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450104 SE Biosignatures and the "Vienna Scale" (PI) (2021S)

4.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 45 - Doktoratsstudium Geowissenschaften, Geographie und Astronomie

Continuous assessment of course work

Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Registration is open from Mo 01.03.2021 10:00 to Mo 15.03.2021 23:59
Deregistration possible until Mo 15.03.2021 23:59

Details

Language: English

Lecturers

Eric Gaidos

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

Tuesday 23.03. 16:45 - 18:15 Digital
Seminarraum 1 Astronomie Sternwarte, Türkenschanzstraße 17
Tuesday 13.04. 16:45 - 18:15 Digital
Seminarraum 1 Astronomie Sternwarte, Türkenschanzstraße 17
Tuesday 20.04. 16:45 - 18:15 Digital
Seminarraum 1 Astronomie Sternwarte, Türkenschanzstraße 17
Tuesday 27.04. 16:45 - 18:15 Digital
Seminarraum 1 Astronomie Sternwarte, Türkenschanzstraße 17
Tuesday 04.05. 16:45 - 18:15 Digital
Seminarraum 1 Astronomie Sternwarte, Türkenschanzstraße 17
Tuesday 11.05. 16:45 - 18:15 Digital
Seminarraum 1 Astronomie Sternwarte, Türkenschanzstraße 17
Tuesday 18.05. 16:45 - 18:15 Digital
Seminarraum 1 Astronomie Sternwarte, Türkenschanzstraße 17
Tuesday 01.06. 16:45 - 18:15 Digital
Seminarraum 1 Astronomie Sternwarte, Türkenschanzstraße 17
Tuesday 08.06. 16:45 - 18:15 Digital
Seminarraum 1 Astronomie Sternwarte, Türkenschanzstraße 17
Tuesday 15.06. 16:45 - 18:15 Digital
Seminarraum 1 Astronomie Sternwarte, Türkenschanzstraße 17
Tuesday 22.06. 16:45 - 18:15 Digital
Seminarraum 1 Astronomie Sternwarte, Türkenschanzstraße 17
Tuesday 29.06. 16:45 - 18:15 Digital
Seminarraum 1 Astronomie Sternwarte, Türkenschanzstraße 17

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Unequivocal evidence for past or present life would rank among the most profound discoveries in science, and the search has been buoyed by recent exoplanet surveys have identified numerous Earth-size planets in the "habitable zones" of their stars. But for the foreseeable future, the remote detections of "biosignatures" on planets outside the Solar System is likely be of low statistical significance, ambiguous interpretation, and vulnerable to "false positives". This challenge is illustrated by controversial claims for phosphine -- one such biosignature -- in the atmosphere of Venus, the closest planet to us. With the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope, there is a need for common standards for describing the significance of any discoveries in a way analogous to the "Torino Scale" for the potential hazard by near-Earth objects. This seminar will consist of reviews of recent papers on biosignatures, online discussions with leading researchers in
the field, and participation in the writing of a "white paper"
describing a scale of certainty and unambiguity which will be henceforth known as the "Vienna scale".

Assessment and permitted materials

(1) Presentation of reviews of one or more papers;
(2) Participation in seminar discussion and question & answer for outside experts; and, for PhD students only,
(3) contribution to writing the paper.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

satisfactorily completion of 1-2 or 1-3 (see under "Assessment") as appropriate.
There are no exams.

Examination topics

Reading list

may be distributed later

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Fr 12.05.2023 00:26