On the Road to a Billion (Killer) Planets
On the Road to a Billion (Killer) Planets: Speaker, Jessie Christiansen, NASA Exoplanet Science Institute.
After thousands of years of speculation, we’ve finally begun discovering planets orbiting other stars. Our Galaxy is full of solar systems, and discoveries are increasing at a rapid pace. While the search continues for the ever-elusive Earth-like exoplanets, the road so far is paved with a dizzying array of new classes of planets and planetary systems, far beyond what we had imagined. Unfortunately for us, most of the exoplanets discovered thus far are remarkably hostile to life on Earth, in a variety of (imaginative) ways. Dr. Christiansen will discuss some of the most interesting discoveries, and introduce the NASA TESS mission, which will provide thousands of new planets (and questions) for us to explore. Hardy Tower, Room 140