56 - Kevin Heng: Exoplanetary Atmospheres and The Philosophy of Astrophysics

Kevin Heng is Chair Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics of Extrasolar Planets at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. Before that, he was the director of the Center for Space and Habitability at the University of Bern in Switzerland. Robinson and Kevin discuss the search for planets outside our solar system and the importance of—as well as some problems surrounding—our investigations into their atmospheres, all before turning to his recent philosophical work. Kevin, along with three philosophers of science—Vera Matarese, Siska de Baerdemaeker, and Nora Boyd—are the editors of an upcoming anthology on the philosophy of astrophysics, for which Kevin composed an essay on the role of models in astrophysics. Kevin is also the author of Exoplanetary Atmospheres: Theoretical Concepts and Foundations, which is part of the Princeton Series in Atmospheres. Check out http://robinsonerhardt.com and stay up to date! OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:29 Introduction 3:37 Kevin’s Background in Astrophysics 6:53 How Do Astrophysicists Work? 12:34 An Astrophysicist’s Tools in the Search for Exoplanets 22:06 False Color Images in Astrophysics 27:12 More Methods of Atmospheric Analysis 30:42 Kevin’s Research 43:13 The Philosophy of Astrophysics Anthology 47:03 Philosophy and Scientific Models 1:04:19 An Unsolved Problem Concerning Turbulence 1:08:01 Kevin’s Time in Culinary School 1:11:57 Fashion and Bottega Veneta Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between.