Press Release: Talking Science on Thursday - Gravity and Astrodynamics

This week's Talking Science will be about one of the fundamental forces of nature: gravity. In particular, we are going to talk about how scientists and engineers use rockets with and against gravity to send spacecraft all over the Solar System. So we'll be talking about such arcane things as geostationary orbits, Hohmann Transfers and Lagrange Points. Along the way we'll learn about folks like Kepler, Newton and Einstein. There might be a teeny bit of math too.

Thursday, 7 PM PST (SLT)

Prism Lila (140/27/351)

Press Release: Talking Science - Asteroids, Comets, and Meteors, Oh My!

As the Dawn Spacecraft nears the dwarf planet Ceres, we are learning more about this enigmatic object out in the Asteroid Belt. We already know that it expels water plumes... Could it also hold a warm liquid water ocean under its surface? We will talk about why some things are called asteroids, but other things are called comets, and what the links between them are. We will also talk about different kinds of asteroids, and where they might all come from.

7 PM PST (SLT) Thursday at the Meridian Cafe!

Prism Lila (140/27/351)

Press Release, Debate on Vaccinations

In 2000, measles, once a childhood scourge, was declared "eradicated" in the United States. Earlier this week, an outbreak of measles started at Disneyland in California. Most of the victims (though not all) had not been vaccinated. We will discuss what kinds of vaccines there are, how they work, and what they have accomplished. We will also talk about the anti-vaccination movement. Are their arguments sensible?

7PM tonight, Thursday January 29, at the Meridian Cafe

Prism Lila (140, 27, 350)

Press Release: Discussion on Astrobiology and Habitable Zones at the Meridian Cafe

Thursday, September 4, 7 PM SLT
Meridian Cafe

Astrobiology is the search for life on other planets. Once only the domain of science fiction writers, this is now one of NASA's top exploration priorities.

One of the most important questions we will discuss is: what is life? How do we define it?

How we define life guides how we search for it. We will talk about past and future efforts to look for life in the Solar System, and where in the Solar System might be the right place to look.

Prism Lila (140/27/351)

Press Release: Discussion on Extrasolar Planets and Habitable Zones

How likely is life in the universe really? And where might one find it? We will talk about habitable zones around other stars, as well as in our own Solar System.

Thursday, August 28, 7 PM SLT

Meridian Cafe

Come on over and let's talk some science!

Prism Lila (140/27/351)