Margaret Carol "Maggie" Turnbull (born 1975) is an American

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...

and

astrobiologist Astrobiology, and the related field of exobiology, is an interdisciplinary scientific field that studies the origins, early evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. Astrobiology is the multidisciplinary field that investig ...

. She received her PhD in

Astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

from the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

in 2004. Turnbull is an authority on star systems which may have habitable planets,

solar twin Solar may refer to: Astronomy * Of or relating to the Sun ** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun ** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. " solar panels") ** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indica ...

s and

planetary habitability Planetary habitability is the measure of a planet's or a natural satellite's potential to develop and maintain environments hospitable to life. Life may be generated directly on a planet or satellite endogenously or be transferred to it from ...

. She is also an expert on the use of the

coronagraph A coronagraph is a telescopic attachment designed to block out the direct light from a star so that nearby objects – which otherwise would be hidden in the star's bright glare – can be resolved. Most coronagraphs are intended to view ...

in the direct detection of exoplanets. In 2002, Turnbull developed the

HabCat The Catalog of Nearby Habitable Systems (HabCat) is a catalogue of star systems which conceivably have habitable planets. The list was developed by scientists Jill Tarter and Margaret Turnbull under the auspices of Project Phoenix, a part of SET ...

along with

Jill Tarter Jill Cornell Tarter (born January 16, 1944) is an American astronomer best known for her work on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). Tarter is the former director of the Center for SETI Research, holding the Bernard M. Oliver Cha ...

, a catalog of potentially habitable stellar systems. The following year Turnbull went on to further identify 30 particularly suitable stars from the 5,000 in the HabCat list that are within 100 light years of Earth. In 2006, Turnbull drew up two shortlists of just five stars each. The first formed the basis of

SETI The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is a collective term for scientific searches for intelligent extraterrestrial life, for example, monitoring electromagnetic radiation for signs of transmissions from civilizations on other p ...

radio searches with the Allen Telescope Array (

Beta Canum Venaticorum Beta Canum Venaticorum (β Canum Venaticorum, abbreviated Beta CVn, β CVn), also named Chara , is a G-type main-sequence star in the northern constellation of Canes Venatici. At an apparent visual magnitude of 4.25, it is the second-brigh ...

, HD 10307,

HD 211415 HD 211415 is a double star in the constellation Grus. With an apparent visual magnitude of 5.33, it is visible to the naked eye. The annual parallax shift is 72.54 mas, which yields a distance estimate of 45 light years. It ...

18 Scorpii 18 Scorpii is a solitary star located at a distance of some from the Sun at the northern edge of the Scorpius constellation. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 5.5, which is bright enough to be seen with the naked eye outside of u ...

, and

51 Pegasi 51 Pegasi (abbreviated 51 Peg), formally named Helvetios , is a Sun-like star located from Earth in the constellation of Pegasus. It was the first main-sequence star found to have an exoplanet (designated 51 Pegasi b, officially named ...

). The second are her top candidates for the

Terrestrial Planet Finder The Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) was a proposed project by NASA to construct a system of space telescopes for detecting extrasolar terrestrial planets. TPF was postponed several times and finally cancelled in 2011. There were two telescope ...

(

Epsilon Indi Epsilon Indi, Latinized from ε Indi, is a star system located at a distance of approximately 12 light-years from Earth in the southern constellation of Indus. The star has an orange hue and is faintly visible to the naked eye with an a ...

Epsilon Eridani Epsilon Eridani ( Latinized from ε Eridani), formally named Ran, is a star in the southern constellation of Eridanus, at a declination of 9.46° south of the celestial equator. This allows it to be visible from most of Earth's surf ...

, 40 Eridani,

Alpha Centauri B Alpha Centauri ( Latinized from α Centauri and often abbreviated Alpha Cen or α Cen) is a triple star system in the constellation of Centaurus. It consists of 3 stars: Alpha Centauri A (officially Rigil Kentaurus), Alpha Centaur ...

, and

Tau Ceti Tau Ceti, Latinized from τ Ceti, is a single star in the constellation Cetus that is spectrally similar to the Sun, although it has only about 78% of the Sun's mass. At a distance of just under from the Solar System, it is a relativ ...

). Turnbull's work has continued to be an integral component in the search for life in the universe and she regularly contributes to the discussion on how life is defined and strategies for its detection. Her previous work on target selection with the HabCat list and expertise with coronagraphs have made her an important advocate for direct exoplanet imaging missions, and she served as Science Team Leader for the

New Worlds Mission The New Worlds Mission is a proposed project comprising a large occulter flying in formation with a space telescope designed to block the light of nearby stars in order to observe their orbiting exoplanets. The observations could be taken with ...

. In 2016, Turnbull became a leader of a Science Investigation Team for the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (renamed the

Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (shortened as Roman or the Roman Space Telescope, and formerly the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope or WFIRST) is a NASA infrared space telescope currently in development and scheduled to launch by Ma ...

), which is simulating mission data and selecting targets for the direct imaging exoplanet searches. In 2017, Turnbull worked with Stephen Kane to place constraints on the mass of

Proxima Centauri b Proxima Centauri b (or Proxima b), sometimes referred to as Alpha Centauri Cb, is an exoplanet orbiting in the habitable zone of the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri, which is the closest star to the Sun and part of the triple star system ...

, the nearest exoplanet to the Solar System. Asteroid 7863 Turnbull, discovered by Brian A. Skiff at

Anderson Mesa Station Anderson Mesa Station is an astronomical observatory established in 1959 as a dark-sky observing site for Lowell Observatory. It is located at Anderson Mesa in Coconino County, Arizona, about 12 miles southeast of Lowell's main campus on Mars H ...

in 1981, was named in her honor. The official was published by the

Minor Planet Center The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Function ...

on September 28, 1999 ().

Politics

In 2018, Turnbull ran for the office of

Governor of Wisconsin The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's army and air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Wiscons ...

as an independent, along with running mate Wil Losch. Turnbull received 18,779 votes (0.7%), and finished in fourth place.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Turnbull, Margaret 1975 births Living people American women astronomers Astrobiologists University of Arizona alumni American women biologists 21st-century American women