Table of Contents

Prologue.- Purple haze: introducing our guide.- The early universe: the source of chemistry – and of our guide.- Shooting the rapids: the life, and death, of the earliest starlight.- Interlude - how our guide is hooked, lost and caught again.- Heading downstream and cooking by starlight.- Fishing for molecules.- Branching out: in the land of the giants and dwarves.- Interlude - trawling for our cosmic guide.- In the delta: exoplanets - worlds, but not as we know them.- Towards the sea of life.- Epilogue.- Annotated references and further reading to chapters.- Some useful numbers.- Index.

About the Author

Steve Miller is Professor of Science Communication and Planetary Science, at University College London- Science and Technology Studies. Steve trained in chemistry at Southampton University (BSc 1970; PhD 1975), carrying out several years of postdoctoral research in physical chemistry. He spent six years as a political journalist, from 1980-86, before re-entering academic life at UCL, specializing in spectroscopy applied to astronomy and planetary science. Steve has written for the general media, as well as popular science magazines such as Astronomy Now, and on explaining astronomy on British television and radio. He runs the European science communication network, ESConet, which is responsible for training hundreds of Europe,s leading scientists to communicate with their fellow citizens, directly and through the mass media. Steve,s love of Hawaii comes from his time spent observing the heavens from Maunakea, and from his wife, who is Hawaiian.

Reviews

From the reviews: "Steve Miller is a professor at UCL and an accomplished speaker at the RAS ... . He,s written a book I,m pleased to recommend for its light touch and humour ... and, above all, for his willingness to explain. After a most enjoyable read, I had quite a bit to think about and there is a useful section of recommended further reading." (Roger O,Brien, Journal of the British Astronomical Association, Vol. 122 (1), 2012) "This is another book aiming to summarize 13 billion years of cosmic history in relatively few pages. ... Recent discoveries of potentially life-supporting niches in the solar system, as well as the numerous recently discovered exoplanets, are described in broad strokes. The index and annotated bibliography are helpful, and the volume includes many rarely seen and well-chosen illustrations. Suitable for lay readers ... . Summing Up: Recommended. General audiences." (T. R. Blackburn, Choice, Vol. 49 (10), June, 2012)