Sarah Rugheimer
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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. -
Materials Challenges for the Starshot Lightsail
PERSPECTIVE https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-018-0075-8 Materials challenges for the Starshot lightsail Harry A. Atwater 1*, Artur R. Davoyan1, Ognjen Ilic1, Deep Jariwala1, Michelle C. Sherrott 1, Cora M. Went2, William S. Whitney2 and Joeson Wong 1 The Starshot Breakthrough Initiative established in 2016 sets an audacious goal of sending a spacecraft beyond our Solar System to a neighbouring star within the next half-century. Its vision for an ultralight spacecraft that can be accelerated by laser radiation pressure from an Earth-based source to ~20% of the speed of light demands the use of materials with extreme properties. Here we examine stringent criteria for the lightsail design and discuss fundamental materials challenges. We pre- dict that major research advances in photonic design and materials science will enable us to define the pathways needed to realize laser-driven lightsails. he Starshot Breakthrough Initiative has challenged a broad nanocraft, we reveal a balance between the high reflectivity of the and interdisciplinary community of scientists and engineers sail, required for efficient photon momentum transfer; large band- Tto design an ultralight spacecraft or ‘nanocraft’ that can reach width, accounting for the Doppler shift; and the low mass necessary Proxima Centauri b — an exoplanet within the habitable zone of for the spacecraft to accelerate to near-relativistic speeds. We show Proxima Centauri and 4.2 light years away from Earth — in approxi- that nanophotonic structures may be well-suited to meeting such mately -
Breakthrough Propulsion Study Assessing Interstellar Flight Challenges and Prospects
Breakthrough Propulsion Study Assessing Interstellar Flight Challenges and Prospects NASA Grant No. NNX17AE81G First Year Report Prepared by: Marc G. Millis, Jeff Greason, Rhonda Stevenson Tau Zero Foundation Business Office: 1053 East Third Avenue Broomfield, CO 80020 Prepared for: NASA Headquarters, Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) and NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Washington, DC 20546 June 2018 Millis 2018 Grant NNX17AE81G_for_CR.docx pg 1 of 69 ABSTRACT Progress toward developing an evaluation process for interstellar propulsion and power options is described. The goal is to contrast the challenges, mission choices, and emerging prospects for propulsion and power, to identify which prospects might be more advantageous and under what circumstances, and to identify which technology details might have greater impacts. Unlike prior studies, the infrastructure expenses and prospects for breakthrough advances are included. This first year's focus is on determining the key questions to enable the analysis. Accordingly, a work breakdown structure to organize the information and associated list of variables is offered. A flow diagram of the basic analysis is presented, as well as more detailed methods to convert the performance measures of disparate propulsion methods into common measures of energy, mass, time, and power. Other methods for equitable comparisons include evaluating the prospects under the same assumptions of payload, mission trajectory, and available energy. Missions are divided into three eras of readiness (precursors, era of infrastructure, and era of breakthroughs) as a first step before proceeding to include comparisons of technology advancement rates. Final evaluation "figures of merit" are offered. Preliminary lists of mission architectures and propulsion prospects are provided. -
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. -
Optimizing a Solar Sailing Polar Mission to the Sun
