Astronomy Talk: Examining the Planet-Forming Zone Around New Stars

W. M. Keck Observatory astronomer Greg Doppmann will give a talk on circumstellar disks that surround newly formed stars. The inner regions of such disks are where rocky, and perhaps Earth-like planets are believed to form. Searching these planet-forming environments for compounds that promote life, such as water and organic molecules, is the focus of his research. Using Keck Observatory’s NIRSPEC, a high-resolution infrared spectrograph on the Keck II telescope, Doppmann will illustrate how we can test for conditions that are favorable to the development of life on planets elsewhere in the Galaxy.