Astronomy on Tap STL

Three lectures will be given:

Dr. Wang, "New Perspectives on the Origin of the Moon"

Abstract:  The Moon has always intrigued humankind. Many myths, theories, and hypotheses have emerged throughout history to explain its origin; however, until the 1970s there were neither adequate tools nor direct samples to test these hypotheses. Thanks to the return of lunar samples via NASA’s Apollo missions, the revolutionary “Giant Impact” theory was proposed and gradually received full acceptance. It was believed that the question of lunar formation had finally been answered. In the past decade, ultra-high precision chemical and isotopic analyses of lunar samples have begun contradicting some predictions of the “Giant Impact” theory, challenging the canonical view of the formation of the Moon. Currently, we are in the midst of a crisis, an “isotopic crisis" regarding the origin of the Moon.

To solve this, we must re-evaluate our measured evidence and test new perspectives on the origin of the Moon. I will tackle this problem and address this crisis using innovative tracers of moderately volatile elements (such as K, Zn, and Cu). These elements are susceptible to evaporation and condensation during impact events of different scales. In this talk, I will use these moderately volatile tracers to test various recently proposed theories for the origin of the Moon.

Dr. Rhodes, "Creating an Eclipse to Study Alien Planets"

Dr. Krause, "Measuring the Dark Universe"