Tue July 18, 2017
Astrolecture Series - Jupiter and its Moons: Recent Discoveries
SEE EVENT DETAILS
at Arguello
(see times)
The AstroLecture Series is held every third Tuesday of the month and is co-sponsored by the San Francisco Amateur Astronomers in partnership with the Presidio Trust. Each lecture focuses on an astronomy related topic, and shares the latest findings and cutting edge science from noted professional astronomers, scientists, and scholars. Lectures introduce content that will engage the astronomy beginner as well as deliver a serious science fix to people with an advanced knowledge. One hour to 90 minutes of highly visual and stimulating presentation is followed by interactive an interactive question and answer session. For all ages. Sponsored by the San Francisco Amateur Astronomers and the Presidio Trust.
At this Event Despite the fact that Jupiter has been observed for decades from the ground and in situ by spacecraft, we still do not know its bulk composition nor do we understand its global atmospheric dynamics well. The sensitivity upgrade to the Very Large Array (VLA), combined with novel data reduction techniques, has enabled us to produce detailed longitude-resolved maps of Jupiter’s atmosphere at different wavelengths. Since at these wavelengths the main source of opacity is ammonia gas, our maps provide a 3D picture of ammonia gas in Jupiter’s atmosphere, within and below the planet’s visible cloud layers. These maps reveal upward and downward motions within the turbulent atmosphere, and bear a striking resemblance to visible-light images taken by amateur astronomers and Hubble.
Imke de Pater is a Professor in the Department of Astronomy at UC Berkeley, and a world-renowned planetary scientist. She is an authority on modeling and mapping the planets of our solar system, and led a worldwide campaign to observe the impact of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter in 1994. This lead to a detailed investigation of the effects of impacts on the magnetospheric environment of Jupiter. Her research interests include: infrared observations on the Keck, Gemini, and VLT telescopes. She also observes the giant planets at radio wavelengths, using the Very Large Array, ALMA, and LOFAR.
Photo Credit: NASA
show less
At this Event Despite the fact that Jupiter has been observed for decades from the ground and in situ by spacecraft, we still do not know its bulk composition nor do we understand its global atmospheric dynamics well. The sensitivity upgrade to the Very Large Array (VLA), combined with novel data reduction techniques, has enabled us to produce detailed longitude-resolved maps of Jupiter’s atmosphere at different wavelengths. Since at these wavelengths the main source of opacity is ammonia gas, our maps provide a 3D picture of ammonia gas in Jupiter’s atmosphere, within and below the planet’s visible cloud layers. These maps reveal upward and downward motions within the turbulent atmosphere, and bear a striking resemblance to visible-light images taken by amateur astronomers and Hubble.
Imke de Pater is a Professor in the Department of Astronomy at UC Berkeley, and a world-renowned planetary scientist. She is an authority on modeling and mapping the planets of our solar system, and led a worldwide campaign to observe the impact of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter in 1994. This lead to a detailed investigation of the effects of impacts on the magnetospheric environment of Jupiter. Her research interests include: infrared observations on the Keck, Gemini, and VLT telescopes. She also observes the giant planets at radio wavelengths, using the Very Large Array, ALMA, and LOFAR.
Photo Credit: NASA
The AstroLecture Series is held every third Tuesday of the month and is co-sponsored by the San Francisco Amateur Astronomers in partnership with the Presidio Trust. Each lecture focuses on an astronomy related topic, and shares the latest findings and cutting edge science from noted professional astronomers, scientists, and scholars. Lectures introduce content that will engage the astronomy beginner as well as deliver a serious science fix to people with an advanced knowledge. One hour to 90 minutes of highly visual and stimulating presentation is followed by interactive an interactive question and answer session. For all ages. Sponsored by the San Francisco Amateur Astronomers and the Presidio Trust.
At this Event Despite the fact that Jupiter has been observed for decades from the ground and in situ by spacecraft, we still do not know its bulk composition nor do we understand its global atmospheric dynamics well. The sensitivity upgrade to the Very Large Array (VLA), combined with novel data reduction techniques, has enabled us to produce detailed longitude-resolved maps of Jupiter’s atmosphere at different wavelengths. Since at these wavelengths the main source of opacity is ammonia gas, our maps provide a 3D picture of ammonia gas in Jupiter’s atmosphere, within and below the planet’s visible cloud layers. These maps reveal upward and downward motions within the turbulent atmosphere, and bear a striking resemblance to visible-light images taken by amateur astronomers and Hubble.
Imke de Pater is a Professor in the Department of Astronomy at UC Berkeley, and a world-renowned planetary scientist. She is an authority on modeling and mapping the planets of our solar system, and led a worldwide campaign to observe the impact of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter in 1994. This lead to a detailed investigation of the effects of impacts on the magnetospheric environment of Jupiter. Her research interests include: infrared observations on the Keck, Gemini, and VLT telescopes. She also observes the giant planets at radio wavelengths, using the Very Large Array, ALMA, and LOFAR.
Photo Credit: NASA
read more
At this Event Despite the fact that Jupiter has been observed for decades from the ground and in situ by spacecraft, we still do not know its bulk composition nor do we understand its global atmospheric dynamics well. The sensitivity upgrade to the Very Large Array (VLA), combined with novel data reduction techniques, has enabled us to produce detailed longitude-resolved maps of Jupiter’s atmosphere at different wavelengths. Since at these wavelengths the main source of opacity is ammonia gas, our maps provide a 3D picture of ammonia gas in Jupiter’s atmosphere, within and below the planet’s visible cloud layers. These maps reveal upward and downward motions within the turbulent atmosphere, and bear a striking resemblance to visible-light images taken by amateur astronomers and Hubble.
Imke de Pater is a Professor in the Department of Astronomy at UC Berkeley, and a world-renowned planetary scientist. She is an authority on modeling and mapping the planets of our solar system, and led a worldwide campaign to observe the impact of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter in 1994. This lead to a detailed investigation of the effects of impacts on the magnetospheric environment of Jupiter. Her research interests include: infrared observations on the Keck, Gemini, and VLT telescopes. She also observes the giant planets at radio wavelengths, using the Very Large Array, ALMA, and LOFAR.
Photo Credit: NASA
show less
Date/Times:
Arguello
50 Moraga Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94129
The Best Events
Every Week in Your Inbox
From Our Sponsors
UPCOMING EVENTS
Great suggestion! We'll be in touch.
Event reviewed successfully.