Astronomy Colloquium for 2023-02-01


Series: Astronomy Colloquium
Date: Wednesday 01-Feb-2023
Time: 16:05-17:00 (4:05-5:00 pm)
Location: ATL 2400
Speaker: Dr. Meredith MacGregor (Colorado University)
Title: How to Form a Habitable Planet

Planets form from disks of dust and gas surrounding young stars. As they grow, these new planets inherit their chemical composition from the surrounding material and then sculpt it through gravitational interactions to form gaps and other asymmetric structures. In the last decade, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) has revolutionized our ability to study planet formation, allowing us to examine this process in high resolution. I will present highlights from ongoing work using ALMA and other facilities that explores how planetary systems form and evolve by (1) connecting disk structure to sculpting planets and (2) understanding the impact of stellar flares on planetary habitability. Together these results provide an exciting foundation to investigate the evolution of planetary systems as a whole through multi-wavelength observations. In the future, new facilities, specifically in the far-infrared, will help complete our understanding by tracing the chemistry of water and other volatiles critical for life.


In-person colloquia are usually preceded by espresso and ice cream at 1:45 pm outside room PSC 1150 and are followed by an informal reception at 5:15 pm in that room. Anyone interested in talking with the speaker, or being added to the colloquium announcement email list, should contact the colloquium organizer Dr. Leslie Sage. Lunch will normally be reserved for the speaker to talk to graduate students. Anyone asking a question during a talk is asked to raise their hand and be acknowledged before speaking. Contact Dr. Leslie Sage for details.

Colloquium Organizer: Dr. Leslie Sage

SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS:

Special accommodations for individuals with disabilities can be made by calling (301) 405-3001. It would be appreciated if we are notified at least one week in advance.

DIRECTIONS, PARKING, AND OTHER INFORMATION FOR VISITORS

Directions and information about parking can be found here.

This page was automatically generated on: 24-Jan-2023.