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Project Progress

We have compiled spectroscopic abundance determinations from literature sources for 44 elements across 1224 stars within 160 pc of the Sun, to produce the Hypatia Catalog. The goal of the Hypatia Catalog is to examine nearby stars and regions in the solar neighborhood for chemical abundance trends, specifically those enhanced with the bio-essential elements C, N, O, Mg, Si, S, and Fe, to aid in the search for habitable exoplanets. Hypatia is based with stellar distances, variability, multiplicity, kinematics, and spectral classification that are consistent with hosting habitable exoplanets. We find the element abundance maps of Hypatia stars suggest: [1] stars in the solar neighborhood are consistent with solar abundances; [2] the evolutionary history of each element is consistent with mean chemical evolution models; [3] there are no significant statistical correlations in the abundances with respect to position, radial distance, or velocity, suggesting the solar neighborhood is well mixed; [4] possible confirmation of trends known to be found in the abundances of verified exoplanet hosts; and [5] there are “habitability windows’” located on the sky at (20 ^h, -4°) and (22.6^h, -48.5°) that exhibit enhanced abundances of bio-essential elements which may be of use in targeted or beamed searches.