Ithaca College Physics Professor To Discuss The Possibility of Planetary Systems Other Than Ours
ITHACA, NY—Luke Keller—an assistant professor of physics at Ithaca College and a member of a NASA team studying the formation of planetary systems—will give a presentation, “Searching for Extraterrestrial Life: Molecules, UFOs, and Little Green Men,” on Tuesday, Feb. 19. Free and open to the public, the talk will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Emerson Suites, Phillips Hall.
“In the past decade, astronomers have identified over one hundred planets orbiting stars other than the sun,” Keller said. “What are those worlds like and is it likely that they host living organisms?”
Astronomers have also observed organic molecules in interstellar space, Keller added, and many of them orbiting young stars that are probably just now forming planetary systems. How do these systems compare to our own solar system as it was forming? Are distant planetary systems anything like our own? If intelligent life has evolved elsewhere in the galaxy, could extra-terrestrials travel between stars?
“Might they have tried to communicate with us or visit us?” Keller asked. “We can explore these questions by applying some very simple principles of physics, biology, and chemistry. Come join the discussion!”
Part of the college’s Physics Café series, Keller’s talk is also an event in the annual Winter Recess Teacher’s Festival, sponsored by the Ithaca Visitors Bureau.
The Physics Café is a campus-wide lecture series sponsored by the college’s Department of Physics. The goal is to grab and hold the attention of science and nonscience majors by offering talks on exciting and accessible current topics in physics. Past Café lectures have featured the time-warping properties of black holes, the communication abilities of elephants, remote sensing of archaeological sites, and string theory. Informal talk-back sessions with the speaker follow the presentation.
For more information on the series, contact Beth Ellen Clark Joseph, associate professor of physics, at bclark@ithaca.edu or (607) 274 3968.
Originally published in News Releases: Ithaca College Physics Professor To Discuss The Possibility of Planetary Systems Other Than Ours.
