Zoom Link for Colloquium 04/18/2023 3:00pm PST
Please email astrobio@uw.edu for zoom presentation password
Presented By Natasha Batalha research scientist in the Exobiology Branch at NASA Ames Research Center
One of NASA’s primary goals is to observationally characterize exoplanet atmospheres, understand the chemical and physical processes of exoplanets and improve the understanding of the origins of exoplanetary systems. Throughout the next decade and beyond, JWST, Roman, future mission concepts, and ground-based telescopes will work towards achieving these goals by interpreting a diverse set of exoplanet atmosphere observations, ranging from hot gas giants to small temperate rocky worlds. Our understanding and interpretation of this full gamut of spectroscopy data will hinge on our ability to accurately link observations to theoretical models. Therefore, it is imperative that our theoretical models are equipped to tackle these problems. In concert with this new era in exoplanetary space science, specifically ushered in by the exquisite data of JWST, NASA has declared 2023 the Year of Open Science. Leading up to this, one of our goals has been to ensure that the community is equipped with findable, accessible, interpretable, and reproducible theoretical models needed to both plan and execute ground-breaking science. Open access tools increase the accessibility of our science, the diversity of ideas, and foster equitable collaborations. I will first discuss the current landscape of open access theoretical exoplanet model development, how they are enabling some of the first JWST results. Then, I will discuss our recent developments in cloud, opacity, and spectroscopy models that are working together to enable effective interpretation of exoplanets. Lastly, we will look ahead to the next decade of open access exoplanet exploration and discuss what gaps remain, and how we can best move towards a population-level understanding of exoplanets