Joshua Krissansen-Totton
Joshua Krissansen-Totton
When I was in primary school, I remember pouring through numerous space factoid books – the kind that have a colorful page and a “Did you know?!?” box for each of the (then) nine planets. When I turned the page after Pluto, I would always be slightly disappointed because there were no more planets to learn about. Surely – my 7-year-old self reasoned – there are billions of stars out there, and so there must be billions of other planets too. I wanted to see colorful pictures and read interesting facts for all those other planets! Now, nearly two decades later – through some combination of wonderful teachers, hard work, and serendipity – I am finally finding out about all those other planets.
Professor Kathy Campbell
Professor Kathleen A. Campbell, School of Environment, The University of Auckland The interaction of ancient organisms with their surrounding environments is the broad theme of Kathleen’s research interests as a geologist and astrobiologist. She is particularly intrigued by crustal fluid-sediment-organism interactions leaving behind signatures of “extreme environments” in the geologic record. They are used by scientists as analogs […]
2016-07 Astrobiology Australasia Meeting in July 10-12 Perth
The next Astrobiology Australasia Meeting to be held from 10 – 12 July 2016 in Perth, Western Australia. The venue for our meeting is Curtin University. This meeting will focus on the origin and evolution of life in the Universe, and space exploration. A call for abstracts will be issued shortly. The meeting will consist of both Oral and Poster presentations.
THE ASTROPHYSICS OF PLANETARY HABITABILITY Conference
First Announcement THE ASTROPHYSICS OF PLANETARY HABITABILITY Conference in Vienna, Austria, February 8 – 12, 2016 http://habitability.univie.ac.at Dear colleagues, we are pleased to announce a five day conference on “The Astrophysics of Planetary Habitability”, to be held at the University of Vienna, Austria, from February 8-12, 2016.
The Origin of Life. From monomers to cells – recordings available online
Learn about astrobiology by watching the recordings from the XIII-th International School of Astrobiology “Josep Comas i Solà”, which took place in June and July 2015 at Palacio de la Magdalena in Santander, Spain.
Hey Cousin Kepler-452b!
“Today, Earth is a little less lonely,” Kepler researcher Jon Jenkins said.
According to NASA, the new planet discovered is about 60% bigger than Earth, and is located in its star’s habitable zone – the region where life-sustaining liquid water is possible on the surface of a planet. It goes around its sun in a little longer than Earth: 385 days and it’s just a bit older than Earth: 6 billion years.
Why should we be excited about this? Hear what our planetary scientist, Professor Kathy Campbell from University of Auckland has to say about this discovery, on Radio Live today:
The 100 million dollar question: “Are we alone in the Universe?”
Shifted from the realm of science-fiction to the reality of science, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence got an unexpected boost. On Monday, July the 20th 2015, a group of visionaries endorsed by Professor Stephen Hawking and funded by Internet investor Yuri Milner announced a $100 million, 10-year search for intelligent project.
Colony Earth? Humanity after alien contact
Steve Pointing is Professor of Applied Ecology at Auckland University of Technology and director of the university’s Institute for Applied Ecology New Zealand. He pioneered the use of molecular techniques to understand how simple microbes cling to life in extreme environments such as the icy deserts of Antarctica, boiling geothermal pools and lakes that are […]
The XIII International School of Astrobiology “Josep Comas i Solà” begins Monday, 29 June 2015 in Spain
The XIII International School of Astrobiology “Josep Comas i Solà” will begin Monday, 29 June 2015 at Palacio de la Magdalena in Santander, Spain. This year’s theme is ‘The Origin of Life. From monomers to cells’.
The school is organized by the Menendez Pelayo International University in collaboration with the Centre for Astrobiology (Madrid, Spain) and NASA Astrobiology Institute, USA.
Kathy Campbell: The sixth mass extinction
Are we entering the Sixth Global Mass Extinction, caused by cumulative human impacts on the planet? New research (Ceballos and others, Science Advances, 19 June 2015) suggests we are rapidly heading that way owing largely to human induced habitat loss and pollution. Scientists agree on 5 Big Mass Extinctions ever since a good fossil record began accumulating in the rock layers, starting about 545 million years ago.