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/ Events

The detection of extra-terrestrial life and the consequences for science and society

25 - 26 January 2010 09:00 - 17:00

Organised by Dr Martin Dominik and Professor John Zarnecki

Astronomers are now able to detect planets orbiting stars other than the Sun where life may exist, and living generations could see the signatures of extra-terrestrial life being detected. Should it turn out that we are not alone in the Universe, it will fundamentally affect how humanity understands itself - and we need to be prepared for the consequences.

Audio recordings of the meeting are available below.

The proceedings of this meeting are published in a dedicated issue of Philosophical Transactions A.

Organisers

  • Dr Martin Dominik, University of St Andrews

    Martin Dominik is a Royal Society University Research Fellow at the School of Physics & Astronomy of the University of St Andrews. He completed his doctorate ( Dr rer. nat.) at the University of Dortmund (Germany) in 1996, where he was dragged from theoretical physics into astronomy with new developments in the emerging field of 'gravitational lensing', i.e. the gravitational bending of light. Martin subsequently worked at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore (MD, U.S.A), supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG), and as Marie Curie Fellow at the Kapteyn Institute of the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (The Netherlands). A serious medical condition encountered in 2000 meant that he had to start re-building his career with the move to St Andrews in 2003. Since 1993, Martin's research has focused on applications of the gravitational microlensing effect, and in particular on its potential for studying planets orbiting stars other than the Sun. His work as a team co-leader was essential for detecting OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb, which, with estimated 5 Earth masses, was considered to be the least massive extra-solar planet orbiting a star known at the time of the announcement of this discovery, and provided the first observational hint that Earth-like planets are common in the Universe. Martin is a strong advocate of communication being an essential part of science, and science being an integral part of society. He turned the hunt for planets by gravitational microlensing into a public live event, and most prominently showcased this at the 2008 Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition, where he engaged with visitors in debates about the detection of extra-terrestrial life and the role of humankind in the Universe.

  • Professor John Zarnecki, The Open University, UK

    John Zarnecki, Emeritus Professor of Space Science at the Open University, has over 35 years of experience in Space research; he has been involved in various iconic space missions including the Hubble Space Telescope, the Giotto mission to Halley’s Comet and the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn and Titan. His initial field of interest was x-ray astronomy but for most of his career, he has been involved in the study of the physical properties of Solar System bodies. He has served as President of the Royal Astronomical Society (2016–18) and has just completed a term as Chair of ESA’s main Science Advisory Body, the Space Science Advisory Committee.