03/14/2022
By Lynne Schaufenbil

The Lowell Center for Space Science & Technology and Space Science Lab invites you to a virtual seminar by Kaitlin Rasmussen on Thursday, March 31 at 11 a.m.

Are we alone in the universe? Sixty years ago, Frank Drake posed a unique answer to that question, positing that, given a handful of statistics about the local galaxy, one could calculate the number of intelligent civilizations currently residing in the Milky Way. Today, that equation poses a serious question to astrophysics: how can we better constrain those statistics?

First, Rasmussen will introduce the concept of exoplanet spectroscopy and discuss the latest methods and challenges of the field. Then, she will talk about the "n_e" factor: the number of planets which could support life. Her present work studying the atmospheres of hot- and ultra-hot Jupiters at multiple orbital phases serves as a perfect testing ground for the statistical methods which will one day constrain the atmospheres of Earth-sized planets, answering the question: Is it Earth-like? Venus-like? Mars-like?

She will also discuss the "f_l" factor, the fraction of habitable planets which could support life. One of the biggest challenges faced by the next generation of telescopes will be the massive degeneracy of possible atmospheres on Earth- and super-Earth-sized worlds. Rasumssen will discuss new and intriguing techniques for characterizing both biosignatures and anti-biosignatures in the very-low signal-to-noise regime and address the question: Could life develop on a given planet?

Bio: Kaitlin Rasmussen received her undergraduate degree in Astrophysics from Florida State University, and her Ph.D. in Physics from University of Notre Dame. She is currently a postdoc working with Prof. Vikki Meadows at University of Washington, where she focuses on simulating detections of Earth-sized planets with the next generation of telescopes

For the Zoom link, please contact Lynne_Schaufenbil@uml.edu