"While the surface conditions of Venus make the hypothesis of life there implausible, the clouds of Venus are a different story altogether."
-- Carl Sagan, Nature, 1967

In celebration of Carl Sagan Day 2020, the Secular Society of MIT presents a special talk by MIT professor of physics and planetary science, Sara Seager. Dr Seager, a pioneer in the field of exoplanet atmospheres, works on the search for life by way of exoplanet atmospheric "biosignature" gases, and on space missions for planetary discovery and exploration. Most recently, her work towards the discovery of very likely biogenic phosphine gas high in the clouds of Venus has drawn much attention from the scientific community and the press. In this Sagan Day lecture, she will discuss this discovery and its extreme implications.

WHEN: Thursday, 2020/NOV/12, 7pm~8:30pm
WHERE: Please register at https://mit.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYkceisrj4rGdSnQsuiD7SIbYPac_k1cqyT to receive a link to the online event

Presentation followed by Q&A.
Free and open to the public. The event will be recorded.

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/683321655629218

More about Sagan Day: https://centerforinquiry.org/celebrate-carl-sagan-day-november-9th/

Topic: The Search for Life Beyond Earth -- Venus
Abstract: For thousands of years, inspired by the star-filled dark night sky, people have wondered what lies beyond Earth. Today, the search for signs of life is a key factor in modern-day planetary exploration. Recently we discovered the gas phosphine (PH3) in Venus’s atmosphere, an astonishing finding because any phosphorus should be bound to oxygen, not hydrogen in Venus’ environment. Furthermore, on Earth phosphine is only associated with life and not with geochemical processes. Professor Seager will discuss the Venus phosphine discovery and its two extreme implications: either unknown chemistry or possibly even life in the only temperate location on Venus: the atmospheric clouds. The possibility of life on Venus was first proposed over half a century ago by Carl Sagan. To follow up we will need to send specialized space probes to the Venusian atmosphere.

Speaker: Sara Seager is the class of 1941 Professor of Planetary Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and also holds joint appointments in the departments of Physics and Aeronautics and Astronautics. She has pioneered many research areas of characterizing exoplanets with concepts and methods that now form the foundation of the field of exoplanet atmospheres. Her present research focuses on the search for life by way of exoplanet atmospheric “biosignature” gases, which has also led to research in the evolution of life through chemical space. Professor Seager works on space missions for planetary discovery and exploration. She was the Deputy Science Director of the MIT-led NASA Explorer-class mission TESS; she was PI of the MIT-JPL CubeSat ASTERIA; is a lead of the Starshade Rendezvous Mission (a space-based direct imaging exoplanet discovery concept under technology development) to find a true Earth analog orbiting a Sun-like star; and most recently is leading a mission concept study to find signs of life or life itself in the Venusian atmosphere. Among other accolades, Professor Seager is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, a MacArthur Fellow, a recipient of the Sackler Prize in the Physical Sciences, and has Asteroid 9729 named in her honor.
Website: https://www.saraseager.com/

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