Discovery and Exploration Reading List - JSCC Pioneer Con 2024

'What does all this stuff about flying saucers amount to? What can it mean? What is the truth?' Winston Churchill, prime minister's personal minute, 28th July 1952 The UFO Files tells the story of over 100 years of UFO sightings, drawing on formerly secret government documents at the National Archives in London. Alongside extraordinary reports by ordinary people, it reveals details of official interest and investigations stretching back more than 80 years.In this remarkable book, fully updated for this second edition, David Clarke reveals an array of startling stories from possible UFO reports hidden among Met Office investigations of aerial phenomena in the 1920s to the conclusions of Project Condign, the secret British Intelligence UFO study completed in 2000. As well as covering Roswell and Britain's own Rendlesham Forest mystery, Clarke raids the records for dramatic stories of abductions and close encounters, ghost aircraft and crop circles, and UFO reports by both civilian aircrew and military personnel. Dramatic witness statements and interviews combine with rarely seen photographs, drawings and newly available documents to offer a unique guide to one of our most intriguing mysteries.

What is life and where can it exist? What searches are being made to identify conditions for life on other worlds? If extraterrestrial inhabited worlds are found, how can we explore them? In this book, two leading astrophysicists provide an engaging account of where we stand in our quest for habitable environments, in the Solar System and beyond. Starting from basic concepts, the narrative builds scientifically, including more in-depth material as boxed additions to the main text. The authors recount fascinating recent discoveries from space missions and observations using ground-based telescopes, of possible life-related artefacts in Martian meteorites, extrasolar planets, and subsurface oceans on Europa, Titan and Enceladus. They also provide a forward look to future missions. This is an exciting, informative read for anyone interested in the search for habitable and inhabited planets, and an excellent primer for students in astrobiology, habitability, planetary science and astronomy.

Where would you look for alien life? An astronomer and science popularizer explains the basics of astrobiology to outline five plausible scenarios for finding extraterrestrials Long before space travel was possible, the idea of life beyond Earth transfixed humans. In this fascinating book, astronomer Jon Willis explores the science of astrobiology and the possibility of locating other life in our own galaxy.   Describing the most recent discoveries by space exploration missions, including the Kepler space telescope, the Mars Curiosity rover, and the New Horizons probe, Willis asks readers to imagine--and choose among--five scenarios for finding life. He encourages us to wonder whether life might exist within Mars's subsoil ice. He reveals the vital possibilities on the water-ice moons Europa and Enceladus.