As part of the 15th annual Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series, Columbia University Director of Astrobiology Caleb Scharf, Ph.D., who is considered one of the leading scholars at the interface of astronomy and biology, will discuss "The Copernicus Complex: Are We Special in the Cosmos?," an illustrated, non-technical lecture Wednesday, Oct. 8, at 7 p.m. in the Smithwick Theatre at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills. Admission is free and the public is invited. Seating is first come, first served. Arrive early to locate parking.
Is humanity on Earth special or unexceptional? For the first time in human history, we stand poised to answer this question from a scientific perspective. Extraordinary discoveries in astronomy and biology have revealed a universe filled with endlessly diverse planetary systems, and a picture of life as a phenomenon intimately linked with the most fundamental aspects of physics. But just where these discoveries will lead us is not yet clear. We may need to find a way to see past the mediocre status that Copernicus assigned to us 500 years ago. To do that we need to come to grips with some of the latest scientific research, from the microscopic to the cosmic, which Dr. Scharf will set out in this talk.
Scharf is the author of the widely praised popular book Gravity’s Engines, which was the basis of the BBC/Science Channel documentary, Swallowed by a Black Hole. His textbook, Extrasolar Planets and Astrobiology, won the 2011 Chambliss Prize. In addition to more than 100 scientific research papers, he has written non-technical articles for Scientific American, The New Yorker, Science, and other publications, and has been interviewed frequently for television. His latest book, The Copernicus Complex, was just published by Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux; he will sign copies after the lecture. Scharf's appearance at the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series marks the first time that an author has presented a lecture while on a major book tour.
The free lecture series is sponsored by the Foothill College Astronomy Program, NASA Ames Research Center,SETI Institute Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Past lectures from the series are available online at https://www.astrosociety.org/education/podcast/index.html. A number of past Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures are now available free on YouTube on the series' own channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/SVAstronomyLectures/.
Parking lots 1, 7 and 8 provide stair and no-stair access to the theatre. Visitors must purchase a parking permit for $3 from dispensers in any student parking lot. Dispensers accept one-dollar bills and quarters; bring exact change. Foothill College is located off I-280 on El Monte Road in Los Altos Hills. For more information, access https://www.foothill.edu or call (650) 949-7888.
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Is humanity on Earth special or unexceptional? For the first time in human history, we stand poised to answer this question from a scientific perspective. Extraordinary discoveries in astronomy and biology have revealed a universe filled with endlessly diverse planetary systems, and a picture of life as a phenomenon intimately linked with the most fundamental aspects of physics. But just where these discoveries will lead us is not yet clear. We may need to find a way to see past the mediocre status that Copernicus assigned to us 500 years ago. To do that we need to come to grips with some of the latest scientific research, from the microscopic to the cosmic, which Dr. Scharf will set out in this talk.
Scharf is the author of the widely praised popular book Gravity’s Engines, which was the basis of the BBC/Science Channel documentary, Swallowed by a Black Hole. His textbook, Extrasolar Planets and Astrobiology, won the 2011 Chambliss Prize. In addition to more than 100 scientific research papers, he has written non-technical articles for Scientific American, The New Yorker, Science, and other publications, and has been interviewed frequently for television. His latest book, The Copernicus Complex, was just published by Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux; he will sign copies after the lecture. Scharf's appearance at the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series marks the first time that an author has presented a lecture while on a major book tour.
The free lecture series is sponsored by the Foothill College Astronomy Program, NASA Ames Research Center,SETI Institute Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Past lectures from the series are available online at https://www.astrosociety.org/education/podcast/index.html. A number of past Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures are now available free on YouTube on the series' own channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/SVAstronomyLectures/.
Parking lots 1, 7 and 8 provide stair and no-stair access to the theatre. Visitors must purchase a parking permit for $3 from dispensers in any student parking lot. Dispensers accept one-dollar bills and quarters; bring exact change. Foothill College is located off I-280 on El Monte Road in Los Altos Hills. For more information, access https://www.foothill.edu or call (650) 949-7888.
