In 2017, astronomers detected an elongated object swinging past Earth on its way out of the solar system. The size, shape, and motion of Oumuamua (roughly “scout” in Hawaiian) inspired a few excited researchers to suggest the visitation of an interstellar “spaceship.” This presentation will explore the physical nature of Oumuamua and a vast fleet of its extrasolar cohorts.
Our presenter, Dr. Douglas Lin, is Professor of Astronomy & Astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz. He is also the founding director of the Kavli Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics at Peking University. This online event is produced by Wonderfest for the Mt Tam Astronomy Program.
Douglas Lin
WHAT: Oumuamua: Interstellar Visitor
WHO: Douglas Lin, Professor of Astronomy & Astrophysics, UC Santa Cruz
What value does this experience have for YOU? Accordingly, please consider a donation (in the Eventbrite space, below) to help Wonderfest share the excitement — and value — of science.
Rather than just blow stuff up, lasers can be used to cool gases down to temperatures near absolute zero. Stanford physicist Benjamin Lev uses lasers and these ultracold gases to create a quantum version of the classic Newton’s Cradle toy. Playing with this quantum toy has led to insights into the emergence of what is called “quantum chaos.” Controlling such chaos may lead to new quantum devices for solving challenging practical problems.
Dr. Ben Lev is Associate Professor in Physics and Applied Physics at Stanford University. Among his other honors, Prof. Lev has earned both a Presidential Early Career Award and an NSF Career Award for his research into the realm of the very small (and/or very cold): quantum microscopy, quantum gases, and quantum neural networks, in particular.
Benjamin Lev
WHAT: Playing with a Quantum Toy
WHO: Benjamin Lev, Associate Professor of Physics & Applied Physics, Stanford University [https://levlab.stanford.edu]
On Thursday, June 10, there will be an “annular” eclipse of the Sun visible from parts of Canada, Greenland, and (going over the North Pole!) finally Russia (Siberia). The Moon will be directly between Earth and the Sun, but it won’t completely block the Sun’s bright disk as it does in a total solar eclipse. That’s because the Moon will be more distant from Earth than average in its elliptical orbit, and (this is a smaller effect) Earth will be more distant from the Sun than average in its elliptical orbit, so the Moon will look a little smaller than the Sun. People located in the right places (located along a narrow swath of Earth’s surface) will see the Sun appear as an “annulus” — sometimes referred to as a “ring of fire.” This is a special case of a partial solar eclipse, and it’s nowhere near as fabulous as a *total* solar eclipse, but it’s fun to view nonetheless. See the attached photo of a previous annular solar eclipse.
Over a much broader part of Earth’s surface, a more “normal” partial solar eclipse will occur. For people in the northeastern United States, the partial eclipse will already be in progress at sunrise, ending not long thereafter. Try to see it, if you can. (However, you’ll still need to put a *total* solar eclipse on your “bucket list.” There will be one in the United States on April 8, 2024 — I’ll write more about this later, but mark the date on your calendars now!)
To view a partial solar eclipse, you MUST have the right eye protection. For more information, see https://eclipse.aas.org/eye-safety and also https://eclipse.aas.org/eye-safety/iso-certification. Look through green Shade 14 welder’s glass, or through special eclipse glasses (“CE certified”) sold by a reputable vendor such as Rainbow Symphony; see https://eclipse.aas.org/resources/solar-filters for an extensive list of options. The filter *must* block 99.999% of the Sun’s visible light and 100% of the Sun’s ultraviolet and infrared light, or your eyes could be very seriously damaged (even blindness is possible). Regular sunglasses (even polarized ones) are NOT suitable at all, and neither is smoked glass or an exposed/developed film negative. If you use binoculars or a telescope, a proper filter *must* be placed at the front end of the device (closest to the Sun). Please be VERY careful when observing the Sun!
You can also use the pinhole camera technique, which is much safer: punch a hole (roughly the width of a pencil is a reasonable size) in a sheet of cardboard and look at the image of the Sun projected onto a shaded region below the cardboard. If you use a collander or other object having lots of holes (such as a straw hat), you’ll get many images of the partially eclipsed Sun. Holes between the leaves of a tree can act like pinhole cameras and produce many Sun images on the ground.
I attach a detailed map made by Michael Zeiler, available at https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/2021-june-10. It shows the fraction of the Sun’s disk covered by the Moon at maximum eclipse and the Sun’s orientation relative to the horizon, as seen from southeastern Canada and the eastern/northeastern U.S. Views of the Sun rising above the horizon should be very pretty, looking like “horns” or a “shark fin” depending on your specific location. There will be outstanding opportunities for photography!
