TITLE: "The New Worlds Observer: Direct Imaging and Spectroscopy of
        Earth-like Planets"

SPEAKER: Professor Webster Cash, University of Colorado.

Thursday 2009 February 12 3:00 pm colloquium
NASA Ames Building N245 Auditorium 



ABSTRACT:

The New Worlds Observer is a mission concept that can be realized in the
coming decade.  It features an Ultraviolet to Near-IR telescope of
quality comparable to HST. A separate spacecraft, flying about 80,000km
away along the line of sight to a nearby star carries a starshade that
blots out the central star without decreasing the flux from exoplanets
as close as .04 arcseconds.  With this powerful combination of existing
technologies, it will be possible to completely map hundreds of nearby
planetary systems, identifying most of the major planets.  It is
expected that this will lead to the discovery of dozens of Earth-mass
planets in the habitable zone.  Immediate spectroscopy of the detected
bodies will allow assessment of their true natures.  The presence or
absence of water lines and biomarkers will open the serious search for
simple life in the Universe.  Starshades can be used in combination with
other telescopes, like JWST, to launch sooner at a lower price.

BIOGRAPHY: 

Webster Cash is a Professor in the Department of Astrophysical and
Planetary Sciences at the University of Colorado. He is the Principal
Investigator of the New Worlds Observer free-flying occulting
coronagraphic observatory mission concept for studying extrasolar planets.
He is also interested in developing X-ray interferometery and X-ray
spectroscopy techniques for future space missions like Constellation-X.