Finding a New Earth: Exoplanets and the Habitable Zone

Over the past two decades, more than 1,500 new planetary systems have been discovered, many of which include planets quite different from those in our own Solar System. A key step toward finding "Earth 2.0" will be to identify rocky planets that occupy the "Habitable Zone" of their stars. Dr. Kane will describe what the idea of a Habitable Zone means and show examples of known planets that lie in their star's Habitable Zone (even if the star is not like our sun). He will show how comparative planetology can be used for determining those properties of alien planets that dominate habitability.

Speaker: Stephen Kane, San Francisco State University