15 Exoplanets: Habitability and Characterization
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Lecture-29 (PDF)
Life in the Universe Orin Harris and Greg Anderson Department of Physics & Astronomy Northeastern Illinois University Spring 2021 c 2012-2021 G. Anderson., O. Harris Universe: Past, Present & Future – slide 1 / 95 Overview Dating Rocks Life on Earth How Did Life Arise? Life in the Solar System Life Around Other Stars Interstellar Travel SETI Review c 2012-2021 G. Anderson., O. Harris Universe: Past, Present & Future – slide 2 / 95 Dating Rocks Zircon Dating Sedimentary Grand Canyon Life on Earth How Did Life Arise? Life in the Solar System Life Around Dating Rocks Other Stars Interstellar Travel SETI Review c 2012-2021 G. Anderson., O. Harris Universe: Past, Present & Future – slide 3 / 95 Zircon Dating Zircon, (ZrSiO4), minerals incorporate trace amounts of uranium but reject lead. Naturally occuring uranium: • U-238: 99.27% • U-235: 0.72% Decay chains: • 238U −→ 206Pb, τ =4.47 Gyrs. • 235U −→ 207Pb, τ = 704 Myrs. 1956, Clair Camron Patterson dated the Canyon Diablo meteorite: τ =4.55 Gyrs. c 2012-2021 G. Anderson., O. Harris Universe: Past, Present & Future – slide 4 / 95 Dating Sedimentary Rocks • Relative ages: Deeper layers were deposited earlier • Absolute ages: Decay of radioactive isotopes old (deposited last) oldest (depositedolder first) c 2012-2021 G. Anderson., O. Harris Universe: Past, Present & Future – slide 5 / 95 Grand Canyon: Earth History from 200 million - 2 billion yrs ago. Dating Rocks Life on Earth Earth History Timeline Late Heavy Bombardment Hadean Shark Bay Stromatolites Cyanobacteria Q: Earliest Fossils? Life on Earth O2 History Q: Life on Earth How Did Life Arise? Life in the Solar System Life Around Other Stars Interstellar Travel SETI Review c 2012-2021 G. -
The Hunt for Exomoons with Kepler (Hek)
The Astrophysical Journal, 777:134 (17pp), 2013 November 10 doi:10.1088/0004-637X/777/2/134 C 2013. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. THE HUNT FOR EXOMOONS WITH KEPLER (HEK). III. THE FIRST SEARCH FOR AN EXOMOON AROUND A HABITABLE-ZONE PLANET∗ D. M. Kipping1,6, D. Forgan2, J. Hartman3, D. Nesvorny´ 4,G.A.´ Bakos3, A. Schmitt7, and L. Buchhave5 1 Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; [email protected] 2 Scottish Universities Physics Alliance (SUPA), Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh, EH9 3HJ, UK 3 Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 05844, USA 4 Department of Space Studies, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA 5 Niels Bohr Institute, Copenhagen University, Denmark Received 2013 June 4; accepted 2013 September 8; published 2013 October 22 ABSTRACT Kepler-22b is the first transiting planet to have been detected in the habitable zone of its host star. At 2.4 R⊕, Kepler-22b is too large to be considered an Earth analog, but should the planet host a moon large enough to maintain an atmosphere, then the Kepler-22 system may yet possess a telluric world. Aside from being within the habitable zone, the target is attractive due to the availability of previously measured precise radial velocities and low intrinsic photometric noise, which has also enabled asteroseismology studies of the star. For these reasons, Kepler-22b was selected as a target-of-opportunity by the “Hunt for Exomoons with Kepler” (HEK) project. In this work, we conduct a photodynamical search for an exomoon around Kepler-22b leveraging the transits, radial velocities, and asteroseismology plus several new tools developed by the HEK project to improve exomoon searches. -
2018 Workshop on Autonomy for Future NASA Science Missions
