The Search for Life in the Universe Dimitar Sasselov Department of Astronomy Harvard Origins of Life Initiative
The Search for Life in the Universe
Dimitar Sasselov
Department of AstronomyHarvard Origins of Life Initiative
Planets orbiting other stars:
340 planets
30 multiple planet systems
discovered as of Feb. ‘09
The Planets - our Solar System
Super-Earths
Rocky vs. Ocean
Super-Earthsvs.Super-Neptunes
(Sasselov 2008)
Imag
e: S
.Cun
diff
Direct Detection of Planets
• Direct detection is challenging because of the technicallimits oftelescopicobservations
Direct Detection of Planets
• Three planetsorbiting HR8799
(Marois et al. 2008)
Transits: A Method for Planet Discovery and Study
Please see YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc3M7on9gwU
Transit & eclipse of HD189733b
Heather Knutson & Dave Charbonneau (2007)
What can we learn from transiting extrasolar planets
HD 209458b: Dimming of light due to transit, observed with HST.
Brown, Charbonneau, Gilliland, Noyes, Burrows (2001)
Tells usDIRECTLY:Planet radius,
INDIRECTLY:Planet densityPlanet composition
The HAT Network: FLWO Mt.Hopkins & Hawaii
(Bakos et al. 2006)
A New super-Neptune: HAT-P-11b
Bak
os, N
oyes
, Pal
, Lat
ham
, Sas
selo
v et
al.
(200
9)
Super-Earths:vs.Super-Neptunes
(Sasselov 2008)
Imag
e: S
.Cun
diff
Model: Seager & Sasselov 2000
Detection: Charbonneau et al 2002
A study of an extrasolar planet
Spitzer Telescope data: Heather Knutson, Charbonneau et al. (2007)
Direct Detection of Thermal EmissionInfrared Eclipses of Hot Jupiters:
Spitzer Space Telescope
New 2 m Spectrum for HD 189733b
(Sw
ain
et a
l. 2
008)
NASA Kepler mission: transit search for planets
Cygnus / Lyra
(RA=19h23m, Dec=44.5d)
KEPLER: Search for Earth Twins
GOAL: to discover ~30 Earths and ~300 super-Earths in habitable zones;
NASA Mission - launch in 2009
Transit Search: ~150,000 stars
Can detect planets like our Earth
Completing the Copernican Revolution:the discovery of “New Earth”
NASA Mission - Mar. 2009
Kepler is ready to launch:
Mar. 5, 2009
Assembly at Ball Aerospace
Kepler expected yields: ~ 300 super-Earths, ~ 30 Earth analogs;
(5-10% good radii)
Kepler is ready to launch:
Mar. 5, 2009
Assembly at Ball Aerospace
Kepler expected yields: ~ 300 super-Earths, ~ 30 Earth analogs;
(5-10% good radii)
New Earths FacilityDiscovery and Surface Conditions on Earth-like planets.
• Synergy with NASA Kepler: which pinpoints exo-Earths and measures radii - we measure mass & mean density, hence composition!
HARPS-NEF spectrograph:• An ongoing Harvard/SAO/Geneva collaboration.
• Femtosecond laser astro-comb - a breakthrough in calibration
Summer 07: Ti:sapphire femtosecond laser comb
Fall 2007: characterize with astro spectrograph
2008: develop high-rep ratecomb for astro applicationsand demo on mountain-top
QuickTime and aᆰTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
QuickTime and aᆰTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
2009: Optimized system for1 cm/s Doppler shift precision
Harvard/Smithsonian/MIT astro-comb project
Li et al. (2008, Nature, Apr.)
Do super-Earths have a high habitability potential ? (as compared to 1 MEarth planets)
• Yes:• many (though, not all) are expected to have same
geophysics & geochemistry as Earth;
• have stable surface conditions - • keep atmospheres easily; • have plate tectonics, hence stable geo-cycles; • stable dynamics (orbits & rotation).
Super-Earths geochemistry,e.g. the Carbonate-silicate cycle, or Sulfur cycle, etc.
Planets of differentinitial conditionsare “driven” to aset of geochemicalequilibria by global geo-cyclesover geologicaltimescales.
e.g., Halevy & Schrag (2008)
Bernard de Fontenelle“Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds” (1686)
Diversity from Uniformity
• All life on Earth shares the same system of molecules and basic processes - the unity of biochemistry.
Despite its amazing diversity!
The Tree of Life (G. Klimt)
What is the diversity of planets ?
Does it imply a diversityof possible biochemistries ?
The two main questions:
The Plurality of Worlds ?
Summary
• Our team’s ambition: - to be the place where the first Earth-like planets are discovered and studied, and to complete the Copernican Revolution.
• To begin writing the next chapter - what is life’s place in the universe?
Origins of Life: the Planetary Perspective
Life as a planetary phenomenon