Lecture & Stargazing: The Planetary Atmospheres of the Solar System

Did you ever wonder why our Earth has the air that it has, and none of the other planets in the Solar System have an atmosphere quite like it?  These were the questions that Jackie Villadsen addressed in her talk entitled: "The Air We (Can't) Breathe: A History of Air on Venus, Earth, and Mars".  Jackie did a remarkable job explaining how and why Venus and Mars lack the sort of atmosphere we have on Earth, due to their different masses, gravitational pull, and magnetic fields.  She also illustrated how certain signatures might enable us to identify other planets hosting life the same way Earth does.

Photo Credit for all Images: Michael Wong

After Jackie's talk, our visitors joined us for stargazing out on the adjacent fields with our telescopes.
The weather was a little hazy, so observing deep sky objects was challenging, but we were still able to get some great views of the first-quarter Moon as well as Jupiter and its largest moons.

For those who stayed in the lecture hall, we held a panel to answer visitor's questions on a variety of science topics, ranging from the possibility of interstellar travel, the viability of worm holes, the nature of dark matter, and planetary magnetic fields.  It was a great discussion!

If you missed any of the talk or Q&A panel, please watch our recording here.  The talk begins at 5:50, and the panel Q&A begins at 1:04:30.  Thanks to all 120 attendees for coming, and remember to join us next month for a talk about black holes by Chiara Mingarelli!

--Cameron

Lecture and Stargazing Event with Talk by Sebastian Pineda

Graduate Student Sebastian Pineda kicked off another great public night with a lecture on The Northern Lights on Earth and other planets in the Solar System.  Not only did it include spectacular footage of this beautiful phenomenon, but Sebastian provided a scientific explanation for what causes the aurora on the Earth, and how it differs on other planets.  For instance, while the aurora on most planets is due to interactions between its magnetic field funneling solar wind particles down into its atmosphere, Jupiter's aurora is also caused by plasma emitted from its nearest moons like Io and Europa impacting the outer layers of the gas giant.

Photo Credit for all Images: Christophe Marcade

After the talk, attendees were invited to look through our telescopes at the highlights of the spring sky, including the Orion Nebula, a first-quarter Moon, and Jupiter and its Galilean Moons.  The weather was clear, so everyone had a good view of the heavens.

Finally, we had a panel of scientists from the department on hand to answer questions regarding any astronomical topic the audience members wished.  Our panelists were Swarnima Manohar, Gina Duggan, Abby Crites, Drew Clausen, and myself.  We discussed black holes, cosmology, exoplanets, magnetic fields, radio-isotopes used as energy sources for spacecraft, and more.  It was really fun, so be sure to show up next time with more questions for our panel!

Just like last month, we recorded the whole event, so you're welcome to watch it at your leisure by clicking here.  The lecture begins at minute 4:00, and the panel discussion begins at 51:15.  Unfortunately, we had some technical problems with the camera, so it was unable to pick up video for the panel discussion, but there is audio at this point.  We will address this prior to our next event.

Thanks to the over 100 people who attended.  See you in a month!

--Cameron