Lunar Astrobiology Society
Welcome to the LUNATICs!
We are a group of graduate students from different scientific areas but united in our passion for astrobiology. Through our different backgrounds, we realized that the paths to becoming an astrobiologist are very diverse, and especially early on in our studies related information was scattered and hard to navigate.
Thus, we created this website in the hope of providing helpful resources to anyone interested in the field, especially students who wish to become active in astrobiology research themselves.
If you are interested in becoming an astrobiologist, check this tab to find out about our stories or discover a research group near you, browse some of the upcoming events or societies, or enjoy some of the other resources we have put together for you.
With every Lunar cycle, we also feature 2 researchers in the astrobiologist of the month section (to resume in September 2024)!
News & Happenings & Opportunities
Exhibition at the Technical Museum Berlin, Germany
(Ellen, May 2024)
🎓 University PhD assistant position in exoplanetary atmosphere simulations at the University of Vienna. Check for details here (Application deadline July 30)
🎒 2024 Sagan Summer Workshop: Advances in Direct Imaging: From Young Jupiters to Habitable Earths (in-person and remotely) will be held at CALTECH in Pasadena , California, USA, between 22-26 July, 2024. Check for details here (Abstract Deadline July 11)
📅 AbGradE workshop on methods in Astrobiology in Graz, Austria on September 1&2 (Registration Deadline July 12)
📅 European Astrobiology Network Association (EANA) conference in Graz, Austria from September 3-6 (Registration Deadline August 23)
🗞️ A new review on the timeline of the co-evolution of life and early Earth was recently published!
🌐 Keep an eye on the Scientific Society for Astrobiology, to learn about collaborations in the field and possibly future funding opportunities 🧐
🌐 Check out NASA's Astrobiology Habitable Environments Database
🌐 If you are an early career astrobiologist and would like to be featured as an Astrobiologist of the Month, click here.
Astrobiologist of the Month
🌑
We will resume our Astrobiologist of the Month series in September 2024. In the meantime, please have a look at our archive!
Our astrobiologist of the month for the full moon in September is Dr. Christaine Helling!
“I am a physicists by training with a keen interest to bridge into adjacent fields which led me to astrophysics. The field of exoplanet research enabled and required cross-disciplinary thinking which led me to work on building virtual labs for cloud forming atmospheres. Clouds are such a key regulator of climate and water distribution on Earth, what would be the chemo-physical equivalent on other planets? The study of high-energy radiation on the formation of complex carbohydrates, the effect of lightning for nitrogen fixation on the early Earth and the atmospheric chemistry for the large diversity of chemically different extrasolar planets do linke my work to astrobiology. I am the founding director of the St Andrews Center for Exoplanet Science (founded 2006) which aims to include humanities like philosophy, modern languages as well as international relations into our scientific thinking about exoplanets.”
Find out more about Dr. Helling's background and research interests here!
"The Alchemist Discovering Phosphorus" by Joseph Wright (1771).
In founding the LUNATICS initiative, we were inspired by the idea behind the scientific meetings of the Lunar Society of Birmingham in the 19th century. Indeed, meeting up with friends to discuss science every month at the full moon (as we have been doing for the past few years) was the main impetus that brought you this initiative! Here, we wanted to present "The Alchemist Discovering Phosphorus" by Joseph Wright, whose paintings on emergence of science out of alchemy were mostly inspired by discussions at Lunar Society meetings. We particularly choose the discovery of phosphorus because it plays a vital role in the existence of life and its discovery holds a unique place in astrobiology as well as LUNATICS!
Acknowledgements
Thank you to:
Ly Costa de Almeida for designing our logo
the Earth-Life Science Institute for hosting our website!
Alexandra Zetterlind, for her contributions to our discussions from 2020 to 2022.
We will update the Astrobiologist of the Month and News sections around the full moon and new moon every month!