Since humanity first looked at the night sky, we have wondered whether we are alone in the universe. Now, for the first time in our history, we stand on the brink of being able to answer that question.

Over the last twenty years, a staggering number of planets have been discovered orbiting other stars, and the detection of the first truly Earth-like planets will undoubtedly come in new few years. At that point, the search for evidence of life beyond the Solar system will begin in earnest, with giant telescopes, both on Earth and in space, being focussed towards those newly discovered worlds.

At the same time, our knowledge of our own Solar system is rapidly expanding, revealing many new potential habitats for bacterial life, ranging from Mars to the icy moons of the outer Solar system. As we continue to explore our Solar system, the search for local life will continue – but if we want to find complex life, it is growing ever more evident that we must focus on planets around other stars.

But where should we look? With the hundreds of Earth-like planets we will discover to choose from, how will we choose the most promising candidates to target in the search for life?

Join us and our passionate astronomer and astrobiologist from the University of Southern Queensland, A/Prof. Jonti Horner, as he describes how we find planets around other stars, and explains how we will search for life beyond the Earth.

Program schedule:

6:00 pm – Welcome and Drinks (enjoy a glass of wine before the evening kicks off)
6:30 pm – Talk commences
7:15 pm –  Q&A from the Audience
7:30 pm – Mingling and tea
8:00 pm –  Evening ends