Date: Monday 06-Apr-2020
Time: 11:15-12:15
Location: ATL 1250
Speaker: Giada Arney (GSFC)
Title: The Search for Life
After millennia of wondering whether humanity is alone in the universe, future observatories will enable the search for habitability and life on dozens of nearby worlds. But how would we detect and recognize life on an exoplanet? How can we discriminate between true biosignatures and abiotic “false positives”? In this talk, I will provide examples of guiding principles of life detection on exoplanets in the context of the recent National Academy of Sciences Exoplanet Science Strategy and Astrobiology Science Strategy community documents. I will discuss these strategies in the context of the LUVOIR mission concept currently being considered by the astrophysics decadal survey. A detailed study of the orbital parameters, atmospheric compositions, surface properties, and temporal variability of many rocky planets in the habitable zones of different stars will reveal environmental conditions for a diversity of worlds at different stages of evolution, and potentially usher in a new era of comparative astrobiology. To meet this challenge in the coming decades, astrobiologists are thinking critically now about what we must do to prepare, which includes thinking on what we know about life detection from Earth, how and why star-planet interactions matter, and how we can prepare for the detection of novel biosignatures.
For further information contact PALS coordinator Dr. Lori Feaga at feaga@astro.umd.edu or (301)-405-1383.
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.
