McDonald Observatory astronomer Michael Endl recently helped to discover the nearest planet to Earth outside our solar system. Called Proxima b, the planet orbits Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our Sun. The discovery of Proxima b ranked as one of the top scientific findings of 2016 by Discover magazine, Science magazine, Science News, and others.

In this talk, Endl will discuss the discovery of Proxima b, and how he and others will use the forthcoming Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) to study it for signs of life. The GMT will be the world’s largest telescope when it comes online in the next decade. UT Austin is a founding partner of the international group that is building it.