Exoplanets, Habitability, and the Search for Earth-like Planets

In this talk I will discuss the discoveries made by the Kepler Space Telescope that have completely changed the way we look at planets beyond the solar system. While the first planets outside of our solar system were found only 23 years ago, we now know that planets are ubiquitous in the galaxy. I will discuss the path forward for future exoplanet studies with NASA’s TESS mission and the James Webb Space Telescope to explore the atmospheres of extra-solar planets. Perhaps we will soon find life in the solar system, on the moons of Saturn and Jupiter. Exoplanet research has paved the way forward for the next great discovery in Astronomy. Will it be the discovery of life in the solar system, signs of life around an exoplanet or detection of intelligent life beyond the Earth? It’s only a matter of time before we know. Astronomers at UC Berkeley are leading the pursuit of answers to these questions, including the Berkeley SETI Research Center and Breakthough Listen, which leads a world-wide search for extra-terrestrial intelligence.

Speaker: Howard Isaacson, UC Berkeley

Stargazing follows 8:30 - 10:00