Optimizing a Solar Sailing Polar Mission to the Sun Development and Application of a New Ant Colony Optimizer Giacomo Acciarini Optimizing a Solar Sailing Polar Mission to the Sun Development and Application of a New Ant Colony Optimizer by Giacomo Acciarini to obtain the degree of Master of Science at the Delft University of Technology, to be defended publicly on Friday November 1, 2019 at 1:30 PM. Student number: 4754883 Project duration: January 4, 2019 – November 1, 2019 Thesis committee: Prof. Dr. P. Visser, TU Delft, chair Dr. ir. E. Mooij, TU Delft, supervisor Dr. F. Oliviero, TU Delft Dr. D. Izzo, European Space Agency This thesis is confidential and cannot be made public until December 31, 2020. An electronic version of this thesis is available at http://repository.tudelft.nl/. Cover image credit: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jun/11/ spacewatch-lightsail-deploys-solar-sail, date of access: August 2019. ii Preface After months of hard work, I am proud to present to you my thesis to obtain the Master of Science degree at the faculty of Aerospace Engineering, at the Delft University of Technology. It has been an amazing experience that allowed me to come in contact with many researchers from all over the world who share my same love and interest in space exploration. I have always felt privileged and honored to be able to study such a marvelous and challenging subject. First of all, I would thus like to thank my parents, Andrea and Manuela, and my sister, Chiara, without your help and support I would have never been able to reach this point. -
Abstracts Connecting to the Boston University Network
20th Cambridge Workshop: Cool Stars, Stellar Systems, and the Sun July 29 - Aug 3, 2018 Boston / Cambridge, USA Abstracts Connecting to the Boston University Network 1. Select network ”BU Guest (unencrypted)” 2. Once connected, open a web browser and try to navigate to a website. You should be redirected to https://safeconnect.bu.edu:9443 for registration. If the page does not automatically redirect, go to bu.edu to be brought to the login page. 3. Enter the login information: Guest Username: CoolStars20 Password: CoolStars20 Click to accept the conditions then log in. ii Foreword Our story starts on January 31, 1980 when a small group of about 50 astronomers came to- gether, organized by Andrea Dupree, to discuss the results from the new high-energy satel- lites IUE and Einstein. Called “Cool Stars, Stellar Systems, and the Sun,” the meeting empha- sized the solar stellar connection and focused discussion on “several topics … in which the similarity is manifest: the structures of chromospheres and coronae, stellar activity, and the phenomena of mass loss,” according to the preface of the resulting, “Special Report of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.” We could easily have chosen the same topics for this meeting. Over the summer of 1980, the group met again in Bonas, France and then back in Cambridge in 1981. Nearly 40 years on, I am comfortable saying these workshops have evolved to be the premier conference series for cool star research. Cool Stars has been held largely biennially, alternating between North America and Europe. Over that time, the field of stellar astro- physics has been upended several times, first by results from Hubble, then ROSAT, then Keck and other large aperture ground-based adaptive optics telescopes. -
Thea Kozakis
Thea Kozakis Present Address Email: [email protected] Space Sciences Building Room 514 Phone: (908) 892-6384 Ithaca, NY 14853 Education Masters Astrophysics; Cornell University, Ithaca, NY Graduate Student in Astronomy and Space Sciences, minor in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences B.S. Physics, B.S. Astrophysics; College of Charleston, Charleston, SC Double major (B.S.) in Astrophysics and Physics, May 2013, summa cum laude Minor in Mathematics Research Dr. Lisa Kaltenegger, Carl Sagan Institute, Cornell University, Spring 2015 - present Projects Studying biosignatures of habitable zone planets orbiting white dwarfs using a • coupled climate-photochemistry atmospheric model Searching the Kepler field for evolved stars using GALEX UV data • Dr. James Lloyd, Cornell University, Fall 2013 - present UV/rotation analysis of Kepler field stars • Study the age-rotation-activity relationship of 20,000 Kepler field stars using UV data from GALEX and publicly available rotation⇠ periods Dr. Joseph Carson, College of Charleston, Spring 2011 - Summer 2013 SEEDS Exoplanet Survey • Led data reduction e↵orts for the SEEDS High-Mass stars group using the Subaru Telescope’s HiCIAO adaptive optics instrument to directly image exoplanets Hubble DICE Survey • Developed data reduction pipeline for Hubble STIS data to image exoplanets and debris disks around young stars Publications Direct Imaging Discovery of a ‘Super-Jupiter’ Around the late B-Type Star • And, J. Carson, C. Thalmann, M. Janson, T. Kozakis, et al., 2013, Astro- physical Journal Letters, 763, 32 -
The Sustainability of Habitability on Terrestrial Planets
