Questions for my guests? Ultraviolet mission and new astrobiology
Once again, I'm giving you the chance to send in any questions you might have for my upcoming guests.
Dr. Emily Rickman - European Space Agency
Emily is part of a team proposing a new next-generation ultraviolet telescope called the Mission to Analyze the UltraViolet universE, or MAUVE. This would be a flagship mission that could take over ultraviolet astronomy for the next few decades. Ultraviolet is emitted by hot stars, black hole accretion disks and plasma.
Dr. Chris Impey - University of Arizona
https://chrisimpey-astronomy.com/
Chris is an astronomer who has written hundreds of papers and many books on space and astronomy. He recently wrote a fascinating article about how astrobiologists are thinking about the various forms that life could take and how we might detect them.
As always, put any questions you have for the guests in the comments down below and I'll try to pass them along to the guest.
Comments (15)
For Chris. If you are highly certain that life has been found. What would you like the next step to be. What is reasonably possible
For Emily. How much better is this telescope compared to the last ultra violet telescope. And what information could be interpreted from the data captured
Fraser...I wonder id Dr. Rickman could comment on the following: As we are distant observers of Sag A star there should be images from over the eons that have red shifted could we capture and unshift some of these images? Jim
I have had the opportunity to take two of Dr. Impey’s online courses (Knowing the Universe: History and Philosophy of Astronomy, and Astronomy: Exploring Time and Space) which are available on Coursera. Additionally, he has quite a YouTube presence ( https://youtube.com/@astronomysota?si=2o6DZNkTo3s-_btB ) which includes periodic Q & A sessions. I think he would be a good program resource for astrobiology but also for topics related to the history of astronomy.
Dr. Rickman: Aside from the imaging sensors, what are the primary differences between an ultraviolet, a visible light and an infrared telescope? And how do the diffraction limits and shorter wavelengths play into the construction and expense of a space-based ultraviolet telescope, including cooling and longevity concerns? Also for Dr. Rickman... at what point in the electromagnetic spectrum do conic-section mirror-based telescopes become unworkable? Is there currently a portion of the spectrum near the UV/Xray boundary that we cannot observe well because the available telescope technologies of conic-section mirrors and grazing-incidence mirrors has a gap? Bonus points for future prospects of closing any such gaps.
Given the possibility that Earth might be the only life-sustaining planet in our solar system, or even the galaxy, do you think humanity has an ethical responsibility to spread life beyond Earth? Could this be considered a way to ensure the survival of life in the universe, or might it be seen as an imposition on the natural order of other celestial bodies? Additionally, if we were to discover that a place like Europa has the potential to support life but currently does not, what would it take to establish a functioning ecosystem there? What scientific and ethical considerations should guide us in attempting such an endeavor?
To detect biosignatures in other planetary systems, we must rely on the light and other radiation that reaches Earth from those systems. If there were no reasonable budgetary constraints, what type of telescope or remote sensing technology should be deployed in the coming decades to maximize our chances of success?
What are the chances that several space agencies and private entities could cooperate and agree to fund a major mission like MAUVE or an equivalent? Which are the major hurdles for that?
I read through Dr. Emily's CV and was blown away, I showed it to my accountant friend, and we had no idea what to ask. So my friend suggested asking whats Dr. Emily's favourite cereal
Will the mission be able to overthrow the futuristic government and defeat Ferdinand Daxus? I think it can if you include Milla Jovovich! 😊
Dr. Impey, what biological markers would be present on an exoplanet with silicon life forms?
@Dr. Chris Impey - It seems like a lot of the exoplanets we are currently finding are SuperEarths around Red Dwarf Stars. What evolutionary pressures might these environments (higher gravity + closer Goldilocks zone) put on Exobiology on these types of planets?
For both: we all stand on the shoulders of giants in other fields. Outside of astronomy, what are the most exciting areas of research that might help your work in the future? Please feel free to rewrite, of course! I've probably not worded this well, but hopefully the intent is clear - are they desperate for better sensors? More concrete mathematical underpinnings? Biochemistry lab stuff? AI? Etc etc
@Dr. Chris Impey. Do we know of another planet that now has conditions like Earth's 3.5 billion years ago, when life began?
A question for the astrobiologist. What is the / Is there a long-term consequence of potentially introducing extremophile bacterial contamination from Earth to other potential biospheres in the Solar System, like Europa? Go with whatever phrasing works best for the guest in the beginning please. This is something I have long thought about.