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SUMMARY:Towards Habitable Worlds: Detailed Characterization of the Nearest
  Planetary Systems - Prof. Andrew Vanderburg\, Massachusetts Institute of 
 Technology
DTSTART:20250212T100000Z
DTEND:20250212T110000Z
UID:TALK228100@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr. Mariona Badenas Agusti
DESCRIPTION:Over the past thirty years\, astronomers have made extraordina
 ry progress in detecting planets around other stars. We now know that star
 s commonly host planets with a wider range of physical properties and syst
 em architectures than exist in our own solar system\, and that planets lik
 ely outnumber stars in our galactic neighborhood. Now\, planet detection a
 nd characterization technologies have advanced to the point that it should
  be possible to search for signs of life in the atmospheres of Earth-like 
 exoplanets around Sun-like stars within a few decades. These observations 
 will give us our first glimpse at how common -- or rare -- life is in the 
 universe. However\, before we can carry out these observations and underst
 and the implications for the abundance of life outside the Solar system\, 
 we must first find the nearest habitable planets to observe\, learn their 
 detailed properties\, and refine our understanding of habitability. In thi
 s talk\, I will describe my group's work to fill in these knowledge gaps b
 y developing new tools and methods to detect and characterize exoplanets. 
 First\, I will show how cutting-edge machine learning methods could help r
 eveal the closest potentially habitable planets to Earth -- ideal for bios
 ignature searches in the 2040s. Next\, I will show how we can learn about 
 extrasolar geochemistry by studying planetary accretion onto white dwarf s
 tars -- allowing us to see whether geological processes important for habi
 tability on Earth take place in other systems. And finally\, I will descri
 be our work to understand what happens to planets when stars run out of nu
 clear fuel and find out whether life can continue in a system after the ho
 st star's death.  
LOCATION:Ryle seminar room + ONLINE - Details to be sent by email
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