LECTURES & TALKS

Presenter: Gen. John E. Hyten, Commander of USSTRATCOM What does it take to protect space and our world from threats? Gen. John E. Hyten, Commander of the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), believes it takes imagination and innovation. In this year’s John H. Glenn Lecture in Space History, General Hyten will address the most pressing challenges USSTRATCOM faces as it stands ready to respond to threats anywhere, anytime across the globe, including space. With more than 35 years of experience as an Air Force officer and a leader in the Department of Defense, General Hyten leads a unique joint military and civilian team. Together they work to deter conflict in space and maintain space as "a sea of peace." The John H. Glenn Lecture is made possible by the generous support of Boeing.

Original air date: Wednesday, June 13 at 10:30 a.m. PT (1:30 p.m. ET, 1730 UTC) NASA's media teleconference discussed a massive Martian dust storm affecting operations of the agency’s Opportunity rover and what scientists can learn from the various missions studying this unprecedented event. The storm is one of the most intense ever observed on the Red Planet. As of June 10, it covered more than 15.8 million square miles (41 million square kilometers) -- about the area of North America and Russia combined. It has blocked out so much sunlight, it has effectively turned day into night for Opportunity, which is located near the center of the storm, inside Mars' Perseverance Valley. Participants in the teleconference included: · John Callas, Opportunity project manager, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California · Rich Zurek, Mars Program Office chief scientist, JPL · Jim Watzin, director of the Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters, Washington · Dave Lavery, program executive at NASA Headquarters for the Opportunity and Curiosity rovers The public can send questions on social media by using #askNASA. For information about all of NASA's Mars missions, visit https://mars.nasa.gov

A conversation with New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern and astrobiologist David Grinspoon about their new book, Chasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto. Stern and Grinspoon will share the up-close, inside story of one of the greatest space exploration projects of our time and explore the sheer human ingenuity it took to design, build, and fly this unparalleled mission.

HD1080p Reinout van Weeren (CfA) Hosted: Charles Alcock (CfA) LOFAR is the world’s largest and most sensitive low-frequency radio telescope. It is currently carrying out a monumental survey of the entire northern sky. In this talk I will discuss how we use LOFAR to unravel the physics of particle acceleration and cosmic rays in galaxy clusters, the largest gravitationally bound objects in our Universe.

James Burk's talk on MarsVR at the National Space Society's International Space Development Conference on May 25, 2018 in Los Angeles. James presented on the MarsVR project with only 6 days left on our Kickstarter campaign, and discussed future plans as well as how all of the space groups can work together on projects like this.

Watch Slava G. Turyshev (Physicist, JPL) and Louis Friedman (Co-Founder and Executive Director Emeritus, The Planetary Society) discuss a mission to the SGL focal region that could provide us with direct, multi-pixel, high-resolution images and spectroscopy of a potentially habitable Earth-like exoplanet. The speakers address some aspects of mission design and spacecraft requirements, as well as capabilities needed to fly this mission in the next two decades. This lecture took place at the workshop "Technology Requirements to Operate at and Utilize the Solar Gravity Lens for Exoplanet Imaging" at the Keck Institute for Space Studies on May 16, 2018.

Original air date: Tuesday, May 17 at 7 p.m. PT (10 p.m. ET, 0200 UTC) Juno is a solar-powered spacecraft which has been orbiting Jupiter since July 4, 2016. For a few hours every 53 days, Juno passes within a few thousand kilometers of the giant planet and collects a wealth of new information about Jupiter. Learn more about some of Juno’s current science results on the planet's origins, interior structure, deep atmosphere, and magnetosphere, and discuss the science expected from Juno in the coming years. Speaker: Dr. Steve Levin – Juno Project Scientist and lead co-investigator for Juno’s MicroWave Radiometer instrument

Tony Case, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Solar Probe Cup Instrument Scientist, and Kelly Korreck, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Science Operations Lead for SWEAP Instrument Suite aboard Parker Solar Probe In July 2018, NASA will launch a satellite 60 years in the making. The hottest mission under the Sun will visit - the Sun! It is an extreme mission - the fastest human-made object that will travel closest to the Sun at the hottest operating temperatures in history. Learn what went into building this satellite with Dr. Kelly Korreck, who will describe the strange Sun behavior that this mission aims to explain, and Dr. Tony Case, who will discuss the bravest instrument on board that peeks around the spacecraft's protective sun shade: the Solar Probe Cup. Original music by Mark C. Petersen, Loch Ness Productions. Used with permission. Animations used under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

HD 1080p Alan Rogers Haystack / MIT Host: Shep Doeleman Abstract: A deeper than expected absorption with flattened bottom has been observed using the Experiment to Detect the Global EoR signature (EDGES) instruments located at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory in Western Australia. I will describe the instrument and its calibration and how the performance has been improved over a period of about 12 years leading to detection of the 21_cm absorption at 78 MHz. Absorption of the CMB is expected when the hydrogen spin temperature drops from the CMB temperature to the kinetic temperature as the result of Wouthuysen–Field coupling of the Lyman-Alpha radiation from the early stars. I will discuss the need and prospects for confirmation by other instruments, the future plans of EDGES, list mechanisms which might explain the greater depth and flattened profile and allow time for discussion of these mechanisms.

