Dr. Harald Zaun
Science Author
Science Historian
Science Philosopher
Science Publisher
The Homo sapiens, caught between macro- und microcosm, embedded in the time-stream, drifting in his river, may at best, when looking into the nightsky, realize he is at the biggest likelihood not alone in this universe.
Get to the bottom of things
Rerum cognoscere causas
The incredible history of this incredible universe is far from being finished.
It is as immeasurable as the evolutionary development of our species and those foreign species that are out there. Especially for us in the here and now the question of the meaning of it all is raised. Are we just a product of a coincidence or has the universe “in some sense known that we were coming” (Freeman Dyson). As fantastic as this may sound – we have a real chance, to draw the curtain to the side in this lifetime, to find at least some partial responses to this sophisticated question. How this would work with rationally scientific approaches, that are based on empiricism, deduction, induction, observation analysis ad calculation as well as extrapolation, is the aim of my print- and online features, as well as book projects. While doing that I link the humanities and natural sciences on pupose. Through this website, I’d like to present my works in this field to you, as well as the scientific questions that I am still pursuing.
The Creepy Silence
Why are extraterrestrial intelligences and supercivilizations silent?
Together with my co-author Harald Lesch, we have embarked on a fascinating journey through the universe to answer the central question that moves us all: Are we alone in the universe?
Our book sheds light on the fascinating world of space travel and the immense size of the universe, where numerous stars and planets can be found. Considering how many possibly intelligent civilizations must exist, it is hard to understand why we have not yet received any sign of life from extraterrestrial intelligence. We wonder: why does the great silence reign in the ether?
In ‘The Creepy Silence’ we tell in an entertaining and well-founded way what science already knows about extraterrestrial life and how it continues to research it. We clarify myths and facts surrounding the topic and address the big questions that are on everyone’s mind when we discuss extraterrestrial intelligence.
I am excited about this exciting reading journey through the universe and to our cosmic neighbors, which also gives us a glimpse into ourselves. I hope you, too, will be enthralled by the fascinating world of space travel and the search for extraterrestrial life.
Expedition into the stellar ocean
Interstellar Spaceflight
Perspectives, Opportunities and Risks
Only when man – driven by the inexhaustible source of curiosity, spurred on by scientific knowledge and motivated by economic and ecological constraints (overpopulation, scarcity of resources), and secondary to a genetic imperative that all too often manifested itself in a desire to conquer and expand in the past, dares to take the leap away from orbit into space, colonizes the moon and Mars, will he have climbed to the next stage of his space history and at the same time opened the door to the stars. Homo sapiens then irreversibly advances to Homo spaciens! It fills me with great pleasure to have won renowned scientists, engineers, scientific authors, philosophers, artists and writers of the most diverse professional backgrounds for my project.
My
Publications
By now there should be more than 1200 contributions to print and web-publications. I’ve worked on numerous books as author or co-author. But counting is not my bigget strenght. That’s why, I prefer to leave it at a rough guess.
My
Research Areas
Cosmology, Astrophysics/Astronomy, Exo- and Astrobiology respectively, SETI, Astronautics, Robotics/AI, Science-Fiction, Geo Science, History/Archeology, Philosophy and Science History. Most likely I’ve forgotten something else.
My
Interviews
Conducting interviews with scientists, researchers and astronauts in greater depth – this is until now one of the biggest highlights of my work. There is nothing that can replace direct and personal contact.
Neil Armstrong, Starmus-Festival, Tenerife, 2011 Photo: Harald Zaun
Books published through publishing houses
Most popular Books
Die kürzeste Geschichte
allen Lebens. Was ist die Geschichte unseres Planeten? In welchen Zeiträumen und wie ist alles entstanden? Wie entstand Leben, Geist und Bewusstsein? Wie konnte das alles entstehen? Und was wissen wir wirklich darüber? Das Buch erreichte bislang die 6. Auflage und ist auch als E-Book und als Hörbuch verfügbar.
Der Urknall
Irgendwann und irgendwo zu keinem Zeitpunkt und an keinem Ort entstand in einer gewaltigen “Explosion” innerhalb einer Billionstel Sekunde aus einem unendlich kleinen Punkt hochintensive Strahlung. Die Strukturen, die sich daraus entwickelten, offenbaren sich uns heute als Gas- und Staubwolken, als Galaxien und Galaxienhaufen. Sie sind der materielle Beweis dafür, dass alles, was im Kosmos entstanden und vergangen ist, seine Herkunft dem Urknall verdankt. Welche Indizien sprechen für ihn? Welche Alternativ-Konzepte konkurrieren mit ihm? Wann und wie endet das Universum – wenn überhaupt?
Das Buch geht nun in die 4. Auflage.
SETI
die wissenschaftliche Suche nach außerirdischen Zivilisationen. Wie und wann fischen Astronomen die langersehnte kosmische Flaschenpost aus dem Sternenmeer? Dank immer besserer Hard- und Software, Teleskope, Suchstrategien und eingedenk der Erfolge der Planetenjäger und Hochrechnungen der Exobiologen, die intelligentes Leben im All postulieren, ist der “First Contact” nur noch eine Frage der Zeit.
Das Buch ist auch als E-Book erhältlich!
Further Publications
An overview of further writings can be found in the category Publications.
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