NOTE: This document was prepared by a team that participated in the 2018 Workshop on Autonomy for Future NASA Science Missions. It is for informational purposes to inform discussions regarding the use of autonomy in notional science missions and does not specify Agency plans or directives. 2018 Workshop on Autonomy for Future NASA Science Missions: Ocean Worlds Design Reference Mission Reports Table of Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 2 The Ocean Worlds Design Reference Mission Report .................................................................... 3 Ocean Worlds Design Reference Mission Report Summary ........................................................ 20 1 NOTE: This document was prepared by a team that participated in the 2018 Workshop on Autonomy for Future NASA Science Missions. It is for informational purposes to inform discussions regarding the use of autonomy in notional science missions and does not specify Agency plans or directives. Introduction Autonomy is changing our world; commercial enterprises and academic institutions are developing and deploying drones, robots, self-driving vehicles and other autonomous capabilities to great effect here on Earth. Autonomous technologies will also play a critical and enabling role in future NASA science missions, and the Agency requires a specific strategy to leverage these advances and infuse them into its missions. To address this need, NASA sponsored the -
Water, Habitability, and Detectability Steve Desch
Water, Habitability, and Detectability Steve Desch PI, “Exoplanetary Ecosystems” NExSS team School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University with Ariel Anbar, Tessa Fisher, Steven Glaser, Hilairy Hartnett, Stephen Kane, Susanne Neuer, Cayman Unterborn, Sara Walker, Misha Zolotov Astrobiology Science Strategy NAS Committee, Beckmann Center, Irvine, CA (remotely), January 17, 2018 How to look for life on (Earth-like) exoplanets: find oxygen in their atmospheres How Earth-like must an exoplanet be for this to work? Seager et al. (2013) How to look for life on (Earth-like) exoplanets: find oxygen in their atmospheres Oxygen on Earth overwhelmingly produced by photosynthesizing life, which taps Sun’s energy and yields large disequilibrium signature. Caveats: Earth had life for billions of years without O2 in its atmosphere. First photosynthesis to evolve on Earth was anoxygenic. Many ‘false positives’ recognized because O2 has abiotic sources, esp. photolysis (Luger & Barnes 2014; Harman et al. 2015; Meadows 2017). These caveats seem like exceptions to the ‘rule’ that ‘oxygen = life’. How non-Earth-like can an exoplanet be (especially with respect to water content) before oxygen is no longer a biosignature? Part 1: How much water can terrestrial planets form with? Part 2: Are Aqua Planets or Water Worlds habitable? Can we detect life on them? Part 3: How should we look for life on exoplanets? Part 1: How much water can terrestrial planets form with? Theory says: up to hundreds of oceans’ worth of water Trappist-1 system suggests hundreds of oceans, especially around M stars Many (most?) planets may be Aqua Planets or Water Worlds How much water can terrestrial planets form with? Earth- “snow line” Standard Sun distance models of distance accretion suggest abundant water. -
Introduction to Astronomy from Darkness to Blazing Glory
Introduction to Astronomy From Darkness to Blazing Glory Published by JAS Educational Publications Copyright Pending 2010 JAS Educational Publications All rights reserved. Including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Second Edition Author: Jeffrey Wright Scott Photographs and Diagrams: Credit NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, USGS, NOAA, Aames Research Center JAS Educational Publications 2601 Oakdale Road, H2 P.O. Box 197 Modesto California 95355 1-888-586-6252 Website: http://.Introastro.com Printing by Minuteman Press, Berkley, California ISBN 978-0-9827200-0-4 1 Introduction to Astronomy From Darkness to Blazing Glory The moon Titan is in the forefront with the moon Tethys behind it. These are two of many of Saturn’s moons Credit: Cassini Imaging Team, ISS, JPL, ESA, NASA 2 Introduction to Astronomy Contents in Brief Chapter 1: Astronomy Basics: Pages 1 – 6 Workbook Pages 1 - 2 Chapter 2: Time: Pages 7 - 10 Workbook Pages 3 - 4 Chapter 3: Solar System Overview: Pages 11 - 14 Workbook Pages 5 - 8 Chapter 4: Our Sun: Pages 15 - 20 Workbook Pages 9 - 16 Chapter 5: The Terrestrial Planets: Page 21 - 39 Workbook Pages 17 - 36 Mercury: Pages 22 - 23 Venus: Pages 24 - 25 Earth: Pages 25 - 34 Mars: Pages 34 - 39 Chapter 6: Outer, Dwarf and Exoplanets Pages: 41-54 Workbook Pages 37 - 48 Jupiter: Pages 41 - 42 Saturn: Pages 42 - 44 Uranus: Pages 44 - 45 Neptune: Pages 45 - 46 Dwarf Planets, Plutoids and Exoplanets: Pages 47 -54 3 Chapter 7: The Moons: Pages: 55 - 66 Workbook Pages 49 - 56 Chapter 8: Rocks and Ice: -
