Is The Earth Rare?

Is The Earth Rare? April 23, 2015 Do habitable planets exist around other stars, and are any of them actually inhabited? Observations from NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope confirm that at least 10-20 percent of stars have rocky planets within their (liquid water) habitable zones. Future space telescopes should be able to find such planets around nearby stars, and study their atmospheres spectroscopically. This talk examines what conditions make a planet habitable, and how scientists search for life on other worlds. James Kasting Evan Pugh Professor of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University Sign up to our mailing list to stay informed of upcoming NYU Abu Dhabi Institute events: http://nyuad.nyu.edu/en/news-events/abu-dhabi-events/mailing-list.html To view our past events and videos, click here: http://nyuad.nyu.edu/en/news-events/abu-dhabi-events/archived-abu-dhabi-events.html Follow NYU Abu Dhabi Institute on social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/NYU-Abu-Dhabi-Institute/167869253250085 Twitter: https://twitter.com/NYUADInstitute Instagram: http://instagram.com/nyuadinstitute/ Follow NYU Abu Dhabi on social media: Visit our website: http://nyuad.nyu.edu/en/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NYUAD Twitter: https://twitter.com/NYUAbuDhabi Instagram: http://instagram.com/nyuabudhabi