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Identifying the Ingredients for Life in the Cold Depth of Space with Radio Telescopes
Dr. Samantha Scibelli (NRAO)
Next CAS Meeting
Wednesday, April 1 at 7 pm
At Leander McCormick Observatory -
Abstract:
Every star in the night sky, including our own Sun, began its life inside dark, cold clouds of molecular gas and dust. For centuries, these distant nurseries were a mystery because they look like dark voids to the human eye and even the most powerful optical telescopes. Today, astronomers are using "radio vision" to peer inside these cosmic cocoons and rewrite the history of how solar systems form and how the ingredients for life are made. This talk explores the vital role that massive radio telescopes, like the 100m Green Bank Telescope and the 12m dish at Kitt Peak in Tucson, Arizona, play in modern astrophysics and in shaping the growing field of astrochemistry. By capturing low-energy light that can travel through dense space-dust, we can observe the otherwise invisible motions of gas and identify the molecular fingerprint of complex chemicals that exist long before a star ever begins to shine. These methods allow astronomers to gain a clearer picture of our own origins, and new observations showcase that the seeds of life are not just rare accidents but are forming early and often throughout the local universe. -
CV:
Research interests: astrochemistry, low-mass star and planet formation, radio astronomy, astrobiology.
● University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ August 2017 - August 2023
● Ph.D. in Astronomy & Astrophysics August 16, 2023
● University of Virginia, Astronomy Department Charlottesville, VA
● Visiting Faculty (teaching position) August 2024 - present
● National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) Charlottesville, VA
● Jansky Postdoctoral Fellow August 2023 - present