Physics Program Presents

How "Sun-like" Does a Star Need To Be To Host Life?

Our star has provided the perfect conditions for life over the 4.5 billion year lifetime of Earth. Now that the hunt for life outside the solar system is underway, we have to ask the question: is the sun just one example of an ideal host, or is it the only type of viable life-hosting star in the galaxy? The search for new planets outside our solar system has been wildly successful over the last 30 years, and now the hunt for biosignature molecules in the atmospheres of rocky, habitable-zone planets is beginning. To maximize its chances of detecting biosignatures, JWST is targeting small planets around small stars. Do we have any hope of finding life around these small stars, or do their violent magnetic storms make it impossible for life to get started? In this talk, Ruth Angus explores exactly how perfect the sun is for life, and whether we have any hope of finding life on planets orbiting other stars.

---

For more information, call 845-758-6822, or e-mail [email protected].

Time: 12:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

Location: Hegeman 107

Subscribe: Save this Event: Subscribe / .ics File