The key to understand our origins is in the interiors and atmospheres of the giant planets. Jupiter is the biggest planet in our system and the most influential one: its large mass shaped the architecture of the solar system and due to its fast formation it contains valuable information of the solar system formation history. In orbit since July 2016, the first orbits of the Juno mission have led to a remarkable improvement of the planet gravity data, changing our knowledge of the planetary interior and leading to a much better comprehension of the giant planet and its role in the solar system. In this seminar, I will present the new Juno results, the models we use to understand Jupiter's interior and its differential rotation, and the main challenges and questions that remained to be solved. Credit: CFA Follow Us: Facebook: https://goo.gl/QapZAe Twitter: https://goo.gl/RoQSmJ

Dr. Alan Stern and Dr. David Grinspoon will give the inside story of one of the greatest space exploration projects of our time, the New Horizons mission to Pluto. Mission leader Dr. Alan Stern and noted scientist and author Dr. David Grinspoon will be signing copies of their book, "Chasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto", at the event. Subscribe now for more All Space Considered clips: https://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=griffithobservatory All Space Considered is Griffith Observatory’s live science program that is free and open to the public, held the first Friday of every month. Watch All Space Considered videos: https://www.youtube.com/griffithobservatory Learn more about All Space Considered on our official site: http://griffithobservatory.org/asc/all_space.html Follow All Space Considered on Twitter: https://twitter.com/allspacecnsdrd -Disclaimer- WE DO NOT OWN THE RIGHTS TO THE, VIDEOS, MUSICAL MATERIAL OR PICTURES PRESENT THAT WERE NOT CREATED DIRECTLY BY GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY OR ITS AFFILIATES, ALL CREDIT FOR THIS MATERIAL GOES TO THE ORIGINAL ARTISTS, CREATORS AND COMPOSERS. Fair Use: "Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use."

Presented by Dr. Daniel P. Schrag The increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide due to burning coal, oil and gas represents an unprecedented experiment on the planet Earth. Dr. Schrag will discuss how the history of Earth and its neighboring planets provide hints of how that experiment might unfold. Dr. Daniel P. Schrag is the Sturgis Hooper Professor of Geology, Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering at Harvard University, and director of the Harvard University Center for the Environment. He also is co-director of the Program on Science, Technology, and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. Dr. Schrag’s interests include climate change, energy technology, and energy policy. He has studied climate change over the broadest range of Earth’s history, including how climate change and the chemical evolution of the atmosphere influenced the evolution of life in the past, and what steps might be taken to prepare for impacts of climate change in the future. He helped to develop the hypothesis that the Earth experienced a series of extreme glaciations, called “Snowball Earths,” that may have stimulated a rise in atmospheric oxygen and the proliferation of multicellular animals. He is also interested in how we can use climate events in the geologic past to understand our current climate challenges. Dr. Schrag has worked on a range of issues in energy technology and policy, including advanced technologies for low-carbon transportation fuel, carbon capture and storage, and risks and opportunities of shale gas. He was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2000. From 2009-2017, he served on President Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), contributing to many reports to the President, including energy technology and national energy policy, agricultural preparedness, climate change, and STEM education.

Celebrating 45 years since Apollo 17, this panel features Harrison Schmitt (first geologist on the Moon), Gerry Griffin (Apollo 17 Flight Director), and James Head III (Apollo 17 backroom scientist). The panel is moderated by Carle Pieters (Brown University).

