UVic Professor Explores Alien Life in New Book Launch

Professor Jon Willis from the University of Victoria has released his second book, titled The Pale Blue Data Point: An Earth-Based Perspective on the Search for Alien Life, on October 30, 2023. The book serves as a follow-up to his earlier work, All These Worlds Are Yours: The Scientific Search for Alien Life, published in 2016. In this latest publication, Willis draws on his extensive research and global expeditions, emphasizing a local perspective on the quest for extraterrestrial life.

Willis’s research journey takes him from the hydrothermal vents off the coast of Vancouver Island to ancient fossil sites in Australia. He believes that the vibrancy of local ecosystems is crucial to understanding life beyond Earth. “Living in Victoria, even above the surface, you can’t escape that you live on a living planet that is vibrant and alive,” he stated. “But oh my word, once you go into the oceans just one, two, three metres down, it’s just as beautiful and abundant, even more so, in our local waters.”

Adventures in Ocean Exploration

In 2017, Willis joined the Ocean Exploration Trust, anticipating worldwide research trips. Surprisingly, his first expedition took place in Greater Victoria, where he journeyed 200 kilometres off the coast to study deep ocean vents. “I must admit I was taken aback at that point,” he recalled, explaining that he had expected international travel. Instead, he took a taxi to Sidney to board the research vessel at the Institute of Ocean Sciences.

Willis’s students from his popular course, Search for Life in the Universe (ASTR 201), have also significantly influenced the new book. “They’re almost all there because they want to be, they’re out of interest,” he noted. “They’re really bright and on the ball, answering the questions they’ve had, have been a lot of inspiration for this whole process.”

Inspiring Future Generations

The professor aims to ignite interest in the field of astrobiology among the next generation. He emphasizes that the first signs of life we may discover, particularly within our solar system, are likely to be microscopic. “The first life we encounter, especially if it’s in the solar system, it may well be microscopic. It’s gonna be things equivalent on Earth to our single-celled microbes,” he explained.

The Pale Blue Data Point combines scientific inquiry with adventurous exploration, taking readers on deep-sea dives, desert excursions, and stargazing at mountaintop observatories. Willis describes the book as “Indiana Jones meets Carl Sagan meets David Attenborough,” blending the thrill of discovery with the meticulous nature of scientific research.

On November 26, 2023, he will host a public talk about the book at the Bob Wright Centre at UVic, starting at 19:00. He hopes attendees will leave with a newfound sense of wonder about life on Earth and beyond. “It’s impossible not to when you’re in the water,” he remarked. “There’s all the different creatures… some of them, not just the jellyfish, but the comb jellies, when they flash in front of your vision with their iridescent colours and they’re pulsing, you could be in an alien world.”

Ultimately, the book invites readers to explore our single “pale blue data point,” reflecting on the life we have on this planet while pondering what life might exist outside of it. Willis’s work serves as a reminder of the interconnectedness of life, both on Earth and in the cosmos.