Note that this solar eclipse follows just 2 weeks after the May 26, 2021 total lunar eclipse. If you didn’t see it, I encourage you to view the recording obtained at the Chabot Space and Science Center (in the hills of Oakland, CA): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bhus6UBPcg. Be aware that the video is 4 hours long, and the first 15 minutes is just the “Starting Soon” slide. You don’t start noticing any significant change in the Moon’s appearance until about 45 minutes into the video. If you wish, you can fast-forward about 2 hours 50 minutes, to the time when totality was taking place (4:11-4:26 am PDT).
Happy (and safe) viewing, if you’re lucky enough to be in the right part of the world!
On Wednesday, May 26, there will be a total lunar eclipse (when the Moon goes into Earth’s shadow). Weather permitting, everyone on Earth’s dark (night) side will be able to see it. The eclipse will occur in the early morning, shortly before sunrise, as seen from the western continental United States, western Canada, southern Alaska, Mexico, and the southern part of South America. It will occur in the middle of the night as seen from Hawaii. [Across the Pacific Ocean, it will be visible on the evening of Wednesday, May 26, in New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, Japan, eastern China, and eastern Russia.] See the excellent website https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2021-may-26 for a detailed map and the ability to see whether the eclipse will be visible from a specific location.
Total Lunar Eclipse (courtesy Richard Spence)
Totality will last about 15 minutes, a relatively short total lunar eclipse. Unlike the case in a total solar eclipse, the lunar eclipse will occur at the same time (after adjusting for time zones) from any location where it is visible. No optical aid is needed — just use your eyes (though the view through binoculars should be interesting as well). A photo of a total lunar eclipse (January 20, 2019, taken by Richard Spence) is shown above, and you can find many more on the internet.
Here are the relevant times in California; adjust for your time zone if you will be away from Pacific Daylight Time (PDT). (For example, mid-eclipse will be at 1:19 am Hawaii Standard Time on Wednesday morning, May 26 — that’s late on Tuesday night, of course.)
Partial eclipse begins: 2:45 am PDT Wednesday, May 26 Total eclipse begins: 4:11 am PDT Mid-eclipse: 4:19 am PDT Total eclipse ends: 4:26 am PDT Partial eclipse ends: 5:52 am PDT
“Prime time” (total eclipse) will be 4:11-4:26 am PDT. The Moon will be west, low over the horizon, shortly before it sets; try to avoid obstructions like mountains, buildings, and trees. The farther east you are in the continental United States, the closer to the horizon the Moon will be, and the closer to sunrise the eclipse will occur; Denver, for example, is near the eastern boundary, though at least a partial lunar eclipse will be visible throughout most of the continental United States. Viewed from southeast Asia, the Moon will appear low over the eastern horizon, shortly after it rises.
Note that there will be a partial solar eclipse (“annular” in some small parts of the world, so the Sun will look like a ring) on June 10, visible over much of the continental United States. I’ll try to provide more information later, but you can find many details here: https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/map/2021-june-10 .
Wishing you clear skies during the night of May 25/26,
Alex
Additional details:
The Moon doesn’t appear completely dark during a total lunar eclipse because some sunlight goes through Earth’s atmosphere and is bent (refracted) toward the Moon, and then it bounces off the Moon back toward us. But the Moon’s color generally appears some shade of yellow, orange, or even red because the light that reaches it has been filtered by Earth’s atmosphere, preferentially getting rid of the violet, blue, and green colors — just as in the case of the setting or rising Sun, which looks some shade of yellow, orange, or red, depending on the amount of particular matter (such as smoke) in the atmosphere.
Also, this time the full moon will be a little closer to Earth than average in its elliptical orbit and therefore look a bit bigger — a “Super Moon” (or “Supermoon”). But in my opinion, this is often exaggerated by the press; though the Moon is nearly at its closest to Earth in its elliptical orbit, even the best Super Moon looks only slightly bigger (6-7%) and brighter (12-14%) than an average full moon. Also, “Super Moons” are pretty common; in fact, this will actually be the second in a series of three consecutive “Super Moons” in 2021. Since the totally eclipse Moon can appear reddish orange, it is sometimes called a “Blood Moon,” so this particular eclipse will be a “Super Blood Moon.”
Given that the Moon will be passing through the top part of Earth’s shadow, I predict that at the time of mid-totality, the top (north) part of the Moon will appear substantially brighter and more yellow/orange than the bottom (south) part of the Moon (darker; orange/red).
