Observational Astronomy

We discuss several techniques for the detection of circumbinary planets (CBP, planets that circle two stars at once). This involves detection by transits (which in the case of CBP produce a quasi-periodic signal), eclipsing binary (EB) timing, dynamical timing of EBs, and a new detection technique called the "eclipse echo" EE method. With all these acronyms the detection of CBP around EBs with the EE method should make NASA happy. : )

We have measured the oxygen isotopic composition of the solar wind, captured and returned to Earth by NASA's Genesis mission. The data demonstrate that the Earth, Moon, Mars, and bulk meteorites are depleted in 16O by ~7% relative to the bulk solar system in a non-mass-dependent manner. Gas phase photochemistry, occurring either in the solar nebula or in its progenitor molecular cloud, is most likely responsible for changing the isotopic composition of planetary materials in the inner solar system prior to planetesimal accretion.

Science fiction portrays our Milky Way Galaxy as filled with habitable planets populated by advanced civilizations engaged in interstellar trade and conflict. Back in our real universe, Earth-like planets and alien life have proved elusive. Has science fiction led us astray? NASA has launched a space-borne telescope, Kepler, dedicated to discovering the first Earth-like worlds around other stars. The first results are startling and profound.

Astronomers currently know of over 500 planets orbiting distant stars beyond the confines of our solar system. Of these 500 "extrasolar" planets, most are large gas-rich planets, similar to Jupiter or Saturn. However, more recently, due to improvements in discovery techniques and instrumentation, astronomers have started to discover much smaller extrasolar planets, which are only slightly larger (or more massive) than the Earth. This new class of planets, which have masses of 1-10 times that of the Earth, have come to be known as super-Earths.

The James Webb Space Telescope is the next in the line of NASA's Great Observatories, a scientific successor to both the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. This space observatory will see the first galaxies to form in the universe, and explore how stars are born and give rise to planetary systems. It will study exoplanets, investigating their potential for life. JWST is optimized to detect infrared light, using a segmeted mirror more than 6 m in diameter and operating a million miles away in the cold, dark environment of Earth's Lagrange 2 point.

The O/OREOS (Organism/Organic Exposure to Orbital Stresses) nanosatellite is the first science demonstration mission of the NASA Astrobiology Small-Payloads Program. On November 19, 2010, O/OREOS was launched successfully to a high-inclination (72°), 650-km Earth orbit. O/OREOS consists of 3 conjoined cubesat (each 1000 cm³) modules: a control bus; the Space Environment Survivability of Living Organisms experiment, and the Space Environment Viability of Organics experiment.

Most planets are thought to form through the 'core accretion' process. This process can be probed by comparing the occurrence rates of extrasolar planets of different masses and orbital distances. Until recently, the evidence was limited to massive, Jovian planets. This talk will focus on recent results that probe much smaller planets: 1) the Eta-Earth Survey, a radial velocity planet search that provides a census of nearby extrasolar planets with masses of 3-1000 Earth-masses; and 2) the Kepler mission, which detects transiting planets with sizes down to one Earth radius.

The Sun's outer atmosphere or corona is heated to millions of degrees, considerably hotter than its cool surface or photosphere. Explanations for this long-standing enigma typically invoke the deposition in the corona of non-thermal energy generated by the interplay of convection and magnetic fields. However, the exact physical mechanism driving coronal heating remains unknown.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a large aperture (6.5 meter), cryogenic space telescope with a suite of near and mid-infrared instruments covering the wavelength range of 0.6 µm to 28 µm. JWST’s primary science goal is to detect and characterize the first galaxies. It will also study the assembly of galaxies, stellar and planetary system formation, and the formation and evolution of planetary systems. Dr.

Is there another Earth out there? People have been asking this question for over two thousand years, and we finally stand on the verge of answering it. The Kepler mission (which was featured in several of the past SETI talks) will likely find the first ever Earth-sized planet around the habitable zone of another star. This talk is about the next step after Kepler, which might be a mission to directly image Earth-like planets and analyze their spectra for biomarkers such as oxygen, water, and atmosphere.