Speaker
Description
Our project’s aim is to find out more information about the impact of UV-C radiation on multicellular organisms connected to space exploration and exoplanet habitability. It is an interdisciplinary collaboration between the fields of astronomy and biology. Through the examination of TESS and Kepler lightcurves of different flaring stars with exoplanets in their habitable zone, such as Proxima Centauri and TRAPPIST-1, several stellar flares can be identified and characterized. Using stellar spectral models, the UV-C radiation received by an exoplanet at its orbital distance during stellar flares can be estimated. These calculations provide the basis of our laboratory experiment, in which fruitflies (Drosophila melanogaster) are irradiated using a UV-C lamp. The biological effects of different doses of radiation on fruitflies can show intriguing new information about living systems’ reactions to UV-C radiation in connection with space exploration and exoplanet habitability.