[Photo credit: Eventbrite]
The 90-minute event will feature Jessica Spake, the Observatories’ newest Staff Scientist, who will discuss how these alien environments are reshaping our understanding of the cosmos.
The lecture will examine how the discovery of exoplanets over the past three decades has revolutionized astronomy, revealing atmospheric compositions far more unusual than scientists had previously imagined.
“Our most advanced telescopes on mountains and in space continually unveil the strange atmospheres of newly discovered exoplanets,” Carnegie Science said in its announcement of the event. “Toxic gases, clouds of rubies, and atmospheres that trail behind planets in huge tails abound. Most exoplanets found to date are like nothing previously imagined, and they are changing our understanding of our place in the cosmos.”
Spake, who joined Carnegie Science in 2024, will explain why studying these extraterrestrial atmospheres remains crucial to the ongoing search for life elsewhere in the universe. A first-generation college graduate from the United Kingdom, Spake received her Ph.D. from the University of Exeter and previously worked at Caltech.
The event is part of the Carnegie Science Astronomy Lecture Series, now in its 23rd season, which features a new season of four programs highlighting cutting-edge astronomical research.
It will take place in the Rothenberg Auditorium in The Huntington, with doors opening at 6:30 p.m., followed by a brief musical performance at 7 p.m. and the main lecture at 7:30 p.m.
Admission is free, but reservations are required through this Eventbrite link.
