Humankind has long wondered about life beyond Earth. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has launched an initiative — bringing together experts from the University of California and beyond — dedicated to searching for life beyond our solar system.
NASA's Nexus for Exoplanet System Science, or “NExSS,” hopes to better understand the various components of an exoplanet, as well as how the planet stars and neighbor planets interact to support life. Its approach focuses on four scientific disciplines — Earth science, planetary science, heliophysics and astrophysics — to help classify the diversity of worlds being discovered, understand the potential habitability of these worlds, and develop tools and technologies needed in the search for life beyond Earth. Teams from these disciplines will engage in 16 projects, funded by NASA, to coordinate exoplanet searches.
One of those projects is led by James Graham, a UC Berkeley professor of astronomy. It will bring together researchers at UC Berkeley and Stanford University and coordinate their efforts with other researchers across the United States. The Berkeley and Stanford teams are involved in two major exoplanet searches: a highly successful search for exoplanets based on the wobble they produce in a star’s motion or the dimming they create when they transit in front of a star; and a newly launched survey by the Gemini Planet Imager to directly take pictures of planets by capturing the heat they give off.
Another project will be spearheaded by astrophysicist Jonathan Fortney, an associate professor of astronomy and astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz. He will lead a team exploring how novel statistical methods can be used to extract information from the light emitted and reflected by planetary atmospheres in order to understand their atmospheric temperatures and the abundance of molecules. Astronomers routinely analyze the light from distant stars by spreading it out into a spectrum of different wavelengths. Fortney is developing tools for analyzing the spectra of distant planets to determine molecular abundances in their atmospheres.
NASA contributed to this report.
