Sarah Peacock Studying Stellar Radiation for Habitable Planets
When it comes to hunting for potentially habitable planets in other solar systems, understanding a planet’s sun is key. Sarah Peacock, an Assistant Research Scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, focuses on analyzing stars’ radiation to determine if exoplanets could support life.
Peacock’s passion for studying the stars began in high school, where she was inspired by an astronomy class and a teacher who connected constellations to Harry Potter characters. After earning her degrees in astrophysics, she joined Goddard in 2020 as a post-doctoral fellow.
Using data from the Hubble Space Telescope and GALEX, Peacock creates computer models to simulate stellar radiation levels. By studying the high-energy radiation emitted by stars, she can identify systems where planets in the habitable zone are likely to have stable atmospheres.
Peacock is also involved in research using the James Webb Space Telescope to study earthlike planets around M-type stars and is part of a NASA study on the Artemis Enabled Stellar Imager. Despite starting her work during the pandemic, Peacock has found a welcoming and supportive community at Goddard.
In her free time, Peacock enjoys taking care of her baby and has recently been selected to serve on the Executive Committee for NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program Analysis Group. A unique fact about Peacock is that she got married on the same day as defending her Ph.D.
As a devoted reader, Peacock admires author Louise Penny and always has multiple books on the go. She finds inspiration in a quote by Box and Draper: “All models are wrong; some models are useful.” Peacock’s dedication to her research and her welcoming nature make her a valued member of the Goddard team.
