Centre Alexandre Koyré (UMR 8560/CNRS-EHESS-MNHN-CSI), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Case postale 25 - 57 rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris, France.
Orig Life Evol Biosph. 2010 Apr;40(2):195-202. doi: 10.1007/s11084-010-9200-7. Epub 2010 Feb 26.
Speculations on living beings existing on other planets are found in many written works since the Frenchman Bernard de Fontenelle spoke to the Marquise about the inhabitants of the solar system in his Entretiens sur la pluralité des mondes (1686). It was an entertainment used to teach astronomy more than real considerations about the habitability of our solar system, but it opened the way to some reflections about the possible life forms on other planets. The nineteenth century took up this idea again in a context of planetary studies showing the similarities as well as the differences of the celestial bodies orbiting our Sun. Astronomers attempted to look deeper into the problem of habitability such as Richard Proctor or Camille Flammarion, also well-known for their fine talent in popular writings. While the Martian canals controversy was reaching its height, they imagined how the living forms dwelling in other planets could be. Nowadays, no complex exo-life is expected to have evolved in our solar system. However, the famous exobiologist Carl Sagan and later other scientists, formulated audacious ideas about other forms of life in the light of recent discoveries in planetology. Through these few examples, this paper underlines the originality of each author's suggestions and the evolution and contrast of ideas about the possible life forms in the universe.
自从法国人 Bernard de Fontenelle 在他的《关于多世界的对话》（1686 年）中向 Marquis 夫人讲述太阳系居民以来，许多著作中都出现了关于其他行星上存在生命的推测。这是一种娱乐形式，更多的是用来教授天文学，而不是真正考虑我们太阳系的宜居性，但它为其他行星上可能存在的生命形式开辟了一些思考的道路。19 世纪，在行星研究的背景下再次提出了这一观点，该研究展示了围绕我们太阳运行的天体之间的相似性和差异性。天文学家试图更深入地研究宜居性问题，如 Richard Proctor 或 Camille Flammarion，他们也因在通俗写作方面的出色才能而闻名。当火星运河争议达到高潮时，他们想象了居住在其他行星上的生命形式可能是什么样子。如今，人们预计我们太阳系中不会进化出复杂的外星生命。然而，著名的外星生物学家 Carl Sagan 以及后来的其他科学家，根据行星学的最新发现，提出了关于其他生命形式的大胆设想。通过这些少数几个例子，本文强调了每位作者建议的原创性，以及关于宇宙中可能存在的生命形式的思想的演变和对比。
