Dr. Oliver White (SETI Institute) will give a free, illustrated, non-technical lecture entitled:
"Science at the Edge of the Solar System: Uncovering the Secrets of the Pluto System and Arrokoth"
in the Smithwick Theater at Foothill College, in Los Altos (see directions below)
The talk is part of the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series, now in its 25th year.
Ten years ago the New Horizons spacecraft flew by the Pluto system and revealed an unexpectedly diverse range of landscapes on the dwarf planet and its largest moon Charon, implying complex geological histories for these distant worlds. Dr. White will lead a tour of their often bizarre terrains, some of which are still evolving, and will explain what processes scientists think molded them into their present appearances. After a brief stop at Pluto's four small moons, Dr. White will then extend the tour 2 billion km farther out into space to cover Arrokoth, the tiny planetesimal that New Horizons flew past three and a half years after visiting Pluto. It is the most primitive object in the Solar System yet visited by a spacecraft.
Dr. Oliver White is a planetary scientist at the SETI Institute. His research focuses on unraveling the geological histories of the planets and moons in our Solar System and learning how their surfaces have evolved. A member of the New Horizons mission team, he is particularly interested in the icy outer Solar System worlds, and has produced a geological map of Pluto to be published by the US Geological Survey. He is currently creating a similar map of Saturn's moon Tethys.
Foothill College is just off the El Monte Road exit from Freeway 280 in Los Altos.
For directions and parking information, see: https://foothill.edu/parking/
For a campus map, to find the Smithwick Theater (Bldg. 1000), see:
https://foothill.edu/map/
Note: Parking lot 1 is closest, with access to the theater by stairs. Parking lot 5 provides access from the same elevation as the theater.
The lecture is co-sponsored by:
* The Foothill College Science, Tech, Engineering & Math Division
* The SETI Institute and
* The Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Past lectures in the series can also be found on YouTube at: http://youtube.com/svastronomylectures
and as audio podcasts at: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1805595
