Weather and Climate on Planets Orbiting Other Stars: A New Frontier in Planetary Science
When
Where
Dr. Adam Showman
Professor
Department of Planetary Sciences
Lunar and Planetary Laboratory
"Weather and Climate on Planets Orbiting Other Stars: A New Frontier in Planetary Science"
An exploding new scientific field -- the discovery and characterization of planets around other stars -- is expanding the boundaries of planetary science far beyond the confines of our Solar System. To date, nearly 3000 of these so-called "exoplanets" have been discovered. It is an amazing moment: for the first time in human history, the number of planets known outside the Solar System greatly exceeds the number known inside it. Several dozen of these newly discovered exoplanets are bright and close enough that, amazingly, we are able to characterize the composition, temperature, climate, and weather in their atmospheres. In this talk I will survey this exciting new field and show how it holds promise of revealing the broad range of possible climates and Earth's place in it.