Emerging pictures of other worlds

Come join us for our monthly Astronomy talk!
7:30pm-8pm: Social time with snacks

8pm: Talk begin

Title: Emerging pictures of other worlds

Description :In the past three decades, more than 6000 planets have been discovered orbiting other stars beyond our own Solar System. This has sparked a revolution in astronomy as we realize our Solar System is not alone. However, we still don’t know if our Solar System is rare or unique – the powerful techniques that detect extrasolar planets have discovered systems very different than our own. In recent years, advances in technology have allowed a handful of giant planets to be imaged directly.
I will discuss the first-ever images of other solar systems – and the technology that has allowed us to discover them, such as the Gemini Planet Imager – as well as the future planet-hunting space telescopes. The ultimate goal is detection of a second “pale blue dot” – an Earth twin where we could even see the biosignatures of extrasolar life. Such a discovery will truly complete the evolution of our view of the Universe.

Speaker: Dr. Bruce Macintosh, UC Observatories

About the event:
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