Free Talk on the Search for Earth 2.0

"Not too hot, not too cold" begins the prescription for a world that's just right for life as we know it. Finding evidence of life beyond Earth is one of the primary goals of science agencies around the world thanks in large part to NASA's Kepler Mission which launched in 2009 with the objective of finding Goldilocks planets orbiting other stars like our Sun. The space telescope opened our eyes to the terrestrial-sized planets that populate the galaxy (including several right in our neighborhood) as well as exotic worlds unlike anything that exists in the solar system.

Dr. Batalha will give an overview of the science legacy of the Kepler Mission and other key planet discoveries. She'll give a preview of what's to come by highlighting the missions soon to launch and those on the drawing board. Natalie Batalha is an astrophysicist at NASA’s Ames Research Center and the Project Scientist for NASA's Kepler Mission. She holds a Doctoral degree in astrophysics from UC Santa Cruz. She has been involved with the Kepler Mission since the proposal stage and has contributed to many different aspects of the science, from studying the stars themselves to detecting and understanding the planets they harbor. Batalha served ten years as professor of physics and astronomy at San Jose State University before joining NASA Ames. In 2011, she was awarded a NASA Public Service Medal, and in 2017 Time Magazine named her to the list of the 100 most influential people in the world.