ABSTRACT

New technologies enable the detection and characterization of potentially habitable worlds around other stars, and recent scientific studies define a framework that can be used to confirm (or refute) their habitability and search for signs of life. Exoplanet observations first require blocking the starlight of each planet’s host star in order to detect the faint signal emanating from the planet. These planets are so far away that each planet will be an unresolved point source, rendering geographic information unlikely for the foreseeable future. However, spectroscopic observations of time-variable features can be used to determine the temperatures and compositions of these new worlds. The detection of known biosignatures would even identify the presence of life. We will present the current state of the art in exoplanet instrumentation and science and explain the path forward in the search for life.

About the Speakers:

Shawn Domagal-Goldman: My research focuses on ascertaining as much as possible about "alien planets" using sparse data sets. For the early Earth and other terrestrial planets, I work on utilizing isotopic trends as proxies for atmospheric processes and elemental cycling. This includes work on the fundamental controls on Fe isotope fractionation and on global controls on mass-independent Sulfur isotope fractionation (S-MIF). For extrasolar planets, I help develop (and sometimes critique) spectroscopy-based characterization techniques that can inform us about a planet's surface climate, habitability, and ecosystems.

Michael McElwain: My research is focused on the formation and evolution of exoplanetary systems with the ultimate goal of discovering life in the universe. As part of the Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics Laboratory at Goddard, I am a lead scientist on the Subaru Telescope’s ‘SEEDS’ team that is surveying nearby stars for exoplanets and circumstellar disks. SEEDS has recently discovered two young Jupiter exoplanets and resolved circumstellar disks at various stages of evolution with specialized direct imaging techniques. I am developing high contrast integral field spectrographs for Subaru and upcoming space missions such as AFTA, Exo-C, and ATLAST. These IFSs will enable new spectroscopic characterization capabilities for exoplanetary atmospheres.