Margaret Turnbull | |
|---|---|
 At the Space Telescope Science Institute in 2016 | |
| Alma mater | University of Arizona |
| Known for | Planetary habitability |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy |
Margaret Carol "Maggie" Turnbull (born 1975) is an Americanastronomer andastrobiologist.[1][2] She received herPhD inAstronomy from theUniversity of Arizona in 2004. Between 2001 and 2006 she was a part of theVirtual Planetary Laboratory.[3] Turnbull is an authority on star systems which may have habitable planets,solar twins[4] andplanetary habitability.
Turnbull is also an expert on the use of thecoronagraph in the direct detection of exoplanets. In 2002, she helped develop theHabCat withJill Tarter,[5] 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.[6]
In 2006, Turnbull drew up two shortlists of just five stars each.[7] The first formed the basis ofSETI radio searches with theAllen Telescope Array (Beta Canum Venaticorum,HD 10307,HD 211415,18 Scorpii, and51 Pegasi). The second are her top candidates for theTerrestrial Planet Finder (Epsilon Indi,Epsilon Eridani,40 Eridani,Alpha Centauri B, andTau Ceti).
Turnbull's work has continued to be an integral component in the search for life in the universe[8] and she regularly contributes to the discussion on how life is defined and strategies for its detection.[9] 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 theNew Worlds Mission.[10] In 2016, Turnbull became a leader of a Science Investigation Team for the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (renamed theNancy Grace Roman Space Telescope), which is simulating mission data and selecting targets for the direct imaging exoplanet searches. In 2017, Turnbull worked withStephen Kane to place constraints on the mass ofProxima Centauri b, the nearest exoplanet to the Solar System.[11]
Asteroid7863 Turnbull, discovered byBrian A. Skiff atAnderson Mesa Station in 1981, was named in her honor.[1] The officialnaming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on September 28, 1999 (M.P.C. 36127).[12]
In 2018, Turnbull ran for the office ofGovernor of Wisconsin as an independent, along with running mate Wil Losch.[13] Turnbull received 18,779 votes (0.7%),[14] and finished in fourth place.[15]