Breakfast Lecture Series: Aomawa Shields

The Climates of Other Worlds: Searching For the Next Habitable Planet
Aomawa Shields 

Clare Boothe Luce Assistant Professor, Department of Physics & Astronomy

 

The recent discovery of numerous potentially habitable planets orbiting low-mass stars signals a major planetary population that may be the primary environment explored in the search for life beyond the Solar System. However, many factors and processes that affect planetary climate must be understood to accurately determine a planet’s habitability potential. Dr. Shields will provide an inside look into the ongoing search for another planet in the universe where life exists and describe the methods that her research group uses to explore the possible climates of extrasolar planets to identify those most capable of supporting life.