We just wrapped up a wonderful week in California at the Silver Jubilee of the Summer Sagan School. The school explored exoplanet demographics with many exciting lectures and several hands-on activities and group projects. Many of the lectures and much of the discussion focused on sub-neptunes, an exciting, new type of planets that is absent…
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Potential Signature of Life Report in Exoplanet
Read my article on The Conversation about the scientific context, importance, and complexity of the announcement that a potential signature of life was found in a transit spectrum of the planet K2-18b. What does it mean? What are the next steps? https://theconversation.com/scientists-found-a-potential-sign-of-life-on-a-distant-planet-an-astronomer-explains-why-many-are-still-skeptical-254900
Cosmic Conversations: Communicating with the Unknown
In the College of Science 2025 Lecture Series on “Communication”, my colleague Professor Chris Impey and I spoke about the science behind potentially communicating with extraterrestrial civilizations. This is a fascinating topic that blends astronomy, astrobiology, technology, history – and thoughts about the future of human civilization. Chris and I had a blast preparing for…
Pandora Coverage on KOLD-13
With Pandora swiftly moving closer to launch, Mission Operation Center lead Karl Harshman and I (as Uof A PI, and Lead of the Pandora Exoplanets Science Working Group) spoke with KOLD13 news about the mission’s science goals.
We have a ride to space!
NASA selected SpaceX as launch provider for our Pandora Exoplanet Space Telescope. Pandora will look at 20 particularly exciting exoplanets and their host stars. The University of Arizona will provide Mission Operations and I lead the Pandora Exoplanets Working Group. Look out for more news as we approach T-0! Visit the Pandora Mission site to…
What’s in the crate?
After months of preparation and sorting out the logistics, it is finally here! With the arrival of a special instrument to Tucson, I am very excited to start a new lab for our Nautilus Space Observatory project at The University of Arizona. The crate weighs about as much as an elephant and holds a cutting-edge,…
Pandora Bus Integration Complete!
I am very excited that our NASA Pandora mission passed a major milestone as it moves closer to launch this Fall! Congratulations to PI Elisa Quintana, our amazing Pandora team, and our partners at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Blue Canyon Technologies, and NASA Ames Research Center on completing the integration…
White Sands National Park
Over the winter break, my family visited New Mexico’s White Sands National Park. The Park offers fantastic scenery and we hiked deep into the dune field. Trekking through the pristine white dunes was a beautiful and unique experience! Although it looks like pristine snow, the glistening dunes are made of gypsum. Spectacular scenery and it…
Research group photo!
As we approach the end of 2024, it was a great time to gather our research group for a photo just outside Steward Observatory. I feel fortunate to work with such a great group! From left to right: Fuda Nguyen, Veronica Klawender, Connor Young, Brittany Miles, Kevim Hardegree-Ullman, Chaucer Langbert, Matthew Murphy, Rachael Amaro, Martin…
Joining The Explorers Club!
The Explorers Club is a famed group of explorers who have led scientific expeditions all over our planet – and beyond – for over a century. I recall reading – as a teenager – inspiring stories in the National Geographic about expeditions conducted by The Explorers Club. Given the long-standing excellence of TEC in scientific expeditions and advancing human…