Astronomy › Section W · Life in the universe › Topic W.1
The cosmic context for life and astrobiology
Every atom of carbon in your body was made inside a star. Astrobiology asks how such star-made atoms became living things on Earth, what life needs, how tough it can be, and whether the same story could have played out elsewhere.
In this topic
- Are we alone?
- Made of star stuff
- Building blocks beyond Earth
- From chemistry to biology
- Photosynthesis changed the planet
- What makes an environment habitable
- Life at the extremes
- Worked example: putting extremes in numbers
- The Copernican principle and Fermi's question
- Worked example: why Fermi's question bites
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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