Physics Colloquium - Professor David Charbonneau

The Terrestrial Planets of Other Stars

Abstract

When exoplanets transit their parent stars, we are granted an unparalleled opportunity to detect their presence and study their bulk properties. I will review recent analyses of data from the NASA Kepler Mission to deduce the rate of occurrence of small planets. I will then present follow up measurements of the acceleration of a subset of the host stars, which allows us to estimate the planetary masses and hence densities. Finally, I will discuss recent findings from the MEarth Project and the NASA TESS Mission, which seek to discover the most spectroscopically accessible terrestrial exoplanets. Our recent discovery of a temperate rocky world orbiting a nearby small star provides an unprecedented opportunity to detect the molecules present in the atmosphere of a terrestrial exoplanet.

Event Details

Date/Time:

  • Date: 
    Monday, April 1, 2019 - 3:00pm to 4:00pm

Location:
Pettit Building Conference Rooms 102A&B

For More Information Contact

Professor Gongjie Li