Sigma Xi Public Talk
From the beginning of time to the center of the Earth: How robotic exploration shapes our view of the solar system
Presented by Thomas Prettyman NASA Mission Planetary ScientistÂ
This talk will highlight results from Dawn, which recently completed its 11-year voyage through the main asteroid belt, and prospects for Psyche, which will launch in 2022. Dawn transformed Vesta and Ceres from fuzzy patches of light as viewed by Earth-based telescopes into complex, geologic worlds. The data provide new insights into processes that occurred during the solar system's earliest epoch. Vesta and Ceres are largely intact protoplanets, representative of the building blocks of the terrestrial planets. In contrast, Psyche was thoroughly disrupted by collisions and is likely the exposed core of an igneous planetesimal. As such, the data acquired by the Psyche mission will complement efforts to understand terrestrial cores through laboratory experiments and meteorite studies. The architecture and enabling technology of the Dawn and Psyche missions are very similar. These are modern examples of robot explorers, which over the past 60 years have opened up new vistas on strange, new worlds, enhancing our understanding of solar system formation and evolution.
5:00 pm, Thursday, November 21, 2019
Room C, UNM Conference Center
Northeast corner of Indian School and University
Individuals with disabilities who need an auxiliary aid or service to attend or participate in P&A events should contact the Physics Department (phone: 505-277-2616, email: physics@unm.edu) well in advance to ensure your needs are accomodated. Event handouts can be provided in alternative accessible formats upon request. Please contact the Physics front office if you need written information in an alternative format.
A schedule of talks within the Department of Physics and Astronomy is available on the P&A web site at http://physics.unm.edu/pandaweb/events/index.php