Are We Alone in the Universe? Exploring the Frontiers of Life

Leading astrophysicist and disseminator Ignasi Ribas has based much of his career on looking for far-off planets, outside our solar system, that could be similar to the Earth and, therefore, potentially habitable. His work studies neighbouring stars like Proxima Centauri or TRAPPIST-1 and the planets that orbit them, exploring the conditions that could make life possible in other worlds.

Are we alone in the universe? What is life? We know its effects but we don’t have a definition for it. Where does what we consider life end and where does it begin? Astrophysics not only opens windows for us onto the cosmos, it also picks up the big questions that have accompanied us since the dawn of humanity. In this talk, Ignasi Ribas, lead researcher of several space-based instrumentation projects, will be sharing developments in the search for exoplanets and reflecting on how planetary exploration not only expands cosmic boundaries, but also reminds us of the fragility of our own world and allows us to reflect on the singularity of life.

The session has a pedagogical dossier (in Catalan) so that the students can work on the contents beforehand in the classroom and thus make the most out of the lecture.