Astronomy 141 -- Winter 2012
End-of-Quarter Study Guide

This study guide covers the lectures from the last week of
classes (Mar 5-8).  The rest of the class is already covered
by the previous study guides published for Quizzes 1 thru 4.

This list, together with the other four study guides from Quizzes 1
through 4, constitutes a complete study guide for the Final Exam.


SETI
   What is SETI?
   Why are radio wavelengths the best place to search for ET radio signals?
   What is the "Water Hole"?
   What is a "Targeted" SETI search strategy?
   What is a "Piggy-Back" SETI search strategy?
   What are SETI projects searching for? 
   What is the "Wow!" signal?
   What kind of radio emission has Earth been radiating and for how long?
   How has the amount of radio emission from Earth been changing over time?
   What is the Arecibo Message?


Interstellar Travel and Colonization
   What are the main challenges of interstellar space travel?
   How does the need to carry your fuel make interstellar travel hard?
   What is the requirement for near-light speed?
   What are various serious concepts for near-light star ships?
   What is interstellar colonization?
   How fast is colonization?  
   What are the typical timescale to colonize an entire galaxy?


The Fermi Paradox
   What is the Fermi Paradox?
   What is the basic principle behind the Fermi Paradox (speed of colonization)
   What are the different proposals to solve the Fermi Paradox?
   What is the UFOs are Real Hypothesis?
   What is the Zoo Hypothesis?
   What is the Doomsday Hypothesis?
   What is the Rare Earth Hypothesis?


Extraterrestrial Life
   What are the basic characteristics of life on Earth?
   What is the difference between a Universal and Parochial characterstic
   What is Convergent Evolution versus Radical Diversity?
   What are alternatives to Carbon Chemistry?
   What are the problems of Silicon as an alternative to Carbon?
   What are alternatives to Liquid Water?