At the 2012 Astrobiology Science Conference, Astrobiology Magazine hosted a plenary session titled: “Expanding the Habitable Zone. The Hunt for Exoplanets Now and Into the Future.” This panel of exoplanet hunters and thinkers held a lively discussion about some of the most important issues facing the search for and understanding of alien worlds orbiting far-distant stars. The session was hosted by David Grinspoon, Curator of Astrobiology at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Participants included:

  • Dr. Dirk Schulze-Makuch, Professor at the School of Earth and Environmental Science at Washington State University
  • Sara Seager, Professor of Planetary Science and Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Vikki Meadows, Professor of Planetary Astronomy at the University of Washington in Seattle and principal investigator of the Virtual Planetary Laboratory
  • Eric Ford, Professor of Astronomy at the University of Florida

The transcript of the plenary session is now available at: http://www.astrobio.net/debate/5382/the-great-exoplanet-debate-part-1-worlds-of-expertise . A video of the plenary session is also available at: https://connect.arc.nasa.gov/p68qflmgnhk/?launcher=false&fcsContent=true&pbMode=normal