Life Beyond Earth

This book analyzes the likelihood of intelligent civilizations from two different standpoints: firstly, using the famous Drake equation and, secondly, by analyzing some of the most popular hypotheses about the likely behavior of intelligent alien civilizations. The existence of intelligent extraterrestrial civilizations in the universe is one of the most intriguing scientific and philosophical problems. Is it possible that we are the only intelligent species in this incredibly vast universe? Enrico Fermi, one of the greatest physicists of the 20th century, posed the same question during a lunch with his colleagues in 1950. What are the implications for a universe where there is only one intelligent species? The universe may be stranger than we think.

Chapter 1. What is the Fermi Paradox? . - Chapter 2. The Immensity of the Universe. - Chapter 3. Drake' s Equation. - Chapter 4. Stellar Formation. - Chapter 5. Solar Systems with Planets. - Chapter 6. Habitable Exoplanets. - Chapter 7. Life and Exoplanets. - Chapter 8. Intelligent Life. - Chapter 9. Communication. - Chapter 10. Alien Transmission Duration. - Chapter 11. The Drake Equation: Putting All Together. - Chapter 12. First Hypothesis: We Are Alone. - Chapter 13. The Great Filter Hypothesis. - Chapter 14. The Zoo Hypothesis. - Chapter 15. The Dark Forest Hypothesis. - Chapter 16. The Aestivation Hypothesis. - Chapter 17. The Berserker Hypothesis. - Chapter 18. The Many Universe Hypothesis. - Chapter 19. A Daring Hypothesis: Alien Visitation. - Chapter 20. The Case for Extraterrestrial Life.