Faculty of Science Presents Space Talks
Saturday, October 17, 2020
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Anybody out there Science HoCo
The Dean of Science, Matt Davison invites you to join our Faculty Space & Earth Exploration experts for two space talks to celebrate our virtual Homecoming 2020.

The 1-hour session will be comprised of two 20 minute talks followed by 10 minute Q&A sessions.
The Space talks include:
 
Professor Jan Cami  Are We Alone? The Search for Life in the Universe
Professor Jan Cami
Department of Physics & Astronomy, Faculty of Science
Director, Hume Cronyn Memorial Observatory
Associate Director (Research & Outreach), Institute for Earth and Space Exploration
University of Western Ontario
Few scientific endeavors manage to capture people’s imagination as much as the search for extraterrestrial life. In this presentation, I will address perhaps the most important unanswered scientific question: “Are We Alone?” Is life a rarity, or is the universe teeming with an abundance and variety of life forms, separated from each other by the vast space between their home planets? How can we find out? What is necessary for life, and where in the Universe do we find all necessary ingredients for life in the right environment? We will have a look at some of the most promising places in our Solar System, and then look further out. How many planets are there that could harbor life, with possibly intelligent civilizations as a result? And if intelligent civilizations exist, why haven’t we found them yet? I will end with some prospects for the future.
 
Catherine Neish, Dragonfly Project: A Rotorcraft Lander at Titan
Assistant Professor Catherine Neish
Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science
The University of Western Ontario 
On June 27, 2019, NASA announced its next New Frontiers mission: Dragonfly. This audacious mission will send a rotorcraft to explore Saturn’s largest moon Titan, and evaluate its potential for prebiotic chemistry and (possibly) extraterrestrial life. The Dragonfly mission will also give us countless high-resolution view of this strangely Earth-like moon, showing us how rivers and sand dunes form on an icy moon at 94 K. In this presentation, I will provide a summary of the history of the Dragonfly mission, its scientific goals, and the next steps forward, from launch in 2026 to landing in 2034.
 
Please register in advance to receive the Zoom login details.
 
For a full list of virtual Homecoming 2020 activities, please visit the Events section of our website. All event times are in Eastern Time. (Are you located in a different time zone? Find out when to watch in your local time here.)
 
Western University is committed to accessibility for persons with disabilities. Please contact us if you have any particular accommodation requirements or require information in an alternate format.


We are sorry, the deadline for registering for this event online has passed. Please email alumnirsvp@uwo.ca or call 1-800-258-6896 and press 2 if you are still interested in attending. Please leave your name, email, phone number, the name of your guest and specify which event you will be attending.


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