Dr. Jacob D. Haqq-Misra
The NewScientist article Mirrors on the Moon could catch alien eyes said
Mounting mirrors on the Moon and using them to signal across space could let ET know we Earthlings are here.
Ever since radio broadcasts began we’ve been trumpeting our presence to nearby parts of the galaxy, so far without reply. To improve the chances of being found, Shawn Domagal-Goldman and Jacob Haqq-Misra of Pennsylvania State University in State College reckon we should cover half of the Moon with mirrors.
When angled to catch the Sun’s rays, the mirrors would increase the amount of light the Earth-moon system reflects by 20%, they say, more than enough to catch the eye of a vigilant alien astronomer. Domagal-Goldman proposes using a code of prime number flashes — just as aliens used to get in touch in Carl Sagan’s book Contact. This will ensure the flashes aren’t mistaken for natural variations in brightness.
Jacob D. Haqq-Misra, Ph.D. is
Postdoctoral Scholar at Penn State University, Rock Ethics Institute;
and Research Scientist, Blue Marble Space Institute of Science.
Jacob recently completed
Planetary Messenger — this novel explores the social,
scientific,
and spiritual consequences of discovering another planet in the galaxy
just like our Earth.
His research interests are climate dynamics,
paleoclimate, climate change, extrasolar planets, biosignatures,
extraterrestrial life, and philosophy of science.
He has focused on:
Greenhouse Warming of the Archean Earth
Geological and biological evidence suggests that the Earth was warm
during most of its early history, despite the fainter young Sun.
Paleosol data have been used to estimate upper bounds on the atmospheric
CO2 concentration in the Late Archean/Paleoproterozoic
(2.2–2.8
Ga),
suggesting that additional greenhouse gases must have been present.
Methanogenic bacteria, which were arguably extant at that time, may have
contributed to a high concentration of atmospheric CH4, and
previous
calculations had indicated that a
CH4-CO2-H2O
greenhouse
could have
produced warm Late Archean surface temperatures, while still satisfying
the paleosol constraints on pCO2.
He has revisited this conclusion and the
correction of an error in the methane absorption coefficients, combined
with the predicted early onset of climatically cooling organic haze,
suggests that the amount of greenhouse warming by methane is more
limited and that pCO2 must therefore have been ~0.03 bar, at
or
above
the upper bound of the value obtained from paleosols. Enough warming
from methane remains, however, to explain why Earth’s climate cooled and
became glacial when atmospheric O2 levels rose in the
Paleoproterozoic.
His new model also shows that greenhouse warming by higher hydrocarbon
gases, especially ethane (C2H6), may have helped
to keep
the
Late
Archean Earth warm.
3-D Climate Modeling of Dense CO2 Atmospheres: Habitable
Zones
Around
Stars, Early Earth, and Early Mars
The limits of the “habitable zone” around a star — the region where
a
terrestrial planet could sustain surface liquid water — is of
particular
interest as new extrasolar planets are discovered. Missions such as
NASA’s Terrestrial Planet Finder aim to detect Earth-like worlds around
other stars, and a constraint on the habitable zone would provide
important additional information about the detected
planet.
Previous
calculations of the habitable zone have been limited to one-dimensional
radiative-convective models. Although these models are useful in
obtaining conservative estimates, they are unable to properly represent
important feedback mechanisms. The outer edge of the habitable zone is
determined by the formation of CO2 clouds, which raise a
planet’s
albedo
and lower its convective lapse rate, thereby cooling the surface.
However, CO2 clouds also create a scattering greenhouse
effect that
warms the surface.
Here he proposes to calculate the outer
edge of the
habitable zone around main sequence stars using a three-dimensional
global climate model. He intends to modify the radiative, convective,
and
cloud formation algorithms in the GENESIS global climate model to handle
a dense CO2 atmosphere. Once developed, this model can also
be
used to
examine the degree to which early Mars could have been kept warm by
CO2
clouds. He also proposes to explore the contribution atmospheric
CO2
buildup may have had in deglaciating from an ice-covered state that may
have occurred in Earth’s history.
Jacob authored the Pale Blue Dot III Essay Winner
The Power of Our Myth,
3-D Climate Modeling of Dense CO2 Atmospheres: Habitable
Zones
Around
Stars, Early Earth, and Early Mars,
and coauthored
Piracy as a Preventer of Tropical Cyclones,
Comparison of Synthetic Aperture Radar—Derived Wind Speeds with
Buoy Wind
Speeds along the Mountainous Alaskan Coast, and
A Revised, Hazy Methane Greenhouse for the Archaean Earth.
Jacob earned a B.S. in Computer Science at the University of Minnesota
in 2005, a B.S. in Astrophysics at the University of Minnesota in 2005,
his M.S. in Meteorology at Penn State University in
2007, and his
Ph.D. in Meteorology & Astrobiology at Penn State University in 2010.
Read his
blog.
Listen to his
interview on the Starlight Zone.