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Preface
Introduction
How to Use This Textbook
1. The Scale of Time and Space
2. Matter, Energy, and Light
3. Stars
4. Laws of Motion and Gravity
5. The Formation of the Solar System
6. The Ages of Rocks and Fossils
7. What Makes Earth Habitable?
8. Climate Regulation
9. The Definition of Life
10. The Basic Chemistry of Life
11. The Theory of Evolution
12. The Genetic Code and the Tree of Life
13. The Origin of Life and Extremophiles
14. Biological and Geological Coevolution
15. Climate Change and the Anthropocene
16. The Habitable Zone
17. The Search for Life on Mars
18. The Jovian Moons
19. Detecting Exoplanets
20. Searching for Habitable Planets
21. The Drake Equation and the Fermi Paradox
Epilogue: Speculations and Skepticism
Appendix A: Orders of Magnitude and a New Way to Count
Appendix B: Scientific Notation
Appendix C: Units of Measurement
Appendix D: Cosmic Distance Scales
Optional Supplementary Chapter: History of Astrobiology
Optional Supplementary Chapter: Galaxies
Optional Supplementary Chapter: An Expanding Universe
Optional Supplementary Chapter: Organic Chemistry
Index
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Cosmic Origins Copyright © by Debra Fischer; Allyson Sheffield; Joshua Tan; Lily Ling Zhao; and Dawn Erb is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.