The Search for Life: Near & Far Presented by Dr. Shawn Domagal-Goldman Exploring Life Origins and the Universe: A Networking Event March 30th, 2018 The Georgia Tech Astrobiology Colloquium is a new early career event for the Georgia Tech astrobiology community and consisted of presentations and talks by students (both graduate and undergraduate) and post-doctoral fellows working in astrobiology, space science, and engineering across the Georgia Tech campus and greater Atlanta. There are also plenary lectures given by distinguished members of the global astrobiology community. Plenary Speakers: Dr. Ada Yonath Dr. Niles Lehman Dr. Shawn Domagal-Goldman Organizing Committee: Moran Frenkel-Pinter Kennda Lynch George Zaharescu Faculty Advisors: Martha Grover Glenn Lightsey Jennifer Glass

Gravitational Wave Astronomy Andrew Fruchter, Space Telescope Science Institute The 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for the observation of gravitational waves. This new field transforms our ability to study the universe. For the first time, we can directly observe the mergers of binaries composed of the densest macroscopic objects in the universe—black holes and neutron stars. The results are revolutionary. We have discovered stellar mass black holes far larger than any previously known, and have seen them merge to form even larger black holes. We have seen evidence that neutron star mergers are a major source of the heavy elements in the universe. Dr. Fruchter will provide an introduction to the technology and physics behind the detection of gravitational waves as well as discuss the exciting new results. Host: Dr. Frank Summers Recorded live on Tuesday, May 1 at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. More information: http://hubble.stsci.edu/about_us/public_talks/

What does it take for a planet to be hospitable for life? In this April 18, 2018 MAVEN Outreach Webinar, MAVEN Co-Investigator Dr. Dave Brain of the University of Colorado Boulder's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) discusses the role a global magnetic field may play in the evolution of a planet’s atmosphere and in planetary habitability. https://lasp.colorado.edu/home/maven http://lasp.colorado.edu/home/maven/education-outreach/public-outreach/maven-outreach-webinars/

Join NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientists and engineers and get a sneak peek of the upcoming InSight Mars mission, the first to focus on examining the deep interior of Mars. Launching in May 2018, this lander will be the very first interplanetary launch from the West Coast. The Exploratorium will host the InSight Roadshow with a half-scale model of the lander and an array of instruments. InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) is a NASA Discovery Program mission that will place a single lander on Mars. InSight is more than a Mars mission; it’s a terrestrial planet explorer that will address one of the most fundamental questions of planetary and solar system science: what are the processes that shaped the rocky planets of the inner solar system, including Earth, more than four billion years ago? By using sophisticated geophysical instruments, InSight will delve deep beneath the surface of Mars, detecting the fingerprints of the processes of terrestrial planet formation, as well as measuring the planet's “vital signs”: its "pulse" (seismology), "temperature" (heat flow probe), and "reflexes" (precision tracking).

Iron: Primordial Cofactor for Biochemistry Presented by Dr. Marcus Bray Exploring Life Origins and the Universe: A Networking Event March 30th, 2018 The Georgia Tech Astrobiology Colloquium is a new early career event for the Georgia Tech astrobiology community and consisted of presentations and talks by students (both graduate and undergraduate) and post-doctoral fellows working in astrobiology, space science, and engineering across the Georgia Tech campus and greater Atlanta. There are also plenary lectures given by distinguished members of the global astrobiology community. Plenary Speakers: Dr. Ada Yonath Dr. Niles Lehman Dr. Shawn Domagal-Goldman Organizing Committee: Moran Frenkel-Pinter Kennda Lynch George Zaharescu Faculty Advisors: Martha Grover Glenn Lightsey Jennifer Glass

Phosphorylation in Urea-Rich Eutectic Solvents Presented by Dr. Bradley Burcar Exploring Life Origins and the Universe: A Networking Event March 30th, 2018 The Georgia Tech Astrobiology Colloquium is a new early career event for the Georgia Tech astrobiology community and consisted of presentations and talks by students (both graduate and undergraduate) and post-doctoral fellows working in astrobiology, space science, and engineering across the Georgia Tech campus and greater Atlanta. There are also plenary lectures given by distinguished members of the global astrobiology community. Plenary Speakers: Dr. Ada Yonath Dr. Niles Lehman Dr. Shawn Domagal-Goldman Organizing Committee: Moran Frenkel-Pinter Kennda Lynch George Zaharescu Faculty Advisors: Martha Grover Glenn Lightsey Jennifer Glass

Genetics Underlying de novo Origins of Multicellularity in Response to Predation Presented by Dr. Kimberly Chen Exploring Life Origins and the Universe: A Networking Event March 30th, 2018 The Georgia Tech Astrobiology Colloquium is a new early career event for the Georgia Tech astrobiology community and consisted of presentations and talks by students (both graduate and undergraduate) and post-doctoral fellows working in astrobiology, space science, and engineering across the Georgia Tech campus and greater Atlanta. There are also plenary lectures given by distinguished members of the global astrobiology community. Plenary Speakers: Dr. Ada Yonath Dr. Niles Lehman Dr. Shawn Domagal-Goldman Organizing Committee: Moran Frenkel-Pinter Kennda Lynch George Zaharescu Faculty Advisors: Martha Grover Glenn Lightsey Jennifer Glass

