Thursday, April 20, 2006, Phillips Auditorium at 1:00 pm
>>> Note special time and place <<<Search for Exo-terrestrial Planets:
Decoding Their Spectra
Dr. Lisa Kaltenegger (CfA)
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Nearly 200 extrasolar planets already have been detected during the
first productive decade of searching, and hundreds, perhaps thousands
more, are anticipated in the coming decades. Extrasolar planets having
roughly Earth-like masses are likely to be detected in a few years.
We will want to know if these planets are habitable, and if they show
signs of life. To do this, we will require direct observations from
the planet photons, in the form of colors and spectra, at both visible
and mid-infrared wavelengths. What can these spectra really tell us?
We will present the techniques for the future planet detections, model spectra for Earth and compare it to recent earthshine & satellite data. We will discuss the information we can extract from those spectra and its challenges, as well as present new models for changing spectra and biomarkers for our planet from its birth until now and investigate their detectability. |
