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Event Details

LIVESTREAM Life Among the Stars

17 August 2020
6:30pm – 7:30pm
Online
This event has ended
Galaxy and planets image

DIGITAL EVENT – LIVESTREAM

This livestream will be available on the UNSW Centre for Ideas websiteFacebook and YouTube.

Can't tune in to the livestream? Register to receive the on demand recording.


2020 EINSTEIN LECTURE

Less than two decades ago, wondering whether other stars really did host planets was a matter for science fiction writers rather than scientists. Today, we’ve gone from complete ignorance, to a treasure trove of ‘exoplanets’– different sized planets that orbit around other stars – thanks to innovation, persistence, and meticulous measurement. But what does this mean for the search for life beyond Earth? Adding this diversity of exoplanets spread across our galaxy, to the planets and moons in our very own solar system, only makes the search for alien life more complicated. 

To find out where we should look for life, we need to ask whether a planet or moon is habitable and if it has the conditions necessary to get life started. Although we can (mostly) answer the first question, the second is harder to determine. Not only would we need to delve into a distant planet’s past, but also settle the hotly contested debate on the origin of life here on Earth? Did life on Earth start in deep sea vents as previously thought or in hot springs on land as more recent evidence seems to show? 

Join us to hear from exoplanet expert Chris Tinney and origin of life researcher Martin Van Kranendonk as they share the latest findings on these fascinating questions. 

Presented by the UNSW Centre for Ideas and the Australian Institute of Physics. Supported by UNSW Science. This event is part of the UNSW x National Science Week program – head here to see the full program. 


TICKETS

 
 
 

ABOUT DIGITAL EVENTS

This livestream will be available on the UNSW Centre for Ideas websiteFacebook and YouTube.

A link to watch the livestream will be sent on the event day to registered attendees.


ABOUT THE EINSTEIN LECTURE

The Einstein Lecture is an annual public event co-presented by the NSW Branch of The Australian Institute of Physics and the UNSW Centre for Ideas. Distinguished speakers have covered a wide range of topics with an emphasis on Einstein’s ideas and their consequences for physics and technology today. Topics have ranged from quantum computing to plasma physics and on to astrophysics. The lecture engages audiences with the wonders of physics, and highlights the recent advances from world experts.


CONTACT

For event enquiries or to discuss your access requirements, please call the Centre for Ideas on 0407 296 429 or email centreforideas@unsw.edu.au

The Centre for Ideas is happy to receive phone calls via the National Relay Service. TTY users, phone 133 677, then ask for 0407 296 429. Speak and Listen users, phone 1300 555 727 then ask for 0407 296 429. Internet relay users, visit relayservice.gov.au, then ask for 0407 296 429.

Speakers