Space, UFO, aliens have always fascinated us. Are we alone? Are aliens real? These are good questions that have captured our imagination and which science has tried to answer for many years. About thirty years ago, the first alien world, or exoplanet, was found and our efforts were directed towards finding more.

By now, we’ve found a few thousand exoplanets… But how can we find out if there’s life on their surfaces? Well, our own planet and global warming can give us some clues on how we can accomplish this mission. Join me as I explain the signs of life we look for, like the “Goldilocks Zone” and exotic chemistry that may seem surprisingly familiar. Marvel at the space telescopes we use to find and examine them, and discover how you can help using a small telescope and your home computer.

Dr. Creaner is an interdisciplinary scientist who focusses on the application of high-performance computing to astrophysical data analytics challenges. His research has focussed on observational astronomy across the spectrum from radio to visible to high-energy particle astronomy. At DCU, he plans to develop optimised strategies for the observation of exoplanets, for observers from citizen science projects such as Exoplanet Watch to ground-based high-performance observatories to satellites.