UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A free public lecture titled "How to Hunt for a Signs of Alien Life" will begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24, in 100 Thomas Building on the Penn State University Park campus. The speaker, Lisa Kaltenegger, is an associate professor at Cornell University and the director of the university's Carl Sagan Institute.
During her lecture, Kaltenegger will give a guided tour of our most advanced telescopes. These space-exploration tools now have enough sensitivity to search for signs of life, both inside and outside our own solar system, by exploring the physical structure of planets and moons as well as the chemical composition of their atmospheres. Learn how scientists are using these new tools to study features of rocky planets in the habitable zone around stars, to discover if our concept of habitability is correct, and to learn how we can identify the first habitable new worlds in our galaxy.
This lecture concludes the series of six free presentations on consecutive Saturday mornings in the 2018 Penn State Lectures on the Frontiers of Science. These lectures are given by scientists whose research is at the frontiers of the hunt for planets beyond Earth that have conditions suitable for life. The overall theme of the 2018 series is "Is There Life on Other Planets?"
The annual Penn State Lectures on the Frontiers of Science are organized and supported by the Penn State Eberly College of Science as an enjoyable and enlightening opportunity for eager learners in the Central Pennsylvania area and beyond. After captions are added to the videos of the lectures, the presentations are archived for viewing online at science.psu.edu/frontiers.
Penn State encourages qualified persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please call 814-863-4682 or e-mail sci-comm@psu.edu in advance of your participation or visit. More information about the Penn State Lectures on the Frontiers of Science, including archived recordings of previous lectures, is online at science.psu.edu/frontiers.