Last Time: Planet Finding
Last Time: Planet Finding • Radial velocity method • Parent star’s Doppler shi • Planet minimum mass, orbital period, semi- major axis, orbital eccentricity • UnAl Kepler Mission, was the method with the most planets Last Time: Planet Finding • Transits – eclipse of the parent star: • Planetary radius, orbital period, semi-major axis • Now the most common way to find planets Last Time: Planet Finding • Direct Imaging • Planetary brightness, distance from parent star at that moment • About 10 planets detected Last Time: Planet Finding • Lensing • Planetary mass and, distance from parent star at that moment • You want to look towards the center of the galaxy where there is a high density of stars Last Time: Planet Finding • Astrometry • Tiny changes in star’s posiAon are not yet measurable • Would give you planet’s mass, orbit, and eccentricity One more important thing to add: • Giant planets (which are easiest to detect) are preferenAally found around stars that are abundant in iron – “metallicity” • Iron is the easiest heavy element to measure in a star • Heavy-element rich planetary systems make planets more easily 13.2 The Nature of Extrasolar Planets Our goals for learning: • What have we learned about extrasolar planets? • How do extrasolar planets compare with planets in our solar system? Measurable Properties • Orbital period, distance, and orbital shape • Planet mass, size, and density • Planetary temperature • Composition Orbits of Extrasolar Planets • Nearly all of the detected planets have orbits smaller than Jupiter’s. • This is a selection effect: Planets at greater distances are harder to detect with the Doppler technique. Orbits of Extrasolar Planets • Orbits of some extrasolar planets are much more elongated (have a greater eccentricity) than those in our solar system. -
Alien Maps of an Ocean-Bearing World
Alien Maps of an Ocean-Bearing World The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Cowan, Nicolas B., Eric Agol, Victoria S. Meadows, Tyler Robinson, Timothy A. Livengood, Drake Deming, Carey M. Lisse, et al. 2009. Alien maps of an ocean-bearing world. Astrophysical Journal 700(2): 915-923. Published Version doi: 10.1088/0004-637X/700/2/915 Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:4341699 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Open Access Policy Articles, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#OAP Accepted for publication in ApJ A Preprint typeset using LTEX style emulateapj v. 10/09/06 ALIEN MAPS OF AN OCEAN-BEARING WORLD Nicolas B. Cowan1, Eric Agol, Victoria S. Meadows2, Tyler Robinson2, Astronomy Department and Astrobiology Program, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195 Timothy A. Livengood3, Drake Deming2, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 Carey M. Lisse, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, SD/SRE, MP3-E167, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD 20723 Michael F. A’Hearn, Dennis D. Wellnitz, Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park MD 20742 Sara Seager, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Dept of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave. 54-1626, MA 02139 David Charbonneau, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 and the EPOXI Team Accepted for publication in ApJ ABSTRACT When Earth-mass extrasolar planets first become detectable, one challenge will be to determine which of these worlds harbor liquid water, a widely used criterion for habitability. -
The Search for Another Earth – Part II
