Astronomy Colloquium - Tyler Robinson

Event time: 
Thursday, September 29, 2016 - 2:30pm
Speaker: 
Tyler D. Robinson
Speaker Institution: 
University of California, Santa Cruz
Talk Title: 
"Characterizing Exoplanets in Reflected Light with Next Generation Space Telescopes"
Event description: 
Atmospheres are the lens through which we understand other worlds. Molecules in planetary atmospheres carve absorption features into reflection, emission, and transmission spectra, allowing us to characterize a world’s composition and thermal state. Atmospheric condensates have a strong influence on the albedos of planets and, thus, are critical for determining the energy balance of a world. Atmospheres can even control the evolution of worlds, either through their role as the valve through which giant planets and brown dwarfs cool over billions of years, or by extinguishing a terrestrial planet’s habitability via a runaway greenhouse. Thus, it is particularly exciting that we are entering into (what will likely be) a long era of exoplanet atmospheric characterization. Several missions or mission concepts now exist for space-based telescopes that will enable the study of exoplanets in reflected light. Coming first in this lineup will be NASA’s WFIRST mission, which will launch in the mid-2020s. In this presentation, I will discuss the exoplanet characterization potential of the WFIRST coronagraphic instrument (CGI), highlighting the possibility to rendezvous the telescope with an external occulting starshadeLessons learned from the WFIRST mission will then pave the way for the science of next-
generation space-based exoplanet observatories, such as the HabEx or LUVOIR concepts. With all of these exciting prospects on the horizon, it is becoming clear that the next two decades of exoplanet science will be as amazing as its first two decades.
Location: 
Watson Center A-51 See map
60 Sachem Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Admission: 
Free