Planetary habitability in the solar system and beyond
- Physics and Astronomy Colloquium
September 5, 2025 3:30 PM -
September 5, 2025 4:30 PM
PAIS 1100
- Host:
- Diana Dragomir
- Presenter:
- Stephen Kane (University of California, Riverside)
Understanding planetary habitability is one of the major challenges of the current scientific era. Though traditionally viewed through the lens of our home planet and its evolutionary history, data from other Solar System objects, and a plethora of planets outside of our Solar System, are shedding new light on habitability research. Discerning terrestrial planet evolution is particularly important in the era of the James Webb Space Telescope, atmospheric characterization, and the preparation for direct imaging missions. In this talk, I will discuss the factors that contribute to planetary habitability, providing specific examples that encompass stellar properties, planetary processes, and orbital dynamics. I will describe how these pieces fit together in an inter-disciplinary pathway that will benefit both the understanding of the evolution of Earth's habitability and identifying possible abodes of life elsewhere throughout the universe.
