Comets and the origin and evolution of life /

This collection of review articles comments on the current status of understanding of comets and their role in the origin and evolution of life. Each article concludes with an extensive bibliography that will be a valuable tool to any researcher in this field. New space missions, laboratory simulations, and computer modeling have all contributed to new findings and ideas. Data from spacecraft encounters with comets is now available. Dust from comets continues to be studied, particularly the analysis of Antarctic micrometeorites. Many different organic molecules have been found in interstellar clouds and in the active chemical environments of the hot molecular cores of star-forming regions. The consensus seems to be that comets most likely played an important role in introducing prebiotic organic materials to the early Earth as it was recovering from the early period of violent collisions with planetesimals and comets, including the collision that is supposed to have formed the Earth-moon system. Many important questions remain to be answered; the analysis of comet dust from the Stardust spacecraft is yet to be completed, and the first soft landing on a comet nucleus should occur in 2014. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Graduate students through professionals. M. Dickinson formerly, Maine Maritime Academy