Quantitative, Compositional Analysis of Trace Amino Acids in Europa Analogues Presented by Dr. Zachary Duca Exploring Life Origins and the Universe: A Networking Event March 30th, 2018 The Georgia Tech Astrobiology Colloquium is a new early career event for the Georgia Tech astrobiology community and consisted of presentations and talks by students (both graduate and undergraduate) and post-doctoral fellows working in astrobiology, space science, and engineering across the Georgia Tech campus and greater Atlanta. There are also plenary lectures given by distinguished members of the global astrobiology community. Plenary Speakers: Dr. Ada Yonath Dr. Niles Lehman Dr. Shawn Domagal-Goldman Organizing Committee: Moran Frenkel-Pinter Kennda Lynch George Zaharescu Faculty Advisors: Martha Grover Glenn Lightsey Jennifer Glass

Glycosylation of Model Proto-RNA Nucleobases Presented by Dr. David Fialho Exploring Life Origins and the Universe: A Networking Event March 30th, 2018 The Georgia Tech Astrobiology Colloquium is a new early career event for the Georgia Tech astrobiology community and consisted of presentations and talks by students (both graduate and undergraduate) and post-doctoral fellows working in astrobiology, space science, and engineering across the Georgia Tech campus and greater Atlanta. There are also plenary lectures given by distinguished members of the global astrobiology community. Plenary Speakers: Dr. Ada Yonath Dr. Niles Lehman Dr. Shawn Domagal-Goldman Organizing Committee: Moran Frenkel-Pinter Kennda Lynch George Zaharescu Faculty Advisors: Martha Grover Glenn Lightsey Jennifer Glass

The Embedded Scientist Program Presented by Dr. Andrea Krafft Exploring Life Origins and the Universe: A Networking Event March 30th, 2018 The Georgia Tech Astrobiology Colloquium is a new early career event for the Georgia Tech astrobiology community and consisted of presentations and talks by students (both graduate and undergraduate) and post-doctoral fellows working in astrobiology, space science, and engineering across the Georgia Tech campus and greater Atlanta. There are also plenary lectures given by distinguished members of the global astrobiology community. Plenary Speakers: Dr. Ada Yonath Dr. Niles Lehman Dr. Shawn Domagal-Goldman Organizing Committee: Moran Frenkel-Pinter Kennda Lynch George Zaharescu Faculty Advisors: Martha Grover Glenn Lightsey Jennifer Glass

GTRI Space Strategic Initiative: MicroNimbus CubeSat Presented by Dr. Nelson Lourenco Exploring Life Origins and the Universe: A Networking Event March 30th, 2018 The Georgia Tech Astrobiology Colloquium is a new early career event for the Georgia Tech astrobiology community and consisted of presentations and talks by students (both graduate and undergraduate) and post-doctoral fellows working in astrobiology, space science, and engineering across the Georgia Tech campus and greater Atlanta. There are also plenary lectures given by distinguished members of the global astrobiology community. Plenary Speakers: Dr. Ada Yonath Dr. Niles Lehman Dr. Shawn Domagal-Goldman Organizing Committee: Moran Frenkel-Pinter Kennda Lynch George Zaharescu Faculty Advisors: Martha Grover Glenn Lightsey Jennifer Glass

Exo-Evo? An Organismal Approach to Evolutionary Dynamics Presented by Dr. Pedro Marquez-Zacarias Exploring Life Origins and the Universe: A Networking Event March 30th, 2018 The Georgia Tech Astrobiology Colloquium is a new early career event for the Georgia Tech astrobiology community and consisted of presentations and talks by students (both graduate and undergraduate) and post-doctoral fellows working in astrobiology, space science, and engineering across the Georgia Tech campus and greater Atlanta. There are also plenary lectures given by distinguished members of the global astrobiology community. Plenary Speakers: Dr. Ada Yonath Dr. Niles Lehman Dr. Shawn Domagal-Goldman Organizing Committee: Moran Frenkel-Pinter Kennda Lynch George Zaharescu Faculty Advisors: Martha Grover Glenn Lightsey Jennifer Glass

A Possible Path to Prebiotic Peptides Presented by Dr. Aaron McKee Exploring Life Origins and the Universe: A Networking Event March 30th, 2018 The Georgia Tech Astrobiology Colloquium is a new early career event for the Georgia Tech astrobiology community and consisted of presentations and talks by students (both graduate and undergraduate) and post-doctoral fellows working in astrobiology, space science, and engineering across the Georgia Tech campus and greater Atlanta. There are also plenary lectures given by distinguished members of the global astrobiology community. Plenary Speakers: Dr. Ada Yonath Dr. Niles Lehman Dr. Shawn Domagal-Goldman Organizing Committee: Moran Frenkel-Pinter Kennda Lynch George Zaharescu Faculty Advisors: Martha Grover Glenn Lightsey Jennifer Glass

