Curious about the next possible place to live in the universe outside of earth? Come find out on Wednesday, April 10, 2019, at 7 p.m., hen Dr. Kevin Hand from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a federally funded research and development center managed for NASA by Caltech, will give a free, illustrated, non-technical talk on: “The Worlds Under Our Feet: Caves from Earth to Mars and Beyond” in the Smithwick Theater at Foothill College, in Los Altos.
The talk is part of the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series at Foothill College, now in its 19th year.
Where is the best place to find living life beyond Earth? It may be possible that the small, ice-covered moons of Jupiter and Saturn harbor some of the most habitable real estate in our solar system. Life loves liquid water and these moons have lots of it! Such oceans worlds have likely persisted for much of the history of the solar system and as a result they are compelling targets for our exploration. Dr. Hand will explain the science behind our understanding of these worlds, with a special focus on Jupiter’s intriguing moon Europa, which is a top priority for future NASA missions.
Dr. Kevin Peter Hand is a planetary scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, and director of its Ocean Worlds Lab. His research focuses on the origin, evolution, and distribution of life in the solar system with an emphasis on Europa. He carries out theoretical and laboratory research on the physics and chemistry of icy moons. From 2011 to 2016, Dr. Hand served as Deputy Chief Scientist for Solar System Exploration at JPL and was a member of the National Academies Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Sciences. His work has brought him to the dry valleys of Antarctica, the sea ice near the North Pole, the depths of the Earth’s oceans, and to the glaciers of Kilimanjaro in Africa. Dr. Hand was a scientist onboard James Cameron’s 2012 dive to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench and part of a 2003 IMAX expedition to hydrothermal vents in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Foothill College is located off the El Monte Road exit from Freeway 280 in Los Altos. For directions and parking information, see: foothill.edu/parking.
For a campus map, see: foothill.edu/map.
The lecture is co-sponsored by:
* NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley
* Foothill College Physical Science Division
* SETI Institute
* The Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Large crowds are anticipated for these talks, so attendees are encouraged to arrive early to find parking. The lecture is free, but a charge of $3 for parking on campus is collected and exact change is appreciated.
Past lectures in the series can be found on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/SVAstronomyLectures
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