March 20, 2020 8-10PM

Event Type: Lecture and Stargazing
Title: Real Images of Exoplanets (None of that Artist Conception Stuff)
Lecturer: Jason Wang
Position: Postdoctoral Fellow
Institution: Caltech
Abstract:
We have discovered over 4000 planets orbiting other stars. Most of these exoplanets are detected indirectly by measuring the effect each has on its star, so we are unable to take images of them and must rely on artist conceptions to visualize them. Imaging exoplanets is difficult because it is hard to see a faint planet next to the bright star it orbits around. I will discuss how we have been able to take images of some of these worlds by using the largest telescopes in the world. I will show the dozen or so planets we have imaged. In some cases, we can string together multiple images taken over several years and make time-lapse movies of these planets moving in their orbits. I will discuss what we learn from studying these planets directly and the prospects of imaging an Earth-like planet around another star.