{"product_id":"the-pale-blue-data-point-an-earth-based-perspective-on-the-search-for-alien-life-9780226822402","title":"The Pale Blue Data Point: An Earth-Based Perspective on the Search for Alien Life","description":"\u003cb\u003eA thrilling tour of Earth that shows the search for extraterrestrial life starts in our own backyard.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Is there life off Earth? Bound by the limitations of spaceflight, a growing number of astrobiologists investigate the question by studying life on our planet. Astronomer and author Jon Willis shows us how it's done, allowing readers to envision extraterrestrial landscapes by exploring their closest Earth analogs. With Willis, we dive into the Pacific Ocean from the submersible-equipped E\/V \u003ci\u003eNautilus\u003c\/i\u003e to ponder the uncharted seas of Saturn's and Jupiter's moons; search the Australian desert for some of Earth's oldest fossils and consider the prospects for a Martian fossil hunt; visit mountaintop observatories in Chile to search for the telltale twinkle of extrasolar planets; and eavesdrop on dolphins in the Bahamas to imagine alien minds. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e With investigations ranging from meteorite hunting to exoplanet detection, Willis conjures up alien worlds and unthought-of biological possibilities, speculating what life might look like on other planets by extrapolating from what we can see on Earth, our single \"pale blue dot\"--as Carl Sagan famously called it--or, in Willis's reframing, scientists' \"pale blue data point.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Chicago Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/30\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780226822402\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 256\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.00lbs","brand":"Jon Willis","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51634901254325,"sku":"9780226822402","price":22.1,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_2b6143b8-96b4-4f1d-9fc7-75fd2e6be8fa.jpg?v=1756789429","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-pale-blue-data-point-an-earth-based-perspective-on-the-search-for-alien-life-9780226822402","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}