Earth Hour Event: Imagining the Earth as an Exoplanet
Join us for the AstroTours Earth Hour Event! The entire evening is free and no registration is required. Room ES1050 in the Earth Science Building (5 Bancroft Avenue). A panel of speakers will help us imagine we are an alien race observing the earth as an exoplanet! uoft.me/astrotours
Astronomers have discovered nearly 4000 planets beyond our Solar System, but for most of these exoplanets our knowledge is limited to their size and how far they orbit from their stars. The next decade of exoplanet astronomy will expand our understanding of these worlds through characterization of their atmospheres and compositions. If any of these planets have life, will astronomers be able to detect it? Before searching for life on other worlds, we must ask ourselves: would we be able to discover life on the Earth if we observed it from afar? Join us for an exciting panel discussion about observing the Earth as an exoplanet with a group of panelists specializing in astronomy, astrobiology, atmospheric science, and planetary science. After the panel discussion, we will have telescope observing, planetarium shows, and interactive demos.