Chemical Selection of Plausible Protopolypeptides Presented by Dr. Martin Solano Exploring Life Origins and the Universe: A Networking Event March 30th, 2018 The Georgia Tech Astrobiology Colloquium is a new early career event for the Georgia Tech astrobiology community and consisted of presentations and talks by students (both graduate and undergraduate) and post-doctoral fellows working in astrobiology, space science, and engineering across the Georgia Tech campus and greater Atlanta. There are also plenary lectures given by distinguished members of the global astrobiology community. Plenary Speakers: Dr. Ada Yonath Dr. Niles Lehman Dr. Shawn Domagal-Goldman Organizing Committee: Moran Frenkel-Pinter Kennda Lynch George Zaharescu Faculty Advisors: Martha Grover Glenn Lightsey Jennifer Glass

New Pathways for Old Metals Presented by Dr. Nadia Szeinbaum Exploring Life Origins and the Universe: A Networking Event March 30th, 2018 The Georgia Tech Astrobiology Colloquium is a new early career event for the Georgia Tech astrobiology community and consisted of presentations and talks by students (both graduate and undergraduate) and post-doctoral fellows working in astrobiology, space science, and engineering across the Georgia Tech campus and greater Atlanta. There are also plenary lectures given by distinguished members of the global astrobiology community. Plenary Speakers: Dr. Ada Yonath Dr. Niles Lehman Dr. Shawn Domagal-Goldman Organizing Committee: Moran Frenkel-Pinter Kennda Lynch George Zaharescu Faculty Advisors: Martha Grover Glenn Lightsey Jennifer Glass

Iron Sulfide Minerals in Prebiotic Redox Chemistry Presented by Dr. Olga Taran Exploring Life Origins and the Universe: A Networking Event March 30th, 2018 The Georgia Tech Astrobiology Colloquium is a new early career event for the Georgia Tech astrobiology community and consisted of presentations and talks by students (both graduate and undergraduate) and post-doctoral fellows working in astrobiology, space science, and engineering across the Georgia Tech campus and greater Atlanta. There are also plenary lectures given by distinguished members of the global astrobiology community. Plenary Speakers: Dr. Ada Yonath Dr. Niles Lehman Dr. Shawn Domagal-Goldman Organizing Committee: Moran Frenkel-Pinter Kennda Lynch George Zaharescu Faculty Advisors: Martha Grover Glenn Lightsey Jennifer Glass

Planetary scientist Dr. Susan Lederer of the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Division at the NASA’s Johnson Space Center discusses the discovery of the TRAPPIST-1 extrasolar system. Lederer also discusses the potential habitability of the seven planets orbiting the parent star. This was the fifth and final presentation in the Lunar and Planetary Institute’s 2017–2018 Cosmic Exploration Speaker Series, “Diving into Ocean Worlds.”

To uncover the mysteries of the universe, astronomers are becoming greedy, making more observations than they can possibly analyze manually. Large photometric surveys from space telescopes like Kepler and the future TESS are no exception and today modern astronomers use artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms to help them reveal the existence of exoplanets hidden in many years of observations of hundreds of thousands of stars. For this SETI Talk, we invited two researchers involved in the Kepler mission and AI to discuss the potential of neural networks to transform astronomy. Jeff Smith, Data scientist at the SETI Institute, has developed data processing and planet detection algorithms for Kepler since 2010 and is now involved in developing the pipeline for the future TESS mission. Chris Shallue, a senior software engineer at Google AI has used a neural network to analyze archival data from the Kepler Space Telescope to reveal the existence of two unknown exoplanets, named Kepler-90i and Kepler-80g. After presenting their recent work, we will discuss the impact of this new mode of scientific discovery, where artificial intelligence can assist humans in mapping out parts of the galaxy that have not yet been fully revealed. Chris Shallue is a Senior Research Software Engineer on the Google AI team in Mountain View, California. His research is currently focused on machine learning techniques for identifying planets in data collected by the NASA Kepler space telescope. He also works on image captioning, natural language modeling and machine learning theory. Chris was previously a member of the Google Display Ads team where he worked on ad selection and personalization for GMail and Google Maps. Prior to joining Google, Chris was teaching, studying and researching mathematics. Dr. Jeffrey Smith began his academic passion in the field of High Energy Accelerator Physics. His Ph.D. thesis was on the design of the International Linear Collider (ILC), a 22 mile-long electron-positron accelerator that will complement the discoveries being made at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland. After Cornell, Jeff joined the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at Stanford University to continue his work on the ILC and also to develop upgrade hardware for the LHC. After a successful career looking into the tiniest of inner-spaces Jeff decided to look up to the stars. Dr. Smith, now at the SETI Institute, develops data processing and planet detection algorithms for the Kepler and TESS Missions. Eking out planet signals in the Kepler data has proven to be a challenging and rewarding endeavor but looking toward the future, Dr. Smith is involved with developing new methods for use with the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), a new NASA planet finding mission to find Earth’s nearest cousins in a our galactic back yard.

