Spring 2013 UWAB Faculty Member Eric Agol Discovers Smallest Potentially Habitable Exoplanet Yet! Last week, NASA’s Kepler space telescope team announced the discovery of three “super-Earth” sized planets in the habitable zone, or the area surrounding a star where liquid water may potentially be found. One of these planets, Kepler-62f, was discovered by UWAB’s very own Eric Agol—an associate professor in the UW astronomy department—with help from postdoctoral researcher, Brian Lee. With its relatively small size, 1.4 times the Earth’s radius, and its position squarely within the habitable zone of its star, Kepler 62f is arguably the most potentially habitable planet yet discovered. The paper documenting the discovery was published on April 18th, 2013 in Science Express, the online version of the journal Science.
On April 4th and 5th, 2013, the Department of Earth and Space Sciences (ESS) hosted the 4th Annual Research Gala at the University of Washington. The ESS Gala is a research symposium organized by graduate students that provides both undergraduate and graduate students with an opportunity to present original research to a community of peers, academics, and professionals from industry and government. This year’s event was organized by three Astrobiology students; Kelly Hillbun, Tom Tobin, and Matt Tilley.
Astrobiology Public Lecture: Save the Date! Thursday, May 16th, 2013
ARE WE ALONE? Dr. Jon Jenkins On the evening of May 16th, Dr. Jon Jenkins—analysis lead for NASA's Kepler mission— will give a public talk on the latest discoveries made by the planet-finding spacecraft, and the ongoing search for the most Earthlike planet yet. This event will be free and open to the public. |
Nicole Evans Program Assistant, UWAB evansn@astro.washington.edu
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