Note that during the partial phases, Earth’s shadow on the Moon looks distinctly curved. This is always the case during a lunar eclipse, and it was one of the many pieces of evidence that the ancients used to conclude Earth is round, not flat.
In the above list of times, I didn’t include the “penumbral” eclipse, when Earth blocks only part of the Sun as seen from the Moon; the full moon will look slightly fainter during the penumbral eclipse, but this effect is hard to notice and isn’t very interesting. It begins at 1:48 am PDT and ends at 6:50 am PDT, after the Moon has already set.
Scientific forecasts span a staggering breadth of time scales, and they range in precision from vague & qualitative to exact & quantitative. This presentation will provide anoverview of predictability. We’ll look at examples drawn from trading, meteorology, celestial mechanics, and cosmology. Finally, we’ll end with the latest research-based forecasts for what will happen to the Universe in the extremely distant future.
Our speaker, Dr. Greg Laughlin, is Professor of Astronomy at Yale University. He is co-author of The Five Ages of the Universe and co-founder of the online prediction aggregator Metaculus.
Greg Laughlin
WHAT: Deep Prediction: Forecasting on Time Scales from Microseconds to Eons
WHO: Greg Laughlin, Professor of Astronomy, Yale University
This free event is co-produced by Wonderfest and the Mt. Tam Astronomy Program. Please use the Eventbrite space below to help nonprofit Wonderfest share the excitement of science with the general public.
How “future-oriented” are you? In the near term, nearly half of US adults would have trouble finding $400 to cover an emergency expense. Looking further ahead, our collective futures are threatened by global climate change. Meeting such challenges partially depends on the human ability to regard future selves as continuous with — if not identical to — current selves. What does psychology research have to say about future self-continuity so that we might better guide our individual and collective development?
Our speaker, Dr. Brian Knutson, is Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience at Stanford University. His research, generally encompassing the neural basis of emotion, has been featured in both popular and academic media including the Economist, Nature, the New York Times, NPR, and Science.
Brian Knutson
WHAT: The Future of You
WHO: Brian Knutson, Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience, Stanford
WHEN: 2021-06-10 — 7:30pm PDT, Thu, Jun 10 (1 hour)
HOW:
How valuable will these psychology and neuroscience insights be to YOU? Accordingly, kindly use the Eventbrite space (below) to help Wonderfest share these — and other — science insights with the world.
Wonderfest joins the Commonwealth Club in presenting astrophysicist Heino Falcke, live-streamed from Berlin, Germany. Professor Falcke’s new book Light in the Darkness tells the story of our first direct image of a black hole, and what its significance for humanity might be. Dr. Falcke ponders why black holes are so difficult for most of us to understand, comparing that to our inability to envision our own inevitable death. He regards black holes as exquisite representations of fear, death, and — surprisingly — the divine. Empirical and profound, Falcke examines both the physical nature and the spiritual meaning of black holes, which he calls “the epitome of merciless destruction.”
Heino Falcke is Professor of Astroparticle Physics and Radio Astronomy at Radboud University in Nijmegen, Germany. He chaired the Event Horizon Telescope Council when the EHT captured our first black hole image. Prof. Falcke is recipient of the Henry Draper medal of the US National Academy of Sciences, and the Spinoza Prize, the highest scientific honor of the Netherlands.
WHAT: Black Holes and Us
WHO: Heino Falcke, Professor of Astroparticle Physics & Radio Astronomy, Radboud University [http://heinofalcke.org]
Physical activity is powerful medicine: it can promote health and change the trajectory of aging. Science has taught us much about the pathways of disease, the causes of aging, and the mechanisms by which exercise exerts its benefits. Now, targeted exercise strategies can slow the aging process and improve both health and fitness.
Our speaker, Dr. Anne Friedlander, is Adjunct Professor in Human Biology at Stanford University. She has broad research experience in the areas of enhancing human performance, physiology in extreme environments, and using physical activity to promote healthy aging.
Anne Friedlander
WHAT: Exercise and Aging
WHO: Anne Friedlander, Adjunct Professor of Physiology, Stanford
One hundred years ago, Einstein predicted that light rays would bend in the space near a massive object — much as light rays refract in an optical lens. Today, we use this fact to weigh galaxies, to discover planets of other stars, and to “see” invisible black holes. How did this idea of gravitational lensing come about, and how do we use it today to probe all fields of astrophysics?
Our speaker, Fatima Abdurrahman, is a 5th-year PhD student and researcher in the Astronomy Department at UC Berkeley. She is also a Wonderfest Science Envoy. This event is part of the 2021 Mt. Tam Astronomy Program.
