DDO Astronomy Speaker's Night - JWST and the Search for Life in Unexpected Places - November 2024

Speaker: June Parsons

Topic: JWST and the Search for Life in Unexpected Places

Important Notice: The Observatory Dome/74” telescope is currently undergoing restoration and will not be available for this program. Viewing of celestial objects will be provided using alternate telescopes set up outside (Weather Dependent). 

Visit this unique historical site in Richmond Hill. Hear an engaging presentation led by astronomy experts and researchers covering a variety of exciting astronomy topics.

This will be followed by other activities and the opportunity to interact with RHDDO Astronomers! Please wear / bring appropriate supplies for being outside.

All individuals/family members attending this program must be registered and a registered adult must accompany any registered participants under the age of 16.

Please arrive 15 minutes before the program start time to be signed in.

This program runs rain or shine.

Who can attend: Ages 12 and up

Fee: 

- Up to 14 years old: $16.47

- 15 or more years old: $18.61

Registration Link: ActiveRH

Location: David Dunlap Observatory (DDO)

Organized by: RASC, Toronto Centre

Abstract: High mass stars are inhospitable to life for a variety of reasons including their short lifetimes. Luckily, only 6 of the more than 130 stellar and sub-stellar objects discovered within 20ly of us are more massive than the Sun. This is one of the reasons astronomers have directed their attention to red dwarf stars, which are plentiful in our neighbourhood, have long lifetimes to allow for the development of life, and are ideal for observing transits of exoplanets in the habitable-zone with our current capabilities. As we await results from JWST observing the atmospheres of exoplanets in red dwarf systems, such as Trappist-1 and K2-18, we can ask the question, could even lower mass sub-stellar objects be capable of hosting life as we know it? In this talk we will explore the possible types of planets we might consider when searching for life in the Solar neighbourhood.