The 'Life in the Solar System and Beyond', Professor Jones has written a
broad introduction to the subject, addressing important topics such as,
what is life?, the origins of life and where to look for
extraterrestrial life. The chapters are arranged as follows. Chapter 1
is a broad introduction to the cosmos, with an emphasis on where we
might find life. In Chapters 2 and 3 Professor Jones discusses life on
Earth, the one place we know to be inhabited. Chapter 4 is a brief tour
of the Solar system, leading us in Chapters 5 and 6 to two promising
potential habitats, Mars and Europa. In Chapter 7 the author discusses
the fate of life in the Solar system, which gives us extra reason to
consider life further afield. Chapter 8 focuses on the types of stars
that might host habitable planets, and where in the Galaxy these might
be concentrated. Chapters 9 and 10 describe the instruments and
techniques being employed to discover planets around other stars
(exoplanetary systems), and those that will be employed in the near
future. Chapter 11 summarises the known exoplanetary systems, together
with an outline of the systems we expect to discover soon, particularly
habitable planets. Chapter 12 describes how we will attempt to find life
on these planets, and the final chapter brings us to the search for
extraterrestrial intelligence, and the question as to whether we are
alone.