Feb. 28, 2018 Dr. Ashwin Vasavada, of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory For five years, Curiosity has explored Gale Crater, one of the most intriguing locations on Mars. In this richly illustrated talk, the Project Scientist discussed what the rover is capable of and the many things it has discovered on the red planet.

Once a month, SAGANet (www.saganet.org) hosts a program called "Ask an Astrobiologist", where the public is invited to interact with a high-profile astrobiologist, who replies to twitter, facebook, and chat questions live on video. Each session lasts about an hour. Hosted by Dr. Sanjoy Som (Blue Marble Space Institute of Science) Featured Guest: Dr. Shawn Domagal-Goldman (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center) Directed by Mike Toillion (NASA Astrobiology Program) Music by Sam Doshier (NASA Astrobiology Institute)

The search for extrasolar planets has uncovered a dizzying array of planetary systems. As part of that quest, researchers have found new planet types—lava worlds and super-Earths—as well as planets orbiting more than one star.

Take a tour of some of the strangest stellar phenomena in the universe during this talk featuring Emily Levesque. From the biggest, brightest, and most volatile stars to the explosive fireworks of core-collapse supernovae and the fascinating physics of gravitational waves, “weird” stars serve as a common thread for exploring our universe’s history, evolution, and extremes. Levesque will discuss the history of stellar astronomy, present-day observing techniques and exciting new discoveries, and explore some of the most puzzling and bizarre objects being studied by astronomers today.

HD 1080P Host: Sean Andrews Yamila Miguel Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur Abstract: The key to understand our origins is in the interiors and atmospheres of the giant planets. Jupiter is the biggest planet in our system and the most influential one: its large mass shaped the architecture of the solar system and due to its fast formation it contains valuable information of the solar system formation history. In orbit since July 2016, the first orbits of the Juno mission have led to a remarkable improvement of the planet gravity data, changing our knowledge of the planetary interior and leading to a much better comprehension of the giant planet and its role in the solar system. In this seminar, I will present the new Juno results, the models we use to understand Jupiter's interior and its differential rotation, and the main challenges and questions that remained to be solved.

Mapping the United Federation of Planets: An Astronomer's Guide to the Galaxy Mia Bovill, Space Telescope Science Institute How big is Star Trek's United Federation of Planets? How far did the various starship captains travel? Where exactly are the Klingons? To answer these questions, we need to leave the future spacefaring of the Enterprise behind and ask questions of astronomers in the here and now of 21st century Earth. Where is the Earth located within our Milky Way? What are the overall shape and scale of the galaxy? And just how can we decipher the Milky Way's features when we are stuck at one location inside it? Come for the Star Trek, and stay to hear the centuries long, ongoing, and arduous tale of how a "minor bipedal species" is mapping the Milky Way. Host: Dr. Frank Summers Recorded live on Tuesday, March 6, 2018 at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, MD, USA For more information: http://hubblesite.org/about_us/public-talks.shtml

in HD 1080p Exoplanet Atmosphere Characterization, Present and Future pH Lecture March 1, 2018 Phillips Auditorium Laura Kreidberg CfA Host: Charles Alcock Abstract: We now know that exoplanets abound in the Galaxy, with most stars hosting at least one planet. These recently discovered worlds are much more diverse than the planets in the Solar System, and raise many questions about their formation, evolution, and habitability. To address these questions, we turn to atmosphere characterization, which provides a wealth of additional information about the planets. I will discuss the state of the art in atmosphere studies, focusing on recent high-precision, space-based observations of hot Jupiters and warm Neptunes. These studies have already revealed planetary atmospheric chemistry, climate, and cloud coverage in unprecedented detail, and they are poised for a revolutionary advance thanks to the upcoming launch of the James Webb Space Telescope. I will conclude with a discussion of prospects for future observations with JWST, including the characterization of temperate, terrestrial worlds.

Mars’ composition and properties were influenced by where and how it formed. In this MAVEN outreach webinar from February 28, 2018, Dr. Katherine Kretke of the Southwest Research Institute discusses planetary formation and migration and how Mars is proving to be a crucial piece of evidence as we try to understand how and where our planets formed. More resources related to this and other MAVEN outreach webinars can be found here: https://bit.ly/MAVENOW.

