Sara Seager has pledged to spend the rest of her life searching for another Earth among the billions of stars that inhabit our night sky.
香蕉视频直播淭hat香蕉视频直播檚 our goal: to find life out there,香蕉视频直播� the Toronto-born astrophysicist says in a distinctly assured monotone, as if describing a walk to the local mall.
The highly acclaimed professor, who is scheduled to deliver a lecture on the heady topic later this week in Halifax, says the lofty objective is well within reach for the first time in human history.
And she should know.
香蕉视频直播淔orty years ago, people got laughed at when they searched for exoplanets,香蕉视频直播� she says, referring to planets found beyond our solar system. 香蕉视频直播淚t was considered incredibly fringe because it香蕉视频直播檚 so hard 香蕉视频直播� But there香蕉视频直播檚 this shifting line of what is crazy.香蕉视频直播�
Seager, who teaches at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is considered one of the world香蕉视频直播檚 leading experts on exoplanets. She has been profiled by The New York Times, CNN and Cosmopolitan, and won a MacArthur 香蕉视频直播済enius香蕉视频直播� grant.
In the field of astronomy, she is a certified rock star.
Ultimately, her research could help answer some of the biggest questions facing humankind. But first, Seager and her team have plenty of work to do.
And that香蕉视频直播檚 what she plans to talk about Friday when she delivers the third annual MacLennan Memorial Lecture at Saint Mary香蕉视频直播檚 University.
Her mission to find alien life somewhere in the cosmos may sound like it was borrowed from an episode of 香蕉视频直播淭he-X Files,香蕉视频直播� but recent advances in astrophysics suggest this pioneer of planet hunting has good reason to be optimistic.
Prior to the 1990s, only two planets 香蕉视频直播� Uranus and Neptune 香蕉视频直播� had been discovered in the 4,000 years since the Babylonians looked up and recorded the celestial comings and goings of visible stars and planets. Pluto wasn香蕉视频直播檛 spotted until 1930, but it was demoted to dwarf planet status in 2006.
There was a huge breakthrough in 1995, when two Swiss astronomers announced they had found the first planet outside our solar system orbiting a sun-like star. They called it 51 Pegasi B. Its existence was inferred by measurements showing its gravity is causing the star to wobble.
And then in 2014, NASA香蕉视频直播檚 Kepler Space Telescope was used to find Kepler-186f, the first Earth-sized exoplanet in a star香蕉视频直播檚 so-called Goldilocks zone.
香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 where a planet is not too hot, and not too cold, but just right for life,香蕉视频直播� says Seager.
Thanks to rapidly improving computers and detection equipment, scientists have found more than 3,600 exoplanets in the past 30 years.
However, only 52 of them are in that habitable zone, where water in its liquid form may exist.
But being in the zone doesn香蕉视频直播檛 automatically mean an Earth-sized exoplanet could support life as we know it.
香蕉视频直播淯ntil we can study the planet香蕉视频直播檚 atmosphere 香蕉视频直播� we really won香蕉视频直播檛 know anything about that planet,香蕉视频直播� says Seager. 香蕉视频直播淚t doesn香蕉视频直播檛 really mean anything until we get a better look.香蕉视频直播�
That香蕉视频直播檚 not as easy at it sounds. Many of the recently discovered exoplanets are too far from Earth for direct observation.
But a tantalizing solution may have presented itself in August 2016, when researchers at the European Southern Observatory in Chile detected an Earth-sized exoplanet orbiting the habitable zone of the red dwarf Proxima Centauri, our solar system香蕉视频直播檚 nearest neighbouring star at only 4.2 light years away.
That香蕉视频直播檚 about 40 trillion kilometres away, but it香蕉视频直播檚 still about 10 times closer than Kepler-186f.
香蕉视频直播淚t was right next door, although very hard to find,香蕉视频直播� says Seager. 香蕉视频直播淚n astronomy, close really matters.香蕉视频直播�
Still, directly observing a relatively small planet that closely orbits a much larger star is tough because the intense light generated by the star must be blocked.
香蕉视频直播淧lanets don香蕉视频直播檛 have energy,香蕉视频直播� says Seager, 香蕉视频直播淎ll they香蕉视频直播檙e doing is reflecting light from the star. They香蕉视频直播檙e like the little kid on the block 香蕉视频直播� It香蕉视频直播檚 hard for them to shine.香蕉视频直播�
That香蕉视频直播檚 why the planetary scientist is working with NASA and Northrop Grumman to develop Starshade, which will be shaped like a daisy and stand taller than a 15-storey building. Deployed by spacecraft, the petal-shaped panels 香蕉视频直播� first proposed in the early 1960s 香蕉视频直播� would block waves of starlight that would otherwise overwhelm an accompanying space telescope.
香蕉视频直播淭hat香蕉视频直播檚 my favourite project,香蕉视频直播� says Seager. 香蕉视频直播淥ne of my life香蕉视频直播檚 goals would be to make Starshade happen.香蕉视频直播�
She wants to adapt a new space telescope 香蕉视频直播� the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope or WFirst 香蕉视频直播� to make it 香蕉视频直播淪tarshade ready香蕉视频直播� by the time it is ready for launch in the 2020s.
With Starshade, Seager hopes to study the atmospheres of exoplanets to determine if they have oxygen and other gasses that may indicate they are supporting alien life.
香蕉视频直播淲hen I help find all these planets, the goal is to 香蕉视频直播� look for signs of life by way of gasses (like oxygen) that don香蕉视频直播檛 belong,香蕉视频直播� she says. 香蕉视频直播淲e won香蕉视频直播檛 even be 100 per cent sure that it香蕉视频直播檚 made by life 香蕉视频直播� And if it is, we won香蕉视频直播檛 know if it香蕉视频直播檚 intelligent beings or just slime.香蕉视频直播�
Seager recalls her introduction to astronomy, while growing up in Toronto, was attending her first outdoor 香蕉视频直播渟tar party,香蕉视频直播� where amateur astronomers gather under dark skies to share their knowledge 香蕉视频直播� and their telescopes.
Though her father David 香蕉视频直播� a well-known expert in hair-transplant procedures 香蕉视频直播� would try to dissuade her from becoming an astronomer, Seager would later earn a bachelor of science in math and physics at the University of Toronto, before earning a PhD in astronomy at Harvard.
She says the math suggests there is life out there. But finding it won香蕉视频直播檛 be easy, given the vastness of space.
香蕉视频直播淚 know that it could be a multigenerational search,香蕉视频直播� Seager says. 香蕉视频直播淚t could be a really, really long time.香蕉视频直播�
Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press