As part of the 15th annual Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series, Columbia University Director of Astrobiology Caleb Scharf, Ph.D., who is considered one of the leading scholars at the interface of astronomy and biology, will discuss "The Copernicus Complex: Are We Special in the Cosmos?," an illustrated, non-technical lecture Wednesday, Oct. 8, at 7 p.m. in the Smithwick Theatre at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills. Admission is free and the public is invited. Seating is first come, first served. Arrive early to locate parking.
Is humanity on Earth special or unexceptional? For the first time in human history, we stand poised to answer this question from a scientific perspective. Extraordinary discoveries in astronomy and biology have revealed a universe filled with endlessly diverse planetary systems, and a picture of life as a phenomenon intimately linked with the most fundamental aspects of physics. But just where these discoveries will lead us is not yet clear. We may need to find a way to see past the mediocre status that Copernicus assigned to us 500 years ago. To do that we need to come to grips with some of the latest scientific research, from the microscopic to the cosmic, which Dr. Scharf will set out in this talk.
Scharf is the author of the widely praised popular book Gravity’s Engines, which was the basis of the BBC/Science Channel documentary, Swallowed by a Black Hole. His textbook, Extrasolar Planets and Astrobiology, won the 2011 Chambliss Prize. In addition to more than 100 scientific research papers, he has written non-technical articles for Scientific American, The New Yorker, Science, and other publications, and has been interviewed frequently for television. His latest book, The Copernicus Complex, was just published by Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux; he will sign copies after the lecture. Scharf's appearance at the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series marks the first time that an author has presented a lecture while on a major book tour.
The free lecture series is sponsored by the Foothill College Astronomy Program, NASA Ames Research Center,SETI Institute Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Past lectures from the series are available online at https://www.astrosociety.org/education/podcast/index.html. A number of past Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures are now available free on YouTube on the series' own channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/SVAstronomyLectures/.
Parking lots 1, 7 and 8 provide stair and no-stair access to the theatre. Visitors must purchase a parking permit for $3 from dispensers in any student parking lot. Dispensers accept one-dollar bills and quarters; bring exact change. Foothill College is located off I-280 on El Monte Road in Los Altos Hills. For more information, access https://www.foothill.edu or call (650) 949-7888.
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Is humanity on Earth special or unexceptional? For the first time in human history, we stand poised to answer this question from a scientific perspective. Extraordinary discoveries in astronomy and biology have revealed a universe filled with endlessly diverse planetary systems, and a picture of life as a phenomenon intimately linked with the most fundamental aspects of physics. But just where these discoveries will lead us is not yet clear. We may need to find a way to see past the mediocre status that Copernicus assigned to us 500 years ago. To do that we need to come to grips with some of the latest scientific research, from the microscopic to the cosmic, which Dr. Scharf will set out in this talk.
Scharf is the author of the widely praised popular book Gravity’s Engines, which was the basis of the BBC/Science Channel documentary, Swallowed by a Black Hole. His textbook, Extrasolar Planets and Astrobiology, won the 2011 Chambliss Prize. In addition to more than 100 scientific research papers, he has written non-technical articles for Scientific American, The New Yorker, Science, and other publications, and has been interviewed frequently for television. His latest book, The Copernicus Complex, was just published by Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux; he will sign copies after the lecture. Scharf's appearance at the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series marks the first time that an author has presented a lecture while on a major book tour.
The free lecture series is sponsored by the Foothill College Astronomy Program, NASA Ames Research Center,SETI Institute Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Past lectures from the series are available online at https://www.astrosociety.org/education/podcast/index.html. A number of past Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures are now available free on YouTube on the series' own channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/SVAstronomyLectures/.
Parking lots 1, 7 and 8 provide stair and no-stair access to the theatre. Visitors must purchase a parking permit for $3 from dispensers in any student parking lot. Dispensers accept one-dollar bills and quarters; bring exact change. Foothill College is located off I-280 on El Monte Road in Los Altos Hills. For more information, access https://www.foothill.edu or call (650) 949-7888.
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12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022
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