October 12, 2005 Source: University of Toronto: http://www.news.utoronto.ca/bin6/051012-1691.asp Searching for other worlds and life beyond: lecture Astronomer who discovered the first multi-planet system other than our own solar system will discuss the likelihood of life in the great beyond
Oct 12/05
by Karen Kelly (about) (email) Professor Debra Fischer, the astronomer who discovered the first multi-planet system other than our own solar system, will discuss the likelihood of life in the great beyond during the public lecture series Cosmic Frontiers: Celebrating a Century of Astronomy at the University of Toronto on Friday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. in Convocation Hall, 31 King's College Circle. Fischer’s lecture, Quests for Other Worlds and Prospects for Life, will report on the latest exciting findings on planets around other stars, as astronomers celebrate the 10th anniversary of the first such discovery, and explore the likelihood of detecting habitable planets in the near future. She will also discuss what these discoveries imply about chances for life elsewhere in the galaxy. Fischer is a professor at San Francisco State University and a member of the team that has discovered the largest number of extra-solar planets to date. She is a project scientist for the Rocky Planet Finder telescope now being built in California and a science team member for NASA’s Space Interferometry Mission that will search for Earth-like planets. This lecture series is presented by the University of Toronto Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics in partnership with the Ontario Science Centre and the Astronomy and Space Exploration Society. For more information, please visit www.astro.utoronto.ca. A limited number of free tickets will be available at the door. | 