Speaker's Night and Annual Meeting: Exoplanetary update: Proxima Centauri b

Speaker: Paul Delaney, Senior Lecturer, Department of Physics & Astronomy, York University

The first exoplanet was found orbiting a Sun-like star in 1995. In the intervening 20 years, thousands of exoplanets and exoplanetary candidates have been detected suggesting that exoplanets are very common. That of course does not imply the Earth-like planets are common but again, recent statistics suggest that at least one star in 6 contains an Earth-like planet. With the detection of an exoplanet in the Habitable Zone of Proxima Centauri b, speculation and excitement has been aroused about the possibility of exploring that planetary system during the 21 st century. Project Starshot even suggests that such a launch maybe only 20 years or so away. This presentation will summarize the state of exoplanetary research and look at the likelihood of exploring the Proxima Centauri star system in the relatively near future.

Before and after the talk, we will convene for the RASC Toronto Centre’s annual business meeting.

Who can attend: Everyone including non-members
Fee: Free
Reservation not needed
Location: Ontario Science Centre (follow the signs to the RASC meeting)