Surveying Exoplanet Climates with Space Telescopes

Nicolas Cowan (TSI and McGill Physics & EPS)

Jan 16, 2024 3:30 PM
Location: Bell Room
TSI

Planets are among the most diverse and complex objects in the Universe, even when they don’t host life. Astronomers have discovered thousands of planets orbiting other stars, and most of them are unlike anything in the solar system. Due to their distance, these exoplanets can only be observed remotely with telescopes. Studying the climates of these planets requires monitoring the infrared light emitted by their surface and atmosphere, which is most easily done from space, above Earth’s own atmosphere. I will describe past, ongoing, and future efforts to characterize the climates of exoplanets using infrared space telescopes: Spitzer, Hubble, James Webb, and Ariel. The trends revealed by these campaigns may answer fundamental questions like: Which planets have atmospheres? Why are some planets windier than others? How do clouds form and impact planetary climate? How do the interior and atmosphere of a planet impact each other? Is life just another planetary-scale phenomenon?




Choose an Academic Year:

Past Events

TSI Seminar - Gibwa Musoke

Gibwa Musoke (CITA)

Feb 11, 2025 3:30 PM
Location: Bell Room (Rutherford 103)
TSI Seminar
Read More ⇒

TSI Seminar - Smadar Naoz

Smadar Naoz (UCLA)

Feb 4, 2025 3:30 PM
Location: Bell Room (Rutherford 103)
TSI Seminar
Read More ⇒

TSI Seminar - Julie Hlavcek-Larrondo

Julie Hlavcek-Larrondo (Université de Montréal)

Jan 28, 2025 3:30 PM
Location: Bell Room (Rutherford 103)
TSI Seminar
Read More ⇒

Into the Deep: Touring a Supermassive Black Hole (or Two!)

Daryl Haggard (McGill University)

Jan 22, 2025 7:00 PM
Location: McConnell Engineering Building 304
Physics Public Talk
Read More ⇒

TSI Seminar

Michael L. Wong (Carnegie Science)

Jan 14, 2025 3:30 PM
Location: Bell Room (Rutherford 103)
TSI Seminar
Read More ⇒

TSI Seminar - Carola Knockwood

Carola Knockwood (Department of Education - Nova Scotia)

Dec 10, 2024 3:30 PM
Location: Bell Room (Rutherford 103)
TSI Seminar
Read More ⇒

TSI Seminar - Philipp Windischhofer

Philipp Windischhofer (University of Chicago)

Dec 3, 2024 3:30 PM
Location: Bell Room (Rutherford 103)
TSI Seminar
Read More ⇒

Public Talk: Materials Science of Disasters (TSI & Physics)

Nikolas Provatas (McGill Physics)

Nov 28, 2024 7:00 PM
Location: ENGMC 204 Room, McConnell Engineering Building
Public Outreach
Read More ⇒

TSI Seminar - David Hanna's Group

David Hanna's Group (McGill)

Nov 19, 2024 3:30 PM
Location: Bell Room (Rutherford 103)
TSI Seminar
Read More ⇒

McGill Physics Hackathon

Nov 15, 2024 6:00 PM to Nov 17, 2024 6:00 PM
Location: Trottier Building
Outreach Event
Read More ⇒

TSI Seminar- David Themens

David Themens (Birmingham/UNB)

Nov 12, 2024 3:30 PM
Location: Bell Room (Rutherford 103)
TSI Seminar
Read More ⇒

TSI Seminar - Christopher Omelon

Christopher Omelon (Queen's University)

Nov 5, 2024 3:30 PM
Location: Bell Room (Rutherford 103)
Seminar Event
Read More ⇒

Public Talk: Dark Matter Day

TBA

Oct 30, 2024 7:00 PM
Outreach Event
Read More ⇒

TSI Seminar- Alan McConnachie

Alan McConnachie (NRC HIA / U. Vic)

Oct 29, 2024 3:30 PM
Location: Bell Room (Rutherford 103)
TSI Seminar
Read More ⇒

McGill Open House

Oct 27, 2024 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Outreach Event
Read More ⇒

TSI Seminar- Andra Stroe

Andra Stroe (Harvard/CfA Clay Fellow)

Oct 22, 2024 3:30 PM
Location: Bell Room (Rutherford 103)
TSI Seminar
Read More ⇒

TSI Seminar - David Kipping

David Kipping (Columbia University)

Oct 8, 2024 3:30 PM
Location: Bell Room (Rutherford 103)
TSI Seminar
Read More ⇒

TSI Public Talk - "From Clouds to Cosmic Giants: The formation and evolution of galaxies"

Prof. Tracy Webb (TSI & McGill Physics)

Oct 3, 2024 7:00 PM
Location: ENGTR 0100, Trottier Building, McGill University (3630 University St, Montréal)
Public Talk
Read More ⇒

TSI Seminar- Mustafa Amin

Mustafa Amin (Rice University)

Oct 1, 2024 3:30 PM
Location: Bell Room (Rutherford 103)
TSI Seminar
Read More ⇒

TSI Seminar- Neal Dalal

Neal Dalal (Perimeter Institute)

Sep 24, 2024 3:30 PM
Location: Bell Room (Rutherford 103)
TSI Seminar
Read More ⇒

TSI Seminar- Abigail Crites

Abigail Crites (Cornell University)

Sep 17, 2024 3:30 PM
Location: Bell Room (Rutherford 103)
TSI Seminar
Read More ⇒

TSI & Physics Outreach Volunteer Picnic

Sep 12, 2024 5:00 PM
Other Event
Read More ⇒

TSI Seminar- Karen Alley

Karen Alley (University of Manitoba)

Sep 10, 2024 3:30 PM
Location: Bell Room (Rutherford 103)
TSI Seminar
Read More ⇒