Are there other Earths out there? Do they have life on them? This
lecture looks at the search for ExoEarths - Earth-sized planets in the
habitable zones of their parent stars, and what we might learn from
measuring them. The ultimate goal of all planet searches is to find
other Earth's, what the late Carl Sagan so poetically called
the "pale blue dot" as seen from the depths of space. This lecture
discusses what we might learn about such planets from studies of our own
Earth, spectroscopic biomarkers that might reveal life, and variability
studies that might give us insight into surface features (continents
and oceans) and weather (clouds and even climate). Recorded live on
2009 Nov 19 in Room 1005 Smith Laboratory on the Columbus campus of
The Ohio State University.
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