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What's in a name: the etymology of astrobiology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2020

Manasvi Lingam Open the ORCID record for Manasvi Lingam [Opens in a new window]  and
Abraham Loeb
Manasvi Lingam*
Affiliation:
Department of Aerospace, Physics and Space Science, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL32901, USA Institute for Theory and Computation, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA02138, USA
Abraham Loeb
Affiliation:
Institute for Theory and Computation, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA02138, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Manasvi Lingam, E-mail: mlingam@fit.edu
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Abstract

Astrobiology has been gaining increasing scientific prominence and public attention as the search for life beyond Earth continues to make significant headway on multiple fronts. In view of these recent developments, the fascinating and dynamic etymology of astrobiology is elucidated, and thus shown to encompass a plethora of vivid characters drawn from different continents, religions, ideologies and centuries.

Keywords

Astrobiologyhistorysocietal impact

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Type
Research Article
Information
International Journal of Astrobiology , Volume 19 , Issue 5 , October 2020 , pp. 379 - 385
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Copyright © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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