Daniel Apai's Blog on Exoplanet Exploration and Astrobiology
Exoplanet science is one of the most rapidly expanding fields of modern physical sciences: Countless new measurements are made, thousands of papers published annually, and the number of exoplanets and planet candidates discovered is rapidly approaching 6,000 – and set to accelerate! What really drives this discovery? What will the future of exoplanet science bring? Which…
Just completed a wonderful trip to D.C. to the AAAS Fellows Forum and a visit to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. I was honored to be elected a AAAS Fellow and enjoyed participating in the Fellows Forum, celebrating the new Fellows at the 150th Anniversary of the program. It was thrilling to share this honor…
I am honored to be elected a 2023 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest general scientific society, in recognition of my “distinguished contributions to the field of astrobiology and astrophysics, particularly for advancements in understanding of habitable exoplanets and planetary systems.” The prestigious AAAS Fellows program is over 150…
January 2024: “Bolder than Webb?” Former NASA Administrator Dan Goldin’s OpEd in Aerospace America makes a strong statement on the importance of inspiring, bold visions for next-generation NASA missions. Goldin argues that the current path will lead to a decade(s)-long gap in major improvements of space telescope capabilities, which poses a substantial risk for American leadership in space…
We are making exciting progress on the world’s largest multi-order diffractive lens, a new technology to transform how we are designing and building space telescopes. Read about our project in my new article in The Conversation! Check out the project website to learn more about the Nautilus Space Observatory!
Exciting two days at Biosphere 2! We just wrapped up our first in-person the Pandora Science Team meeting. Pandora is a NASA-funded space telescope, part of the new NASA Pioneers space telescope program. This is a very exciting program: NASA challenged teams to build space telescopes that do cutting edge science – but to do this…
During an exciting visit to Columbia University’s Department of Astronomy, I have the opportunity to deliver the 2022 Crotts Radical Hypothesis Lecture. The lectures honor the memory of Arlin Crotts, a brilliant and visionary astrophysicists, whose work and discoveries profoundly influenced many fields of modern astrophysics: From dark matter haloes through light echoes to the…
Amazing new data from JWST shows its capability to analyze the compositions of exoplanet atmospheres. Will it find life?
An excellent article by Mikayla Mace Kelley from UA News on our team’s work on using a scalable biotechnology solution to remove atmospheric carbon dioxide. Read about how we combine astrobiology, biosystems engineering, and ecology for a novel approach to mitigating a global challenge. Small but mighty: How UArizona professors are harnessing the power of…
With Alien Earths in full swing, I had the opportunity to present an overview and some exciting early results at the Origins Seminar series. Great turnout and fun questions!