Water in the Universe
Due to its specific chemical and physical properties, water is essential for life on Earth. And it is assumed that this would be the case for extraterrestrial life as well. Therefore it is important to investigate where water can be found in the Universe.
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Astrophysics and Space Science Library EDITORIAL BOARD Chairman W.B. BURTON, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, VA, USA [email protected] University of Leiden, Leiden, The Netherlands [email protected] F. BERTOLA, University of Padua, Padua, Italy J.P. CASSINELLI, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA C.J. CESARSKY, Commission for Atomic Energy, Saclay, France P. EHRENFREUND, University of Leiden, Leiden, The Netherlands O. ENGVOLD, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway A. HECK, Strasbourg Astronomical Observatory, Strasbourg, France E.P.J. VAN DEN HEUVEL, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands V.M. KASPI, McGill University, Montreal, Canada J.M.E. KUIJPERS, University of Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands H. VAN DER LAAN, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands P.G. MURDIN, Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge, UK F. PACINI, Istituto Astronomia Arcetri, Firenze, Italy V. RADHAKRISHNAN, Raman Research Institute, Bangalore, India B.V. SOMOV, Astronomical Institute, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia R.A. SUNYAEV, Space Research Institute, Moscow, Russia
For other titles published in this series, go to www.springer.com/series/5664
Arnold Hanslmeier
Water in the Universe
Prof. Dr. Arnold Hanslmeier Institut für Geophysik, Astrophysik und Meteorologie Universität Graz Universitätsplatz 5 8010 Graz Austria [email protected]
ISSN 0067-0057 ISBN 978-90-481-9983-9 e-ISBN 978-90-481-9984-6 DOI 10.1007/978-90-481-9984-6 Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg London New York Library of Congress Control Number: 2010937475 © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011 No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Cover illustration: Water Claimed in Evaporating Planet HD 209458b. Illustration Credit: European Space Agency, Alfred Vidal-Madjar (Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, CNRS), NASA Cover design: eStudio Calamar S.L. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
Preface
Water is one of the basic elements for life. It is even assumed that the evolution of life is only possible if there is liquid water present. A water molecule has some remarkable properties that make it quite unique in the universe. In the first chapter of this book we will review these basic properties of water and the role of water on Earth. All ancient civilizations realized the importance of water and their cities were constructed near great reservoirs of water. But is water unique on Earth? Do we find water elsewhere in the solar system, on extrasolar planetary systems or in distant galaxies? We will start the search for the presence of extraterrestrial water in our solar system. Surpr
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