gilliss in the Southern Hemisphere, 1849–1852 (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 455-464 Measuring the Astronomical Unit: The American Transit of Venus Expeditions of 1874 and 1882 (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 465-477 Geodesy, Time, and the Markowitz Moon Camera Program: An Interwoven International Geophysical Year Story (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 479-500 Front Matter ....Pages 501-503 Pluto, Discovery, and Classification in Astronomy (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 505-519 Astronomy’s Three Kingdoms: A Comprehensive Classification System of Celestial Objects (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 521-531 The Discovery of Polar Motion and Its Importance (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 533-547 Observation and Interpretation of the Leonid Meteors Over the Last Millennium (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 549-569 The Discovery and Exploration of the Moons of Mars (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 571-586 The Universe and Alfred Russel Wallace (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 587-609 Discovering a New Realm of the Universe: Hubble, Galaxies, and Classification (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 611-625 Front Matter ....Pages 627-629 The Philosophy of Astronomy, Cosmology, and Astrobiology: A Preliminary Reconnaissance (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 631-653 Critical Issues in the History, Philosophy, and Sociology of Astrobiology (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 655-693 Lessons Learned from the Twentieth-Century Extraterrestrial Life Debate (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 695-721 Cosmology and Biology: An Entangled Web? (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 723-736 Front Matter ....Pages 737-739 Interstellar Humanity (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 741-753 The Consolations of Astronomy and the Cosmic Perspective (Steven J. Dick)....Pages 755-769 Back Matter ....Pages 771-799