As an old adage (mistakenly attributed to Confucius) notes, it’s difficult to find a black cat in a dark room, especially when there is no cat. Conspiracy theories have long been prevalent in the United States, but today they seem to be especially popular — from politics to popular culture — particularly on social media. In the spirit of another adage, “even paranoids have enemies”: there are real conspiracies, and some of them are important and even dangerous. How do we distinguish the real conspiracies from the tinfoil-hat ones?
Our speaker, Dr. Eugenie Scott, is former executive director of the National Center for Science Education. She is an internationally-known expert on science denialism and the creationism/evolution controversy. Dr. Scott has won numerous awards from scientific and educational institutions, including ten honorary doctoral degrees.
Eugenie Scott
WHAT: How To Think About Conspiracy Theories
WHO: Eugenie Scott, Former Executive Director, National Center for Science Education
Now that nearly 40 million people have had DNA tests, we’ve reached a tipping point. Virtually all Americans are affected — tested or not — and millions have been impacted by significant revelations in their immediate families. Libby Copeland’s new book, The Lost Family: How DNA Testing Is Upending Who We Are, explores the science, the ethics, and the cultural transformations that this intimate self-knowledge allows.
Libby Copeland has written for the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Atlantic, and New York magazine, among other media. During this Berkeley Public Library event, she will be interviewed by Madison Lehmer, graduate student in UC Berkeley’s department of Cell and Molecular Biology.
Wonderfest Science Envoys are early-career researchers with special communication skills and aspirations. Following short talks on provocative modern science topics, these two Science Envoys will answer questions with insight and enthusiasm:
• UC Berkeley psychologist Rebecca Corona on The Many Faces of Awe — Awe is unlike any other emotion. It possesses the power to grab us, shake us, and change the way we see the universe. Psychological research in national forests and during the COVID-19 pandemic helps us to plumb the depths — and the many aspects — of awe.
• UC Berkeley statistician Stephen Bates on Being Honest with Big Data — Huge datasets now touch every part of our lives, and this explosion of information allows scientists to ask (and answer!) more questions than ever. But the more questions we ask, the more easily we fall prey to the “cherry-picking” fallacy. New ideas from statistics allow scientists to make honest assessments of the evidence in big data.
This event is FREE. But what value do these science insights have FOR YOU? Accordingly, please use the space below to contribute to nonprofit Wonderfest, and help to promote the scientific outlook broadly — as through our outstanding Science Envoy Program.
Black holes are among the most remarkable predictions of Einstein’s theory of gravity: so much material is compressed into such a small volume that nothing, not even light, can escape. Black holes have also captured the public imagination, and are commonly featured in popular culture, from Star Trek to Hollywood movies. In Spring 2019, the multinational Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) released the first real (non-Hollywood!) picture of gas around a black hole and the “shadow” cast as that gas swirls in. How did the EHT do it, and what have its combined observations taught us about black holes?
Our speaker, Eliot Quataert, is Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysical Science at Princeton University. He has received numerous national awards for his research including a Simons Investigator award and the American Astronomical Society’s Warner Prize. Dr. Quataert is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences AND of the National Academy of Sciences.
Eliot Quataert
WHAT: Black Hole Portrait: How We Got Our First Picture
WHO: Eliot Quataert, Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysical Science, Princeton University
This free event is co-produced by Wonderfest and the Mt. Tam Astronomy Program. Please use the space below to help nonprofit Wonderfest share the excitement of science with the general public.
If appearance and essence were the same thing, there would be no need for science. – Michio Kaku
As science grows, physicists get closer to understanding the deepest mysteries of matter and energy, space and time. Once these modern-day “natural philosophers” can successfully combine theories of relativity and quantum mechanics, all known forces in the universe may be described by a single equation. Physicist Michio Kaku describes this epic journey of uniting fundamental theories in his new book The God Equation: The Quest for a Theory of Everything.
Michio Kaku is Professor of Physics at The City College of New York and CUNY Graduate Center. He shares physics insights with film, TV, radio, and online audiences, and he has written more than 70 technical articles and ten popular books. This Commonwealth Club presentation will feature Dr. Kaku in conversation with Kara Platoni, Science Editor at Wired.com.