PUBLICATIONS Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets REVIEW ARTICLE The sustainability of habitability on terrestrial planets: 10.1002/2016JE005134 Insights, questions, and needed measurements from Mars Special Section: for understanding the evolution of Earth-like worlds JGR-Planets 25th Anniversary B. L. Ehlmann1,2, F. S. Anderson3, J. Andrews-Hanna3, D. C. Catling4, P. R. Christensen5, B. A. Cohen6, C. D. Dressing1,7, C. S. Edwards8, L. T. Elkins-Tanton5, K. A. Farley1, C. I. Fassett6, W. W. Fischer1, Key Points: 2 2 3 9 10 11 2 • Understanding the solar system A. A. Fraeman , M. P. Golombek , V. E. Hamilton , A. G. Hayes , C. D. K. Herd , B. Horgan ,R.Hu , terrestrial planets is crucial for B. M. Jakosky12, J. R. Johnson13, J. F. Kasting14, L. Kerber2, K. M. Kinch15, E. S. Kite16, H. A. Knutson1, interpretation of the history and J. I. Lunine9, P. R. Mahaffy17, N. Mangold18, F. M. McCubbin19, J. F. Mustard20, P. B. Niles19, habitability of rocky exoplanets 21 22 2 1 23 24 25 • Mars’ accessible geologic record C. Quantin-Nataf , M. S. Rice , K. M. Stack , D. J. Stevenson , S. T. Stewart , M. J. Toplis , T. Usui , extends back past 4 Ga and possibly B. P. Weiss26, S. C. Werner27, R. D. Wordsworth28,29, J. J. Wray30, R. A. Yingst31, Y. L. Yung1,2, and to as long ago as 5 Myr after solar K. J. Zahnle32 system formation • Mars is key for testing theories of 1Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA, 2Jet Propulsion planetary evolution and processes 3 that sustain habitability -
Searching the Cosmos in Carl Sagan's Name at Cornell 9 May 2015
Searching the cosmos in Carl Sagan's name at Cornell 9 May 2015 more meaningful than a statue or a building." The institute was founded last year with the arrival at Cornell of astrophysicist Lisa Kaltenegger, its director. But it had been called the Institute for Pale Blue Dots as it geared up for work. The announcement Saturday morning by Druyan represents the institute's official launch. Druyan said she suggested the name change to Kaltenegger, who she described as a "kindred spirit" to Sagan. Kaltenegger happily agreed, Druyan said. © 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. In this 1981 file photo, astronomer Carl Sagan speaks during a lecture. On Saturday, May 9, 2015, Cornell University announced that its Institute for Pale Blue Dots is to be renamed the Carl Sagan Institute. Sagan was famous for extolling the grandeur of the universe in books and shows like "Cosmos." He died in 1996 at age 62. (AP Photo/Castaneda, File) The Cornell University institute searching for signs of life among the billions and billions of stars in the sky is being named for—who else?—Carl Sagan. Cornell announced Saturday that the Carl Sagan Institute will honor the famous astronomer who taught there for three decades. Sagan, known for extolling the grandeur of the universe in books and shows like "Cosmos," died in 1996 at age 62. He had been battling bone marrow disease. Researchers from different disciplines including astrophysics, geology and biology work together at the institute to search for signs of extraterrestrial life. "This is an honor worth waiting for because it's really commensurate with who Carl was," Ann Druyan, Sagan's wife and collaborator, told The Associated Press. -
DIRECT FUSION DRIVE for Interstellar Exploration S.A
Journal of the British Interplanetary Society VOLUME 72 NO.2 FEBRUARY 2019 General interstellar issue DIRECT FUSION DRIVE for Interstellar Exploration S.A. Cohen et al. INTERMEDIATE BEAMERS FOR STARSHOT: Probes to the Sun’s Inner Gravity Focus James Benford & Gregory Matloff REALITY, THE BREAKTHROUGH INITIATIVES and Prospects for Colonization of Space Edd Wheeler A GRAVITATIONAL WAVE TRANSMITTER A.A. Jackson and Gregory Benford CORRESPONDENCE www.bis-space.com ISSN 0007-084X PUBLICATION DATE: 29 APRIL 2019 Submitting papers International Advisory Board to JBIS JBIS welcomes the submission of technical Rachel Armstrong, Newcastle University, UK papers for publication dealing with technical Peter Bainum, Howard University, USA reviews, research, technology and engineering in astronautics and related fields. Stephen Baxter, Science & Science Fiction Writer, UK James Benford, Microwave Sciences, California, USA Text should be: James Biggs, The University of Strathclyde, UK ■ As concise as the content allows – typically 5,000 to 6,000 words. Shorter papers (Technical Notes) Anu Bowman, Foundation for Enterprise Development, California, USA will also be considered; longer papers will only Gerald Cleaver, Baylor University, USA be considered in exceptional circumstances – for Charles Cockell, University of Edinburgh, UK example, in the case of a major subject review. Ian A. Crawford, Birkbeck College London, UK ■ Source references should be inserted in the text in square brackets – [1] – and then listed at the Adam Crowl, Icarus Interstellar, Australia end of the paper. Eric W. Davis, Institute for Advanced Studies at Austin, USA ■ Illustration references should be cited in Kathryn Denning, York University, Toronto, Canada numerical order in the text; those not cited in the Martyn Fogg, Probability Research Group, UK text risk omission. -
