Margaret Turnbull
Encyclopedia
Margaret Carol Turnbull is an American astronomer
. She received her PhD
in Astronomy
from the University of Arizona
in 2004. Turnbull is an authority on "Habstars," solar twins and planetary habitability
.
In 2002, Turnbull developed the HabCat
along with Jill Tarter
, a catalog of potentially habitable stellar systems. The following year Turnbull went on to further identify 30 particularly suitable stars from the 5,000 in the HabCat list that are within 100 light years of Earth http://www.solstation.com/habitable.htm.
In 2006, Turnbull drew up two shortlists of just five stars each. The first will form the basis of SETI
radio searches with the Allen Telescope Array
(Beta Canum Venaticorum, HD 10307
, HD 211415
, 18 Scorpii
, and 51 Pegasi
). The second are her top candidates for the Terrestrial Planet Finder
(Epsilon Indi
, Epsilon Eridani
, 40 Eridani
, Alpha Centauri B, and Tau Ceti
).
In 2007, Turnbull was recently named a "Genius" by CNN for her work cataloging stars most likely to develop planets that could support life and intelligent civilizations.
The asteroid 7863 Turnbull
was named in her honor.
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
. She received her PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in Astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
from the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
in 2004. Turnbull is an authority on "Habstars," solar twins and planetary habitability
Planetary habitability
Planetary habitability is the measure of a planet's or a natural satellite's potential to sustain life. Life may develop directly on a planet or satellite or be transferred to it from another body, a theoretical process known as panspermia...
.
In 2002, Turnbull developed the HabCat
HabCat
The Catalog of Nearby Habitable Systems is a catalogue of star systems which conceivably have habitable planets. The list was developed by scientists Jill Tarter and Margaret Turnbull under the auspices of Project Phoenix, a part of SETI....
along with Jill Tarter
Jill Tarter
Jill Cornell Tarter is an American astronomer and the current director of the Center for SETI Research, holding the Bernard M. Oliver Chair for SETI at the SETI Institute.-Education:...
, a catalog of potentially habitable stellar systems. The following year Turnbull went on to further identify 30 particularly suitable stars from the 5,000 in the HabCat list that are within 100 light years of Earth http://www.solstation.com/habitable.htm.
In 2006, Turnbull drew up two shortlists of just five stars each. The first will form the basis of SETI
SETI Institute
The SETI Institute is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to “explore, understand and explain the origin, nature and prevalence of life in the universe”. SETI stands for the "search for extraterrestrial intelligence". One program is the use of both radio and optical telescopes to search...
radio searches with the Allen Telescope Array
Allen Telescope Array
The Allen Telescope Array , formerly known as the One Hectare Telescope , was a joint effort by the SETI Institute and the Radio Astronomy Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley to construct a radio interferometer that is dedicated to astronomical observations and a simultaneous...
(Beta Canum Venaticorum, HD 10307
HD 10307
HD 10307 is a star similar to the sun in mass, temperature and metal content, situated about 41 light-years from Earth in the constellation Andromeda...
, HD 211415
HD 211415
HD 211415 is a binary star system in the constellation Grus. It has a relatively high proper motion and is located about 44 light years from the Sun....
, 18 Scorpii
18 Scorpii
18 Scorpii is a star located some 45.3 light years from Earth at the northern edge of the Scorpius constellation.18 Scorpii has many physical properties in common with the Sun. Cayrel de Strobel included it in her review of the stars most similar to the Sun, and Porto de Mello & da Silva ...
, and 51 Pegasi
51 Pegasi
51 Pegasi is a Sun-like star located 15.6 parsecs from Earth in the constellation Pegasus...
). The second are her top candidates for the Terrestrial Planet Finder
Terrestrial Planet Finder
The Terrestrial Planet Finder was a proposed project by NASA to construct a system of telescopes for detecting extrasolar terrestrial planets. TPF was postponed several times and finally cancelled...
(Epsilon Indi
Epsilon Indi
Epsilon Indi is a K-type main-sequence star approximately 12 light-years away in the constellation of Indus. Two brown dwarfs, found in 2003, orbit the star.- Observation :...
, Epsilon Eridani
Epsilon Eridani
Epsilon Eridani is a star in the southern constellation Eridanus, along a declination 9.46° south of the celestial equator. This allows the star to be viewed from most of the Earth's surface. At a distance of 10.5 light years , it has an apparent magnitude of 3.73...
, 40 Eridani
40 Eridani
40 Eridani is a triple star system less than 16.5 light years away from Earth. It is in the constellation Eridanus. The primary star of the system, 40 Eridani A, is easily visible to the naked eye...
, Alpha Centauri B, and Tau Ceti
Tau Ceti
Tau Ceti is a star in the constellation Cetus that is spectrally similar to the Sun, although it has only about 78% of the Sun's mass. At a distance of just under 12 light-years from the Solar System, it is a relatively close star. Tau Ceti is metal-deficient and so is thought to be less likely to...
).
In 2007, Turnbull was recently named a "Genius" by CNN for her work cataloging stars most likely to develop planets that could support life and intelligent civilizations.
The asteroid 7863 Turnbull
7863 Turnbull
7863 Turnbull is a main-belt asteroid discovered on November 2, 1981 by B. A. Skiff at the Anderson Mesa Station of the Lowell Observatory. It is named in honor of Margaret Turnbull an American astronomer.- External links :*...
was named in her honor.