Images: NASA/Alan Stern and David Grinspoon
Join us on Tuesday, June 26, at 6:00pm Pacific / 9:00pm Eastern, when Drs. Alan Stern and David Grinspoon take a look at the New Horizons mission to Pluto and beyond. NSN members can register in advance for this webinar here (login required).
NASA’s New Horizons mission provided an amazing array of images and data from its historic flyby of Pluto. In this webinar, hear from New Horizons Principal Investigator Dr. Alan Stern, and astrobiologist Dr. David Grinspoon, as they recap the amazing journey of New Horizons as it now is set to flyby the Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU69, orbiting a billion miles past Pluto.
About Dr. Alan Stern
Dr. Alan Stern is a planetary scientist, space program executive, aerospace consultant, and author. He leads NASA’s New Horizons mission that successfully explored the Pluto system and is now exploring the Kuiper Belt—the farthest exploration in the history of humankind.
In both 2007 and 2016, he was named to the Time 100 list. In 2007 and 2008, Dr. Stern served as NASA’s chief of all space and Earth science programs. Since 2009, he has been an Associate Vice President and Special Assistant to the President at the Southwest Research Institute.
About Dr. David Grinspoon
David Grinspoon is an astrobiologist, award-winning science communicator, and prize-winning author. His newest book is Chasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto, co-authored with Alan Stern. He is a Senior Scientist at the Planetary Science Institute and Adjunct Professor of Astrophysical and Planetary Science at the University of Colorado. His research focuses on climate evolution on Earth-like planets and potential conditions for life elsewhere in the universe. He is involved with several interplanetary spacecraft missions for NASA, the European Space Agency and the Japanese Space Agency.
Related Activity: Sorting the Solar System
One of the more controversial topics in space science over the past twenty years is surely the demotion of Pluto's status from a planet to a dwarf planet. How do we define a planet? What characteristics are used to classify solar system objects? The Night Sky Network activity Sorting the Solar System, is an opportunity to engage attendees at outreach events in practicing their scientific thinking skills through sorting objects into categories based on their common properties. This activity may expose just how difficult it is to determine what to call some objects, particularly when they share characteristics with those in different groups.
Registration and More Information
NSN members can find a link to preregister for this webinar, as well as related links for more information and resources for this webinar, on this dedicated outreach resource page (NSN login required).
NASA’s New Horizons mission provided an amazing array of images and data from its historic flyby of Pluto. In this webinar, hear from New Horizons Principal Investigator Dr. Alan Stern, and astrobiologist Dr. David Grinspoon, as they recap the amazing journey of New Horizons as it now is set to flyby the Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU69, orbiting a billion miles past Pluto.
About Dr. Alan Stern
Dr. Alan Stern is a planetary scientist, space program executive, aerospace consultant, and author. He leads NASA’s New Horizons mission that successfully explored the Pluto system and is now exploring the Kuiper Belt—the farthest exploration in the history of humankind.
In both 2007 and 2016, he was named to the Time 100 list. In 2007 and 2008, Dr. Stern served as NASA’s chief of all space and Earth science programs. Since 2009, he has been an Associate Vice President and Special Assistant to the President at the Southwest Research Institute.
About Dr. David Grinspoon
David Grinspoon is an astrobiologist, award-winning science communicator, and prize-winning author. His newest book is Chasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto, co-authored with Alan Stern. He is a Senior Scientist at the Planetary Science Institute and Adjunct Professor of Astrophysical and Planetary Science at the University of Colorado. His research focuses on climate evolution on Earth-like planets and potential conditions for life elsewhere in the universe. He is involved with several interplanetary spacecraft missions for NASA, the European Space Agency and the Japanese Space Agency.
Related Activity: Sorting the Solar System
One of the more controversial topics in space science over the past twenty years is surely the demotion of Pluto's status from a planet to a dwarf planet. How do we define a planet? What characteristics are used to classify solar system objects? The Night Sky Network activity Sorting the Solar System, is an opportunity to engage attendees at outreach events in practicing their scientific thinking skills through sorting objects into categories based on their common properties. This activity may expose just how difficult it is to determine what to call some objects, particularly when they share characteristics with those in different groups.
Registration and More Information
NSN members can find a link to preregister for this webinar, as well as related links for more information and resources for this webinar, on this dedicated outreach resource page (NSN login required).
Previous NSN Webinars
Images courtesy of NASA/Nicola Fox
NSN members joined us on Tuesday, May 15, when Dr. Nicola Fox, the project scientist for NASA's Parker Solar Probe, shared with us the details about this upcoming mission that will directly experience the solar atmosphere. NSN members can find related links for more information and resources for this webinar, on this dedicated outreach resource page
Click here to see a list of all previous webinars
All past webinars are also available on the NSN YouTube page.
Upcoming Webinars (all webinars to be held at 6pm PT/9pm ET)
June 26, 2018
9:00 PM Eastern/ 6:00 PM Pacific
Chasing New Horizons
Outreach Resource Page (NSN login required)
July 18, 2018
9:00 PM Eastern/ 6:00 PM Pacific
Planet Hunters and the Most Mysterious Star in the Galaxy with Dr. Tabetha Boyajian
Outreach Resource Page (NSN login required)
Last updated: April 26, 2018