April 20, 2018 8-10PM

Event Type: Lecture and Stargazing
Title: On the Road to a Billion Planets
Lecturer: Jessie Christiansen
Position: Staff Scientist
Institution: IPAC
Abstract:
Over the last 30 years, the number of planets discovered outside our solar system has increased exponentially. We are now poised at an incredibly exciting time where we are moving from characterization of these individual exoplanets to studying their populations. What we are finding over and over again is that nature has more imagination than we do! The number and configurations of solar systems we have found has, in fact, raised far more questions than it has answered. I will discuss some of the most interesting discoveries, and introduce the NASA TESS mission, which will provide thousands of new planets (and questions!) for us to explore.