Original air date: Thursday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. PT (10 p.m. ET, 0300 UTC) Dig deep into the workings of Earth’s next trip to the Red Planet. InSight, scheduled to launch in May, 2018, will be the first NASA mission to observe the deep interior of Mars and learn about the history and evolution of rocky planets. See the instruments InSight will bring to Mars, including the first seismometer ever taken to the surface of another planet. For more info on InSight, visit https://mars.nasa.gov/insight Speaker: Troy Lee Hudson Technologist, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

In HD 1080p Host: Alyssa Goodman Speaker: Giuseppina Fabbiano (CfA) While the VO is now embedded in the fabric of data astronomy, astronomers are still largely unaware of it, and often think of it as a past, perhaps failed, experiment. Instead, chances are that if you work with data, you are already using the VO. In this talk, I will discuss VO perception and reality, and demonstrate recent VO-enabled software and interfaces. Observations of the sky by means of increasingly powerful ground-based and space telescopes (and simulations) produce a rich and ever larger volume of digital data. They constitute a tremendous Virtual Observatory for astronomers to investigate the properties and evolution of the Universe. The realization that a new infrastructure was needed to fully and easily exploit these increasingly complex, diverse and large data sets, led to the constitution in 2002 of the International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA), the standards organization for digital astronomy data access and interoperability. The IVOA has so far been joined by 21 national and international VO projects worldwide, and has produced standards for finding, accessing, selecting, extracting, analyzing and visualizing data. IVOA standards are increasingly implemented in all the major archives worldwide. Data centers are beginning to be built upon these standards, and new telescope projects are planning to use them. IVOA standards are used in a growing set of popular tools and interfaces in astronomy, as well as in tools used for Education and Outreach world-wide.

Brian Greene moderates this fascinating program exploring the fundamental principles of Quantum Physics. Anyone with an interest in science will enjoy this thought-provoking and highly entertaining show. FULL DESCRIPTION: Ninety years after the historic double-slit experiment, the quantum revolution shows no sign of slowing. Join a vibrant conversation with renowned leaders in theoretical physics, quantum computation, and philosophical foundations, focused on how quantum physics continues to impact understanding on issues profound and practical, from the edge of black holes and the fibers of spacetime to teleportation and the future of computers. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for all the latest from WSF. Visit our Website: http://www.worldsciencefestival.com/ Like us on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/worldsciencefestival Follow us on twitter: https://twitter.com/WorldSciFest Original Program Date: June 2 2017 MODERATOR: Brian Greene PARTICIPANTS: Mark Van Raamsdonk, Gerard ’t Hooft, David Wallace, Birgitta Whaley Brian Greene's introduction to Quantum Mechanics 00:09 Participant Introductions 03:32 Where do we currently stand with quantum mechanics? 05:30 Chapter One - Quantum Basics 07:48 The Double Slit experiment 14:18 Chapter Two - Measurement and Entanglement 26:53 Quantum Mechanics today is the best we have 41:27 Chapter Three - Quantum Mechanics and Black Holes 59:07 Black holes and Hawking Radiation 01:03:56 Chapter Four - Quantum Mechanics and Spacetime 01:15:45 Chapter Five - Applied Quantum 01:23:36 This program is part of the Big Ideas Series, made possible with support from the John Templeton Foundation.

HD 1080p Peter Blanchard and Ashley Villar, PhD Candidates, Astrophysics, Harvard University Recently, astronomers and physicists around the world turned their eyes and "ears" towards an incredible event in the night sky. For the first time, we detected the collision of two neutron stars using both traditional telescopes and a gravitational wave detector called LIGO/Virgo. This event triggered a so-called "kilonova" - an event so powerful that it forged gold weighing half as much as Jupiter. Peter Blanchard and Ashley Villar will help unravel the mystery behind gravity waves, neutron stars, and this exciting event. Original music by Mark C. Petersen, Loch Ness Productions. Used with permission. Animations used under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Planetary scientist Dr. Ralph Lorenz of the Applied Physics Lab at Johns Hopkins University discusses the saturnian moon Titan and results of the Cassini mission’s exploration of Titan. Lorenz outlines the uniqueness of Titan’s geochemistry and surface morphology, but also points out its similarities with Earth. This was the fourth presentation in the Lunar and Planetary Institute’s 2017–2018 Cosmic Exploration Speaker Series, “Diving into Ocean Worlds.”

