Is There Anybody Out There?

With her sharp eye for the unseen and a passion for clarity, MIT astrophysicist Sara Seager is a pioneer in the search for signs of life—or Earth-like planets—in our galaxy. Using light and its absence, Seager locates ‘exoplanets’ around nearby stars and then studies their atmospheres. The next step is to use future telescopes to identify which planets might have the atmospheric conditions suitable for life. While her quest is now accepted, it wasn't that long ago that such ideas were associated more with science fiction than science proper. Come hear how Seager, who claims “everything brave has to start somewhere,” had the courage to believe in her own work and to forge a new and exciting path for science.