UofT AstroTour: Geneses? How frequently does life emerge?
Speaker: Dr. Amaury Triaud
The origin of life on Earth is the centrepiece of countless foundation myths from various cultures and civilisations. The recent discovery of thousands of planets orbiting stars other than Sun is opening a new line of scientific enquiry that aims to tackle that oldest of topics,
finding out whether another genesis has occurred elsewhere in the cosmos. In this talk, Amaury Triaud will explore why searching for evidence of extraterrestrial biology is crucial to appreciate how life emerged on Earth, but also how important it is to understanding the conditions that are required to sustain it. Dr. Triaud will show the techniques and the progress that we are making.
About the Speaker
Dr. Amaury Triaud is a postdoctoral fellow at the Centre for Planetary Sciences at the University of Toronto. A regular visitor to observatories in the Atacama desert, he is the discoverer of over one hundred planets. He now searches for planets the same size and the same temperature as the Earth and aims to find out whether life emerged elsewhere in the Universe.
The U of T Astronomy Public Tour, or AstroTour, is a monthly event operated by the graduate students of the U of T Astronomy Department. The Tour features a public lecture by a member of the Department on topics ranging from their research to great moments in astronomical history. Following the lecture, tour-goers can peer at the night sky through the Department’s balcony and dome telescopes, or watch a planetarium show run live by astronomer. Admission to the tour is free. Seating for the lecture is on a first-come, first-served basis (doors open ten minutes before the start of the lecture), and the telescope observing is walk-in.
Who can attend: Everyone
Fee: Free
Reservations: Only required for Planetarium Shows (available May 28th at noon)
Organized by: Graduate Astronomy Students Association. The AstroTours are generously financed by the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics and the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics.
Location: University of Toronto, McLennan Physical Laboratories (MP 102), 60 St George St., Toronto, ON M5S 1A7