The Jerzy Pniewski and Leopold Infeld Colloquium of the Faculty of Physics start today at 4.30 PM. This afternoon we will learn about the methodology and recent advances in the search for life out of our planet.

The lecturer will be Doctor Janusz Pętkowski from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA.

The lecture title: THE SEARCH FOR LIFE AS WE (DO NOT) KNOW IT

Link to the Colloquium on the Zoom platform: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/93881687598?pwd=UmFhVUdVSXhnQ2tIVVozNmowSUNtZz09

Meeting ID: 938 8168 7598

Passcode: prv316

You are warmly invited to attend!

THE SEARCH FOR LIFE AS WE (DO NOT) KNOW IT

Abstract:

For thousands of years, inspired by the star-filled dark night sky, people have wondered what lies beyond Earth. Today, the search for signs of life is a key factor in modern-day planetary exploration, both for in situ exploration of our own Solar System's planets and moons and for remote sensing via telescopes of exoplanets orbiting nearby stars. However, the search for life outside Earth is not a trivial task. We aim to detect gases in planetary atmospheres that might be attributed to life by means of transmission spectroscopy. A suitable "biosignature gas" must: be able to accumulate in an atmosphere against atmospheric radicals and other sinks; have strong atmospheric spectral features; and have limited abiological false positives. But how do we know what signs of life to look for? A fundamental goal of biology is to understand the rules behind life's use of chemistry. We do not know how chemically diverse life really can be. Can life be so chemically different from life on Earth that it uses entirely different chemical building blocks, or even solvents different than water? In my talk, we will discuss these possibilities. We will conclude the discussion by trying to put the recent discovery of phosphine in the clouds of Venus in a broader astrobiological context.