Does our society have the capacity to live up to Star Trek's optimistic, inclusive vision for humanity's future? That is the central question in The Truth is in the Stars, a feature documentary in which the original Captain Kirk, William Shatner, examines Star Trek's influence on popular culture, human innovation, discovery, and creativity. Credit: Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics Follow Us: Facebook: https://goo.gl/QapZAe Twitter: https://goo.gl/RoQSmJ

Jan. 24, 2018 Dr. Eliot Quataert (University of California, Berkeley) Recently one third of the world's astronomers became involved in observing a distant and violent event, when two neutron stars collided and exploded. This represented the first time in history that a cosmic event was observed with both gravity waves and light -- the birth of "multi-messenger astronomy." Dr. Quataert gives a non-technical history of how we are now able to find gravity waves, what happens during such a merger, and why we now believe that much of the gold, platinum, uranium and other heavy elements in the universe is assembled in such mergers.

What can you use the accurate timing of pulsars for? Why do we have planets? Can neutrinos be used to map stellar objects? Jen Gupta answers questions following her talk. Subscribe for regular science videos: http://bit.ly/RiSubscRibe Watch the talk here: https://youtu.be/nhzU8SQTnHE Jen Gupta is an astrophysicist who loves to talk about how awesome space is with anyone who will listen. She is currently based in the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation at the University of Portsmouth where she is the SEPnet/Ogden Physics Outreach Officer. She also occasionally works at the Winchester Science Centre as a Planetarium Presenter. In her spare time she help to organise the Winchester Science Festival. Jen did her PhD at the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester under the supervision of Professor Ian Browne. Her research looked at active galactic nuclei (AGN) – galaxies that are emitting far more energy from their centres than can be accounted for by their stars. In particular she focused on a subset of AGN called blazars. This Q&A was filmed in the Royal Institution on 14 April 2016. The Ri is on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ri_science and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/royalinstitution and Tumblr: http://ri-science.tumblr.com/ Our editorial policy: http://www.rigb.org/home/editorial-policy Subscribe for the latest science videos: http://bit.ly/RiNewsletter

Astrophysicist Jen Gupta explores views of the Universe at wavelengths other than visible light, from familiar objects like our Sun to weird and wonderful distant quasars. Subscribe for regular science videos: http://bit.ly/RiSubscRibe Watch the Q&A here: https://youtu.be/tpjcyY6FvtA Jen Gupta is an astrophysicist who loves to talk about how awesome space is with anyone who will listen. She is currently based in the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation at the University of Portsmouth where she is the SEPnet/Ogden Physics Outreach Officer. She also occasionally works at the Winchester Science Centre as a Planetarium Presenter. In her spare time she help to organise the Winchester Science Festival. Jen did her PhD at the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester under the supervision of Professor Ian Browne. Her research looked at active galactic nuclei (AGN) – galaxies that are emitting far more energy from their centres than can be accounted for by their stars. In particular she focused on a subset of AGN called blazars. This talk was filmed in the Royal Institution on 14 April 2016. The Ri is on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ri_science and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/royalinstitution and Tumblr: http://ri-science.tumblr.com/ Our editorial policy: http://www.rigb.org/home/editorial-policy Subscribe for the latest science videos: http://bit.ly/RiNewsletter

Guest speaker: Dr Charley Lineweaver When we look at the starry sky we cannot help wonder whether we are alone in the universe or whether other sentient beings exist, and if so how far away they are. Maybe the light reflected off our planet and old radio transmissions have travelled through the enormous distances of space and reached intelligent beings, who may also be wondering whether there is life here. Presently we do not have the technology to travel far outside of the solar system and check this out for ourselves, but since time immemorial philosophers have been debating whether we are the only intelligent species in the universe, while scientists have devised experiments to detect signs of life outside of Earth. In this keynote address, we’ll hear from one of the topmost Australian researchers in the field of astrobiology what we have learned so far, and will be treated to a thought-provoking travel through time and space to answer the ultimate question: are we alone? Dr Charles (Charley) Lineweaver is the convener of the Planetary Science Institute (PSI) of the Australian National University (ANU), where he holds a joint Associate Professorship in the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and the Research School of Earth Sciences. He obtained his PhD from the University of California at Berkeley, where he was a member of the COBE satellite team that discovered temperature fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background. His current research ranges from cosmology, to exoplanetology, astrobiology and evolutionary biology.

The Wildest Weather in the Universe Hannah Wakeford, Space Telescope Science Institute Though we may complain about it, Earth has nothing on the universe when it comes to wild weather. Within our own solar system, there are storms so large that our entire planet would be engulfed three times over. The thousands of exoplanets we have uncovered feature not only alien worlds with alien sunsets, but also places where gems rain down from the sky. Join Dr. Wakeford for an adventure into the most extreme weather known to science. Host: Dr. Frank Summers Recorded live on Tuesday, February 6, 2018 at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, MD, USA For more information: http://hubblesite.org/about_us/public-talks.shtml