[Lecture] Planets Overlooked and Misunderstood
May. 25, 2022
Speaker: Daniel Koll, assistant professor, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Peking University
Time: 15:00-16:00, May 25, 2022 (GMT+8)
Venue: Tencent Meeting ID：427 2288 0471
Abstract: Exoplanet science is often described as a quest to discover life around other stars. The story goes, astronomers have already found hundreds of potential exo-Earths and it is only a matter of time before we find just the right planet that hosts just the right mix of biosignaturegases in its atmosphere to let us say we are not alone in the galaxy. Missing from this story, however, are all the complications and nuances that make planets interesting. In this seminar I will present recent results from my research group to argue that exoplanets will likely keep surprising us for many years. These results include the fact that many exoplanets might not have an atmosphere, forcing us to think in detail about the surfaces of exo-Mercuries; the surprising effects atmospheric refraction and scattering can have on exoplanet climates; and the fact that we might be most likely to find life around dead White Dwarf stars.
Biography: Daniel Koll is an assistant professor in Peking University's Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. He originally grew up in Tanzania, Germany, and Kenya. He went on to study Physics and Philosophy at Harvard, and did a PhD in climate science and extrasolar planets at the University of Chicago. After that he was a postdoc at MIT, supported by a fellowship from the James S. McDonnell Foundation. His work tries to explore why do different planets have such different climates from a range of angles, with a particular emphasis on the atmospheres of exoplanets and climate change on Earth.
Source: PKU_IFC
