New Mexico PBS Science Cafe: CHASING PLUTO
from Saturday, September 22, 2018 11:00AM to Saturday, September 22, 2018 1:00PM
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DON’T MISS THE NEW MEXICO PBS SEPTEMBER SCIENCE CAFÉ on CHASING PLUTO Saturday, September 22, 2018 10:00am-12Noon New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science STEM Theater 1801 Mountain Rd NW On July 14, 2015, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft flew by Pluto completing the initial reconnaissance of the classical solar system and revealing the beauty and complexity of Pluto and its moons through astounding high-resolution images. New Horizons is now over 3 billion miles from Earth (Pluto is 40AU from Earth, and MU69 is approx. 42.43), continuing to explore the distant Kuiper Belt and taking images farther from Earth than any spacecraft in history. Come to the September New Mexico PBS Science Café to watch a segment of NOVA Chasing Pluto and hear from members of the New Horizons science and engineering teams, who will present stunning images and video and share the astonishing scientific discoveries gathered during the Pluto flyby. They will also discuss the future of this ongoing mission, including its New Year's 2019 flyby of "Ultima Thule" - a Kuiper Belt Object and the most primitive object ever studied up close by a spacecraft. This is a unique opportunity to hear from eminent scientists and engineers working on one of the most ambitious and successful NASA missions ever. Speakers include: Planetary Scientist Dr. John Spencer, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado. John specializes in studies of the moons of the outer planets, working both on NASA's Galileo mission to Jupiter and the Cassini Saturn orbiter. He now leads the planning of the extremely challenging flyby of Ultima Thule. In 2016 he won the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Whipple Award for "outstanding contributions in the field of planetary science". Engineer Alice Bowman, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland. Alice is the Mission Operations Manager—or “MOM”—leading the team that controls the New Horizons spacecraft, now about 3.7 billion miles from Earth. Alice has also worked on cancer research at Caltech, and for the US Air Force. Planetary Scientist Dr. Cathy Olkin, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado. Cathy is a New Horizons Deputy Project Scientist; her main research is the atmospheres and surfaces of cold outer solar system worlds. She is responsible for the Ralph instrument on New Horizons which provides color images and surface composition information using infrared spectroscopy. Astronomer Dr. Constantine (Con) Tsang, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado. Con is a Senior Research Scientist whose field of study is planetary atmospheres, both of major planets such as Venus, as well as satellites like Io and the Moon. He uses data from ground-based telescopes, space-borne telescopes and orbiting spacecraft, and has experience in observations using ultraviolet, near-infrared and mid-infrared wavelengths. Con was in both South Africa and Argentina for the Summer 2017 occultation campaigns to characterize Ultima Thule. The Science Cafe is one of several New Horizons activities planned over two days. The team members will take part in an evening public program, "PLUTOPALOOZA ABQ" on Sept 21 at 6:30pm and a PLUTOPALOOZA teacher workshop on Sept 22 from 1-5pm. Separate registrations and tickets for these events can be acquired through the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science. Admission to the café is FREE, but a reservation is required. For more information, contact Rose Poston at (505) 277-2396 or [email protected]. Admission to the museum is not included. Seats are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Be more curious…be more amazed..come to the New Mexico PBS Science Café.
New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science
1801 Mountain Road Northwest Albuquerque NM UShttps://www.eventbrite.com/e/new-mexico-pbs-science-cafe-chasing-pluto-tickets-48843268531?aff=ebapi
Type: Eventbrite