Scientists studying planets beyond our solar system, or exoplanets, across a wide range of disciplines will gather at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, Nov. 4-8 to discuss the latest research. The conference will focus on what we can learn about these mysterious worlds using ground-based observatories and NASA’s forthcoming James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled to launch in 2021. Members of the public and media may watch the conference via livecast at the link below.
The symposium, titled “Rocky Exoplanets in the Era of NASA’s Webb: Theory and Observation” is the second symposium hosted by the Sellers Exoplanet Environments Collaboration at Goddard. SEEC is an interdisciplinary research team investigating exoplanet properties, including atmospheric composition and climate, using Goddard’s broad range of data analysis and modeling resources. The conference is also supported by the Astronomy Department at the University of Maryland, College Park and the Department of Physics at American University in Washington.
Observations of rocky worlds have barely begun. Webb will give us a revolutionary opportunity to further explore these planets, aided by discoveries from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and ground-based surveys. Now is the time to understand what these new observations can tell us about the environments of rocky worlds both known — and yet to be discovered.
To tune into the livecast, go to:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-gsfc-science-and-exploration
For more information on the symposium’s science program, please visit:
For details on the Sellers Exoplanet Environments Collaboration, please visit:
For more information about NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, visit:
Banner image: Artist’s rendering of potentially habitable exoplanets. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (SSC-Caltech)
By Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.