SCIE 634
The New Solar System

Herbst,William; Gilmore,Martha S.

09/14/2009 - 12/18/2009
Tuesday 06:00 PM - 08:30 PM

Van Vleck Observatory 110

Our knowledge of the solar system—the planets, moons, asteroids, comets, and meteoroids that orbit the Sun—has vastly increased during the space age. NASA planetary probes as well as ground-based and orbiting telescopes, including the Hubble Space Telescope, have dramatically improved our views of what is "out there."

In this course, we will review what has been learned about the worlds around us from these studies and what it implies for the past and future of our planet—the Earth. We will discuss the increasing evidence that the solar system is not a unique construction in the Universe, but a common form; this includes the issue of searches for extraterrestrial intelligence. Telescopes and equipment of the Van Vleck Observatory will be used as weather permits to view objects under discussion.

Course tuition: $2022.

William Herbst, (B.A. Princeton University; M.Sc. University Toronto, Ph.D. University Toronto), is John Monroe Van Vleck Professor and chair of Astronomy and director of the Van Vleck Observatory. He and his team of students recently discovered a sun-like star that is eclipsed in a way never before seen—not by another star, planet or moon, but by dust grains, rocks and maybe even asteroids orbiting it in a clumpy circumstellar disk. Astronomers expect this discovery to open new doors in studying the origins and evolution of planets. He is primary or contributing author of more than 130 publications in the astronomical literature, including the recent "KH 15D: Unraveling the Mystery of a Peculiar Winking Star," American Astronomical Society (2004). Click here for more information about William Herbst.

Martha Gilmore (B.A., Franklin and Marshall; MSC, Ph.D., Brown University) is associate professor of earth and environmental studies. Her work focuses on the spectroscopy of planetary surfaces, including the mineralogy of Mars and its terrestrial analogues. Martha has guided algorithm development to improve the geologic capabilities of Mars rovers and orbiters, and has contributed to mission architectures for the future exploration of Venus and Mars. Click here for more information about Martha Gilmore.

ENROLLMENT INFORMATION

Consent of Instructor Required: No

Format: Seminar

Level: GLSP

Credits: 3

Enrollment Limit: 18

Texts to purchase for this course:
NO TEXT REQUIRED

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