Join the search for exoplanets beyond our solar system and discover what they teach us about Earth

Over the past 30 years, we have discovered thousands of exoplanets, which are planets located outside of our solar system. At the same time, we only know of one planet where life definitely exists – Earth. This Exploring Space lecture will be a journey from our own home to worlds that exist trillions of miles away. Leading us on this journey is Knicole Colón, an astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and deputy project scientist for exoplanet science for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

She will explore what we know about those distant exoplanets and their similarities and differences to Earth, based on information collected from a multitude of telescopes on Earth and in space. While we cannot yet travel to exoplanets, we are able to continue advancing our knowledge of them thanks in great part to the launch of new space telescopes, like JWST. Our studies of exoplanets ultimately help us better understand Earth as a planet.

Sponsored by Aeroject Rocketdyne and United Launch Alliance