About ECD
The Exoplanet Climate Database (ECD) is a repository for data used in exoplanet climate studies carried out by member of the Shields Center for Exoplanet Climate and Interdisciplinary Education (SCECIE, pronounced “SEE SEE”) at the University of California, Irvine. SCECIE are dedicated to searching for the next planet in the universe where life exists and team members contribute to this search by focusing on exploring the possible climates and potential habitability of Earth-sized planets, particularly those orbiting in the environments of cool, low-mass stars. Our research employs a hierarchy of climate models, along with observational data from space- and ground-based observatories. This allows us to identify those factors most important to a planet’s climate, and to produce the most accurate assessments of the habitability of planets as they are discovered.
Little Lights
"what are those little lights?", she asked
dim beacons aglow
ruddy orbs suspended in silent infinitude
their paltry light dappled by exozodi
but we see you, little lights
these few photons tell a story
and draw us in with the promise of new worlds
hidden in your meagre red halo
can you see us?
we shine with a fury that keeps us hidden
but our mirrored skies reflect shades of life
and we look up to quell the pain of our galactic loneliness
do clouds swirl over your jutting mountains?
those peaks that slice the sky to ribbons
resonant and harmonic
singing odes to Milankovic and Kepler
you turn your face away
that same face, transfixed
we cannot see
but we will still tell stories about you
to imagine your face as ours
to give us comfort
to feel the stardust that binds us
we see you, little lights.
by Andrew Rushby (former postdoc, SCECIE)