Tucker

Astrobiology is the study of life in the universe. However, the only place in this vast cosmos that is known to host life is our own planet. But now, science has revealed that several planetary bodies in our solar system have the potential to host primitive forms of life. This talk will describe why and how NASA plans to search for life on Mars and the icy ocean moons of Jupiter and Saturn.

Our speaker, Dr. Carol Stoker, is staff planetary scientist at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View. She has led field experiments in the Arctic, the Antarctic, underwater, and in the deserts of the US southwest. Most recently, she has helped to develop robotic systems to search for life on other planets.

Dr. Carol Stoker

At a time when science faces increasing criticism, Dawkins issues a passionate defense, insisting that reason and empirical evidence take center stage. With growing threats of irrationality and hostility, his plea for a return to reason couldn’t be more timely. Come hear more from the legendary biologist and provocateur as he challenges faulty logic, bad science, and climate change deniers.

Do you ever wish we could look back in time? We can, by studying the cosmic microwave background (CMB), which reveals the fiery early universe when it was only 0.003% of its present age. This presentation will show how studying the CMB allows us to learn about the origin, composition, and ultimate fate of the universe.

Dr. Blake Sherwin is NASA Einstein Postdoctoral Fellow at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. He has also just earned the title of University Lecturer in Theoretical Cosmology at Cambridge University in England.

Dr. Blake Sherwin

Galileo Galilei developed a new method for reliably comprehending the world — and the entire cosmos — around us. Accordingly, Galileo has been called the father of modern science. Astronomer Alan Agrawal will show us how Galileo's celestial observations dramatically changed our understanding of the universe and of our place in it.

Dr. Alan Agrawal is a physician who specializes in the treatment of autoimmune diseases in the field of rheumatology. He is also an avid amateur astronomer and independent historian on the development of the telescope.

Dr. Alan Agrawal

As humanity begins its third decade of exoplanet observation, the science is maturing beyond individual discoveries to detailed characterization of the entire planetary population. No exploration has helped us learn more about exoplanets than NASA’s Kepler mission. While Kepler has shown that planets like Earth are common throughout the Milky Way Galaxy, we have also learned that nature produces a rich diversity of planetary compositions and orbital architectures—many of which do not resemble the Solar System in the slightest.

Our speaker, Caltech's Erik Petigura, will survey humanity's current understanding of exoplanet demographics. He will highlight how these discoveries help illuminate the processes that led to the formation of the Earth and to the origin of life. Finally, Dr. Petigura will offer some thoughts on the types of discoveries that may await us in the coming years.

Dr. Erik Petigura

The University of Montreal's Lauren Weiss and Ohio State University's Marc Pinsonneault are NASA Kepler Mission Experts. Together, and separately, they have helped to discover many MANY worlds orbiting other stars.

In this Wonderfest dialogue, Dr. Weiss, a post-doctoral fellow, will talk about the sizes and compositions of the Kepler exoplanets. She will reveal the essentials of planetary discovery by helping audience members to build a model exoplanet system and observatory. Dr. Pinsonneault, Professor of Astronomy, will discuss what we are learning — from the very same sort of observatory — about sound(!) waves generated within stars, and what those sound waves can teach us about the host stars of exoplanets.

Lauren Weiss & Marc Pinsonneault

Our speaker, NASA's Steve Bryson, is a mathematical physicist at Ames Research Center in Mountain View. His work as part of the Kepler Mission Team contributed to the discovery of MANY new worlds orbiting other stars. Dr. Bryson lives in Marin, and he occasionally teaches adult-education classes at the California Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Steve Bryson