GENERAL ARTICLE The Search for Another Earth – Part II Sujan Sengupta In the first part, we discussed the various methods for the detection of planets outside the solar system known as the exoplanets. In this part, we will describe various kinds of exoplanets. The habitable planets discovered so far and the present status of our search for a habitable planet similar to the Earth will also be discussed. Sujan Sengupta is an 1. Introduction astrophysicist at Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru. He works on the The first confirmed exoplanet around a solar type of star, 51 Pe- detection, characterisation 1 gasi b was discovered in 1995 using the radial velocity method. and habitability of extra-solar Subsequently, a large number of exoplanets were discovered by planets and extra-solar this method, and a few were discovered using transit and gravi- moons. tational lensing methods. Ground-based telescopes were used for these discoveries and the search region was confined to about 300 light-years from the Earth. On December 27, 2006, the European Space Agency launched 1The movement of the star a space telescope called CoRoT (Convection, Rotation and plan- towards the observer due to etary Transits) and on March 6, 2009, NASA launched another the gravitational effect of the space telescope called Kepler2 to hunt for exoplanets. Conse- planet. See Sujan Sengupta, The Search for Another Earth, quently, the search extended to about 3000 light-years. Both Resonance, Vol.21, No.7, these telescopes used the transit method in order to detect exo- pp.641–652, 2016. planets. Although Kepler’s field of view was only 105 square de- grees along the Cygnus arm of the Milky Way Galaxy, it detected a whooping 2326 exoplanets out of a total 3493 discovered till 2Kepler Telescope has a pri- date. -
Survival of Satellites During the Migration of a Hot Jupiter: the Influence of Tides
EPSC Abstracts Vol. 13, EPSC-DPS2019-1590-1, 2019 EPSC-DPS Joint Meeting 2019 c Author(s) 2019. CC Attribution 4.0 license. Survival of satellites during the migration of a Hot Jupiter: the influence of tides Emeline Bolmont (1), Apurva V. Oza (2), Sergi Blanco-Cuaresma (3), Christoph Mordasini (2), Pierre Auclair-Desrotour (2), Adrien Leleu (2) (1) Observatoire de Genève, Université de Genève, 51 Chemin des Maillettes, CH-1290 Sauverny, Switzerland ([email protected]) (2) Physikalisches Institut, Universität Bern, Gesellschaftsstr. 6, 3012, Bern, Switzerland (3) Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA Abstract 2. The model We explore the origin and stability of extrasolar satel- lites orbiting close-in gas giants, by investigating if the Tidal interactions 1 M⊙ satellite can survive the migration of the planet in the 1 MIo protoplanetary disk. To accomplish this objective, we 1 MJup used Posidonius, a N-Body code with an integrated tidal model, which we expanded to account for the migration of the gas giant in a disk. Preliminary re- Inner edge of disk: ain sults suggest the survival of the satellite is rare, which Type 2 migration: !mig would indicate that if such satellites do exist, capture is a more likely process. Figure 1: Schema of the simulation set up: A Io-like satellite orbits around a Jupiter-like planet with a solar- 1. Introduction like host star. Satellites around Hot Jupiters were first thought to be lost by falling onto their planet over Gyr timescales (e.g. [1]). This is due to the low tidal dissipation factor of Jupiter (Q 106, [10]), likely to be caused by the 2.1. -
The Subsurface Habitability of Small, Icy Exomoons J
A&A 636, A50 (2020) Astronomy https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201937035 & © ESO 2020 Astrophysics The subsurface habitability of small, icy exomoons J. N. K. Y. Tjoa1,?, M. Mueller1,2,3, and F. F. S. van der Tak1,2 1 Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen, Landleven 12, 9747 AD Groningen, The Netherlands e-mail: [email protected] 2 SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Landleven 12, 9747 AD Groningen, The Netherlands 3 Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, Niels Bohrweg 2, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands Received 1 November 2019 / Accepted 8 March 2020 ABSTRACT Context. Assuming our Solar System as typical, exomoons may outnumber exoplanets. If their habitability fraction is similar, they would thus constitute the largest portion of habitable real estate in the Universe. Icy moons in our Solar System, such as Europa and Enceladus, have already been shown to possess liquid water, a prerequisite for life on Earth. Aims. We intend to investigate under what thermal and orbital circumstances