Howard Isaacson

PhD Student

Location: San Francisco, United States of America
Email

I studied physics and astronomy at San Francisco State University before moving to UC Berkeley to work on follow-up observations of planet hosts identified by NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope

I am a researcher at the University of California, Berkeley who studies the observable properties of exoplanets and their host stars using ground based telescopes such as the Keck Telescopes on Maunakea Hawaii USA and the Automated Planet Finder on Mt. Hamilton, California. By studying the host-stars’ properties we can better understand the formation and structure of exoplanet systems. Such stellar properties as the magnetic activity of the host star can help decouple stellar activity signals in radial velocity measurements from signals induced from planets present in the system.

The ubiquity of exoplanets has spawned new efforts in the Search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), such as the Breakthrough Listen program. As the lead for our optical SETI program that uses Automated Planet Finder to search for laser emission lines from beyond the Earth, we conduct optical searches that complement the comprehensive radio SETI program that utilises the most powerful radio telescopes across the globe.

Observational Instrumentation
Exoplanet Characterisation
Observational Astronomy
Exoplanet Detection

Mr Isaacson’s publications can be viewed here