Abstracts of Extreme Solar Systems 4 (Reykjavik, Iceland)
Abstracts of Extreme Solar Systems 4 (Reykjavik, Iceland) American Astronomical Society August, 2019 100 — New Discoveries scope (JWST), as well as other large ground-based and space-based telescopes coming online in the next 100.01 — Review of TESS’s First Year Survey and two decades. Future Plans The status of the TESS mission as it completes its first year of survey operations in July 2019 will bere- George Ricker1 viewed. The opportunities enabled by TESS’s unique 1 Kavli Institute, MIT (Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States) lunar-resonant orbit for an extended mission lasting more than a decade will also be presented. Successfully launched in April 2018, NASA’s Tran- siting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is well on its way to discovering thousands of exoplanets in orbit 100.02 — The Gemini Planet Imager Exoplanet Sur- around the brightest stars in the sky. During its ini- vey: Giant Planet and Brown Dwarf Demographics tial two-year survey mission, TESS will monitor more from 10-100 AU than 200,000 bright stars in the solar neighborhood at Eric Nielsen1; Robert De Rosa1; Bruce Macintosh1; a two minute cadence for drops in brightness caused Jason Wang2; Jean-Baptiste Ruffio1; Eugene Chiang3; by planetary transits. This first-ever spaceborne all- Mark Marley4; Didier Saumon5; Dmitry Savransky6; sky transit survey is identifying planets ranging in Daniel Fabrycky7; Quinn Konopacky8; Jennifer size from Earth-sized to gas giants, orbiting a wide Patience9; Vanessa Bailey10 variety of host stars, from cool M dwarfs to hot O/B 1 KIPAC, Stanford University (Stanford, California, United States) giants. 2 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology TESS stars are typically 30–100 times brighter than (Pasadena, California, United States) those surveyed by the Kepler satellite; thus, TESS 3 Astronomy, California Institute of Technology (Pasadena, Califor- planets are proving far easier to characterize with nia, United States) follow-up observations than those from prior mis- 4 Astronomy, U.C. -
Examining Explanations for the Strange Phenomena Encountered by U.S
AIRCRAFT DESIGN 14 LUNAR SPACESUITS 18 SUPERSONICS 36 Perlan 2 glider — explained More fl exibility for astronauts Listening for X-59’s sonic thump Mystery sightings Examining explanations for the strange phenomena encountered by U.S. Navy pilots. PAGE 26 NOVEMBER 2019 | A publication of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics | aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org The Premier Global, Commercial, Civil, Military and Emergent Space Conference Where Ideas Launch • Connections Are Made • Business Gets Done! SpaceSymposium.org SAVE $600 – Register Today for Best Savings! Special Military Rates! +1.800.691.4000 Share: FEATURES | November 2019 MORE AT aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org The Premier Global, Commercial, Civil, Military and Emergent Space Conference 14 18 36 26 Aiming for Exploring the Planning for 90,000 feet moon in new the sound of Mystery phenomena spacesuits Designers of Perlan 2 supersonic fl ight We look at possible explanations for those overcame formidable Former astronaut How NASA’s Low Boom fast and agile objects zipping across F/A-18 engineering Tom Jones examines Flight Demonstrator screens. challenges to NASA’s plans to give will test the public’s create a glider that explorers suits that tolerance for sonic By Jan Tegler and Cat Hofacker has reached the will let them walk, thumps. stratosphere and will lope, crouch and even try to beat its own kneel. By Jan Tegler record next year. Where Ideas Launch • Connections Are Made • Business Gets Done! By Tom Jones By Keith Button SpaceSymposium.org SAVE $600 – Register Today for