small, icy moons may sustain subsurface oceans and thus be “subsurface habitable”. We pay specific attention to tidal heating, which may keep a moon liquid far beyond the conservative habitable zone. Methods. We made use of a phenomenological approach to tidal heating. We computed the orbit averaged flux from both stellar and planetary (both thermal and reflected stellar) illumination. We then calculated subsurface temperatures depending on illumination and thermal conduction to the surface through the ice shell and an insulating layer of regolith. We adopted a conduction only model, ignoring volcanism and ice shell convection as an outlet for internal heat. -
Livre-Ovni.Pdf
UN MONDE BIZARRE Le livre des étranges Objets Volants Non Identifiés Chapitre 1 Paranormal Le paranormal est un terme utilisé pour qualifier un en- mé n'est pas considéré comme paranormal par les semble de phénomènes dont les causes ou mécanismes neuroscientifiques) ; ne sont apparemment pas explicables par des lois scien- tifiques établies. Le préfixe « para » désignant quelque • Les différents moyens de communication avec les chose qui est à côté de la norme, la norme étant ici le morts : naturels (médiumnité, nécromancie) ou ar- consensus scientifique d'une époque. Un phénomène est tificiels (la transcommunication instrumentale telle qualifié de paranormal lorsqu'il ne semble pas pouvoir que les voix électroniques); être expliqué par les lois naturelles connues, laissant ain- si le champ libre à de nouvelles recherches empiriques, à • Les apparitions de l'au-delà (fantômes, revenants, des interprétations, à des suppositions et à l'imaginaire. ectoplasmes, poltergeists, etc.) ; Les initiateurs de la parapsychologie se sont donné comme objectif d'étudier d'une manière scientifique • la cryptozoologie (qui étudie l'existence d'espèce in- ce qu'ils considèrent comme des perceptions extra- connues) : classification assez injuste, car l'objet de sensorielles et de la psychokinèse. Malgré l'existence de la cryptozoologie est moins de cultiver les mythes laboratoires de parapsychologie dans certaines universi- que de chercher s’il y a ou non une espèce animale tés, notamment en Grande-Bretagne, le paranormal est inconnue réelle derrière une légende ; généralement considéré comme un sujet d'étude peu sé- rieux. Il est en revanche parfois associé a des activités • Le phénomène ovni et ses dérivés (cercle de culture). -
Biosignatures Search in Habitable Planets
galaxies Review Biosignatures Search in Habitable Planets Riccardo Claudi 1,* and Eleonora Alei 1,2 1 INAF-Astronomical Observatory of Padova, Vicolo Osservatorio, 5, 35122 Padova, Italy 2 Physics and Astronomy Department, Padova University, 35131 Padova, Italy * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 2 August 2019; Accepted: 25 September 2019; Published: 29 September 2019 Abstract: The search for life has had a new enthusiastic restart in the last two decades thanks to the large number of new worlds discovered. The about 4100 exoplanets found so far, show a large diversity of planets, from hot giants to rocky planets orbiting small and cold stars. Most of them are very different from those of the Solar System and one of the striking case is that of the super-Earths, rocky planets with masses ranging between 1 and 10 M⊕ with dimensions up to twice those of Earth. In the right environment, these planets could be the cradle of alien life that could modify the chemical composition of their atmospheres. So, the search for life signatures requires as the first step the knowledge of planet atmospheres, the main objective of future exoplanetary space explorations. Indeed, the quest for the determination of the chemical composition of those planetary atmospheres rises also more general interest than that given by the mere directory of the atmospheric compounds. It opens out to the more general speculation on what such detection might tell us about the presence of life on those planets. As, for now, we have only one example of life in the universe, we are bound to study terrestrial organisms to assess possibilities of life on other planets and guide our search for possible extinct or extant life on other planetary bodies.