Alien Oceans

The Search for Life in the Depths of Space

By: Kevin Hand

Narrated by: Kevin Hand

Inside the epic quest to find life on the water-rich moons at the outer reaches of the solar system

Where is the best place to find life beyond Earth? We often look to Mars as the most promising site in our solar system, but recent scientific missions have revealed that some of the most habitable real estate may actually lie farther away. Beneath the frozen crusts of several of the small, ice-covered moons of Jupiter and Saturn lurk vast oceans that may have been in existence for as long as Earth, and together may contain more than 50 times its total volume of liquid water. Could there be organisms living in their depths? Alien Oceans reveals the science behind the thrilling quest to find out.

Kevin Peter Hand is one of today's leading NASA scientists, and his pioneering research has taken him on expeditions around the world. In this captivating account of scientific discovery, he brings together insights from planetary science, biology, and the adventures of scientists like himself to explain how we know that oceans exist within moons of the outer solar system, like Europa, Titan, and Enceladus. He shows how the exploration of Earth's oceans is informing our understanding of the potential habitability of these icy moons, and draws lessons from what we have learned about the origins of life on our own planet to consider how life could arise on these distant worlds.

Alien Oceans describes what lies ahead in our search for life in our solar system and beyond, setting the stage for the transformative discoveries that may await us.

©2020 Kevin Hand (P)2020 Princeton University Press

Critic reviews

"Kevin Peter Hand has delivered a beautiful portrayal of the science behind our search for life in alien oceans, and the connection to our precious ocean here on Earth. A must-read for all who gaze at the stars above and ponder the abyss below." (James Cameron)

"Hand humanizes the science behind the search for life on icy worlds in our solar system and beyond." (Gordon Southam, University of Queensland)

"In this delightful book, Kevin Peter Hand takes readers from the depths of Earth's oceans to those of the outer solar system, describing encounters with magical, alien-like creatures at the bottom of the Atlantic and offering informed speculations about what life could be like in the subsurface oceans of faraway moons. Recounting the story of how we discovered these alien oceans, he gives us a peek at the lives and personalities of some of the scientists who pieced together all the clues. His explanations are full of engaging analogies that will help general readers understand the science needed to think rigorously about life as we know it - and as we do not yet know it." (Jill Tarter, SETI Institute)

Scientifically honest and very interesting

Probably the best single book I’ve read/listened to regarding the possibility of life beyond Earth. Just the right mixture of science and author’s anecdotes

interesting and entertaining

Great reading with lots of scientific facts about ocean moons and prospects for finding life with easy explanations.

Very well written

Author does a great job in explaining the complex science and guiding you thru these monumental discoveries. In the end, you feel excited about the future and desiring to read more about planetary science.

Superb.

Perfect combination of concepts details and analogies. It appeals to me, as an evolutionary biologist but also my 15 years old son.

Utterly engrossed

This is a wonderful book… accessible, stimulating, engrossing, opening your mind to potentially life-supporting environments within our solar system. Ideas all well-thought-out and presented clearly. Excellent narration by the author. I have 796 books from Audible, this is one of my very few 5/5/5 reviews, and I actually paid cash (not a credit) on this one - best decision I’ve made in a long time. Thank you, Kevin.

Excellent intro to the fascinated subject

I really liked this book. The author takes one of the most fascinating question of recent decades and offers some answers that are both easy to understand and deeply rooted in science. I didn't like the narration... it felt a bit too colloquial, but then, after I was done with the book, I saw that it was the author who provided the narration. That changed everything: it made the author and the subject more approachable... more like listening to a passionate and knowledgable friend.

Exceptional.

Was referred this title from a Tyler Cowen reading list, had to leave a review. Enjoying thoroughly!

Left me with a great deal to contemplate about life beyond Earth

Well done narration of a fascinating subject. He did a great job of making a very scientific topic understandable. I’ll anxiously wait for what more we can discover on those moons sometime in the future, hopefully sooner rather than later.

A thorough look into the search for life

This book has a little bit of everything: scientific rhetoric, postulation, history, anecdotes, and above all weaves them together to make an intricate look into the always cutting-edge field of astrobiology, in this case relating to the study of oceans on faraway worlds & moons

The only complaint I have, and it is very minor, is that the narrator is a little bland from time to time, or perhaps more accurately lapses into cliches of performance that detract from the quality of the performance (which is altogether quite forgivable given that he's also the author, and therefore a scientist by trade!)

Altogether I still rate this book very highly, and I recommend it to anyone passionate about the search for life beyond Earth, the science behind our probing of distant ocean worlds, or who simply wants to take part in a short excursion into the next realm of space exploration

Fantastic!

Incredible read! Loved the science and Dr. Hand’s vision! Makes me sad not to live long enough to see the fruition of these endeavors! I played his book at 0.8 speed.