WESTPORT — If things here on Earth have got you wondering whether life on another plant might be preferable, an online program sponsored Tuesday sponsored by the Westport Astronomical Society may provide insights about that possibility.

Planetary researcher Ofer Cohen will lead the program, “How Space Environments Threaten Exoplanet Habitability,” at 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 16. To access to the free livestream, via Zoom or the WAS YouTube channel, click here.

The speaker’s topic, as translated for the non-astrophysicists among us, will explore whether a planet’s potential to be habitable is dependent on a planetary field to protect it from the harsh environment of space. And, “the ability of the planet to sustain or lose its atmosphere over time,” according to the program announcement.

Cohen, an associate professor at the University of Massachusetts/Lowell’s Center for Space Science and Technology, during his graduate studies developed a numerical model to study the solar corona and solar wind.

As a National Science Foundation fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cohen continued studies of the solar corona, but also used his solar model of other stars to study stellar astrophysics problems, according to the astronomical society.

As an interdisciplinary researcher, his work includes the range of planetary science, heliophysics, solar physics and astrophysics. He has served as a scientific reviewer for NASA and the NSF, scientific journals, and graduate student and post-doctoral review panels.