7:30 pm, Tuesday, March 8, 2011Fairmont Lounge, St. John's College
Other Earths and Other Life in the UniverseGeoffrey W. MarcyUniversity of California, Berkeley
Science fiction taught us that our Milky Way Galaxy abounds with habitable planets populated by advanced civilizations engaged in interstellar commerce and conflict. Back in our real universe, Earth-like planets and alien life have proved elusive. Has science fiction led us astray? NASA recently launched a new space-borne telescope, Kepler, dedicated to discovering Earth-like worlds around other stars. The first results will arrive by February 2011 and will be described in this talk. Are any of these worlds suitable for life? What properties make a planet livable? How common is life in the universe, especially intelligent life? New telescopic and biological observations are providing the first answers to these questions. To learn more please visit his webpage. Additional resources for this talk: video.
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