Searching for water in the universe

Introduction Why Water? Life on Earth...

...And elsewhere in the Universe. 1: A Very Simple Molecule.The H[subscript 2]O molecule

The various states of water

Great cosmic abundance

The spectrum of the water molecule

The ortho and para states of water

Heavy water

How do we search for water in the Universe? 2: The Quest for Cosmic Water. 1877: canals on Mars

1950-1970: Mars, Saturn and interstellar water

1970-1990: Mars and the comets

1994-1995: water vapour and the galaxies

1995-1998: the Infrared Space Observatory

The post-ISO era

Future projects: Herschel and SPICA. 3: The Ice Line and the Birth of the Planets. The solar system today

The collapse of the protosolar cloud

From protoplanetary disk to planetesimals

Terrestrial planets and giant planets

A brief chronology of events

Where do we look for water in the solar system?

Comets and Water

The nucleus: a 'dirty snowball'

Halley's comet, 1986: the first detection of water vapour

An elusive kind of ice

Water ice...and others

Cometary matter and interstellar matter

Water: historian of the comets

Space exploration of comets: recent results and future projects.

5: Water in the Solar System

The atmospheres of the giant planets

Water and the giant planets

Satellites of the outer solar system

The Galilean satellites

Saturn's satellites

The companions of Uranus

Triton: an example of cryovolcanism

Rings and minor satellites of the giant planets

Pluto and the trans-Neptunian objects. 6: At the Ice Line: The Asteroids

Minor planets

Asteroid or comet?

Meteorites: the possibility of in situ measurement. 7: Water and the Terrestrial Planets

Mercury and the Moon: no atmosphere, but traces of water?

Phobos and Deimos: Mars' tiny moons

Venus, Earth and Mars: three very different worlds

Traces of water vapour on Mars and Venus

The history of water on Mars and Venus

Divergent destinies

The history of water on Mars

Searching for life on Mars. 8: The Search for Other Earths

How do we define life?

How does life begin?

Early discoveries of exoplanets

Giant exoplanets near stars

Are there other Earth-like planets?

Possibilities of life on Earth-like planets

How do we find extraterrestrial life?

The search for extraterrestrial civilizations.