Here is the video recording of my talk “Seeing the Light: Hunting for solar systems like our own,” part of the University of Notre Dame’s public science talk series Our Universe Revealed.
Abstract: A group of astronomers recently carried out a survey of nearby stars, called the “Hunt for Observable Signatures of Terrestrial Systems.” The survey used the Large Binocular Telescope in Arizona to measure the faint signals of dust around stars and provide the first realistic hints of discovering Earth-like planets around other stars using future space-based missions. Postdoctoral researcher Eckhart Spalding, who participated in the survey, will describe the adventure, the innovation, the science, and the future implications of this pioneering survey.