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Letter of Interest Deadline: July 31, 2017
SAGAN MEETINGS are new for TVIW 2017. Carl Sagan famously employed this format for his 1971 conference at the Byurakan Observatory in old Soviet Armenia, which dealt with the Drake Equation. Sagan solicited short presentations from top scientists (e.g. – Freeman Dyson) on each factor in the Equation, followed by a healthy debate and a drive to consensus.
TVIW 2017 will have three separate 2-hour Sagan Meetings, each dealing with a separate topic. Four 15-minute presentations will be accepted for each Sagan Meeting, after which presenters will sit on a panel to engage in a lively discussion and debate with the general audience. The conversations will be recorded and documented for inclusion into the conference proceeding and possible journal publication.
For TVIW 2017, the topics are:
Day 1 (Wed): In honor of this format’s origins, the first TVIW Sagan Meeting will deal with a variation on the Drake Equation put forth by astronomer Sara Seager. This equation describes the probability of detecting life on alien planets, specifically with a bent toward the detection of biogenic gases in alien atmospheres. This is a considerably less ambitious equation than Drake’s, because it doesn’t attempt to predict the probabilities of alien intelligence, or the behavior of such intelligent lifeforms. It is nevertheless particularly relevant in today’s environment of rapid exoplanet discovery and our impending ability to determine these planet’s atmospheric contents. How likely are we to detect biosignatures in the spectra of exoplanets?
Day 2 (Thurs): Flyby or Deceleration? Can worthwhile science be accomplished by a flyby interstellar mission? Or conversely, can enough worthwhile science be performed by a fully-decelerated interstellar mission to justify increase in cost and time? If BOTH approaches have merit, then what should be the optimal role of each? This has particular relevance in light of recently-published work promoting each.
Day 3 (Fri): 550 AU FOCAL. General relativity describes how spacetime warps around massive bodies, such that even light “bends” around those bodies. There exists a region at some distance from any star where the light from an object on the exact opposite side of the star bends symmetrically around it, creating a tremendously powerful lensing effect. In the case of our Sun, this gravitational lensing is only complete at 550+ AU from Sol. Proposals have been made to launch probes to Sol’s 550 AU regions opposite nearby stars, thereby allowing direct imaging of exoplanets in those systems, as well as amplified SETI listening. Are 550 AU FOCAL missions worthwhile? Are they even technically feasible?
If you would like to share your ideas on one of these topics during the Sagan Meetings, then please submit a short abstract, no more than 400 words, identifying which Sagan Meeting you would like to join, and what your position is on that meeting’s topic.