Wondering about the "signature of life" found beyond our Solar System? I wrote a thread for the Carl Sagan Institute critiquing the evidence for exoplanet K2-18 b:

Thank you so much! And sure thing :)

I am a research assistant and science communicator at Cornell's Carl Sagan Institute studying exoplanet habitability!

(Previous attempt to sign up was rejected due to my account being blank and my website being down, but website is fixed now).

yes

@bot.astronomy.blue signup

Some of the Alpha CubeSat team in the cleanroom with the CubeSat, a lightsail, and a ChipSat (the light sail's computers).

Per aspera ad... ISS, Alpha CubeSat!

alphacubesat.cornell.edu

Me at the Intrepid Museum exhibit in New York City, looking in at a model CubeSat!

As Publicity Lead, I helped design the mission patch and website, create a museum exhibit at the Intrepid in New York City, and even build the spacecraft during flight shifts! On top of improving my public presentation skills and promoting an awesome project, I got to meet a lot of great people.

Holding the CubeSat in the cleanroom!

The CubeSat's shimmering surface holds holographic art above its solar panels.

I was Publicity Lead at Cornell's student-built Alpha CubeSat for over two years. I said my final goodbye to the spacecraft this week, ahead of its trip to Houston today.

I'm incredibly grateful to the entire team of mentors and students who made this spacecraft a reality after nearly nine years!

A blood-red moon!

CAS Vice President Andrew Lewis with the 102-year-old telescope

A crowded view from the observation deck

One of the observatory's modern reflector telescopes pointed at the moon

Sights from the total lunar eclipse in Ithaca, NY this morning, hosted by the Cornell Astronomical Society (CAS) at Fuertes Observatory!

www.ithacajournal.com/story/news/2...

Image 2: CAS Vice President Andrew Lewis with the 102-year-old telescope
🔭

Cornell's Spacecraft Imaging Facility virtual reality Mars exhibit

Cornell Astronomical Society members with solar telescope

Cornell Mars Rover members with an interactive rover

Scenes from the interactive exhibit before Sunday's wonderful Cornell Symphony Orchestra concert, featuring music inspired by the TRAPPIST-1 system of (potentially Earth-like) planets! Stay tuned for the full recording of Cheryl Engelhardt's piece!
🔭

For any other fellow Missourians, it’s at least worth a try to contact his office and express that real Missourians disagree.

governor.mo.gov/contact-us/m...

Probing the Limits of Habitability: A Catalog of Rocky Exoplanets in the Habitable Zone Several ground- and space-based searches have increased the number of known exoplanets to nearly 6000. While most are highly unlike our planet, the first rocky worlds in the Habitable Zone (HZ) provid...

So far, I've submitted one paper ("Probing the Limits of Habitability": arxiv.org/abs/2501.14054), given live planetarium shows at the Saint Louis Science Center, developed a museum exhibit as publicity lead for the student-built Alpha CubeSat, and served as President of Cornell's astronomy club!

Hello world! I'm an exoplanet researcher and science communicator currently at Cornell's Carl Sagan Institute. I study planets that orbit other stars in the hopes of finding life beyond Earth.

I’m an exoplanet researcher at Cornell’s Carl Sagan Institute!

yes