Events
Physics Colloquium - The Search for Earth 2.0 |
| Time: Oct 09, 2015 (03:00 PM) |
| Location: 115 Science Center Classroom Building - Refreshments at 2:45 pm |
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Details: The Search for Earth 2.0
Sara Seager MIT – Duncan Lecture For thousands of years, people have wondered, “Are we alone?” Astronomers have discovered thousands of planets orbiting stars other than the sun—called exoplanets—and have found that small rocky planets are extremely common. Our own Milky Way Galaxy has 100 billion stars, and our Universe has upwards of 100 billion galaxies—making the chance for life on a planet beyond our solar system seem inevitable based on sheer probability. Now for the first time in human history, current technology puts us on the verge of being able to search for planets like Earth that may have suitable conditions for life. Astronomers hope to not only discover planets like Earth, but observe their atmospheres for gases that may have been produced by life. Professor Seager will describe the science and technology behind the search for Earth 2.0.
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