WHAT: The God Equation
WHO: Michio Kaku, Professor of Physics, City College of New York
Wonderfest Science Envoys are early-career researchers with special communication skills and aspirations. Following short talks on provocative modern science topics, these two Science Envoys will answer questions with insight and enthusiasm:
• Stanford environmental scientist Luísa Genes on “Rewilding Tropical Forests” — Tropical forests are suffering from deforestation, hunting, and a series of other threats that lead to the vanishing of animal populations. To reverse these threats, not only must we conserve remaining protected areas, but also restore plants and animal communities in degraded forests. What is rewilding, and can it really restore tropical forests?
• UC Berkeley plant biologist Lorenzo Washington on “Barriers Between Friends” — Appreciating boundaries is an important part of all relationships. Understanding the mutually beneficial relationships at the boundaries between plants and microbes has increasing importance in agriculture. An investigation into the plant cell wall illuminates how plants make microbial friends — and may help fight famine.
WHEN: 2021-04-14 — 8pm PDT, Wed, April 14 (1 hour)
HOW:
This event is free. But what value do these science insights have FOR YOU? Accordingly, please use the space below to contribute to nonprofit Wonderfest, and help to promote the scientific outlook broadly — as through our outstanding Science Envoy Program.
What does freedom look like to you? To theoretical physicist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, freedom is (in part) thinking about “problems like dark matter and dark energy without worrying about cops killing Black people,” and freedom is “everyone having a chance to look at the dark night sky, wonder about it, and know it.” In her new book, The Disordered Cosmos, Dr. Prescod-Weinstein shares a deep love of physics — including the physics of melanin in skin, the nature of cosmic dark matter, and what may lie beyond the nearly-all-encompassing Standard Model of Particle Physics. Publisher’s Weekly calls The Disordered Cosmos “a resonant paean to the beauties of the cosmos and a persuasive appeal for solutions to injustices in science.”
Chanda Prescod-Weinstein is Assistant Professor of Physics & Astronomy and Core Faculty in Women’s Studies at the University of New Hampshire. Live-stream this Commonwealth Club interview — at no cost — with discount code WONDERFEST21.
Chandra Prescod-Weinstein
WHAT: Disordered Cosmos
WHO: Chandra Prescod-Weinstein, Asst. Prof. of Physics, University of New Hampshire
At the "Tickets" link below, enter data for GENERAL ADMISSION, then use discount code WONDERFEST21 to secure a completely FREE ticket. Review your order, and click "Submit." You will receive a Commonwealth Club email with instructions and a live-stream link.
TicketsUse promo code WONDERFEST21 for complete ticket discount.
Wonderfest Science Envoys are early-career researchers with special communication skills and aspirations. Following short talks on provocative modern science topics, these two Science Envoys will answer questions with insight and enthusiasm:
• UC Berkeley physicist Jeske Dioquino on “Laser Micro-imaging” — With the help of the electron microscope, researchers are taking pictures of some of nature’s smallest biological structures. To improve the contrast in these images, allowing us to study even smaller structures, a high-intensity laser joins the fray.
• Stanford neurobiologist Marc Harrison on “Mental Time Travel” — As we grow older, our ability to mentally time travel via episodic memory begins to change. Recent advances that utilize biomarkers of disease states, in combination with neuroimaging, have opened exciting new doors in the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease.
WHAT: Ask a Science Envoy: Laser Micro-imaging and Mental Time Travel
WHO: Jeske Dioquino (UC Berkeley) & Marc Harrison (Stanford), Wonderfest Science Envoys
This event is FREE. But what value do these science insights have FOR YOU? Accordingly, please use the space below to contribute to nonprofit Wonderfest, and help to promote the scientific outlook broadly — as through our outstanding Science Envoy Program.
UC Berkeley biochemist Jennifer Doudna is “The Code Breaker” in historian Walter Isaacson’s new book. Doudna and colleagues created the phenomenal CRISPR gene editing tool, with unparalleld promise (and peril) to transform life on Earth. In humans, CRISPR facilitates DNA decoding — and engineering — that can make us less susceptible to viruses, promote muscle growth, enhance IQ, etc. (That’s a potent et cetera !)
Doudna won the 2020 Nobel Prize for her CRISPR research. Earlier, in 2017, she earned Wonderfest’s Carl Sagan Prize for her science outreach. In The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race, Walter Isaacson extends and deepens Doudna’s “reach” with a compelling account of her truly revolutionary discovery.
Wonderfest joins The Commonwealth Club in presenting historian & biographer Walter Isaacson, in conversation with Kishore Hari.Isaacson has written 11 books including biographies of Leonardo, Einstein, and Jobs. He has been the President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, the Chair and CEO of CNN, and the editor of Time magazine.
WHAT: Gene Editing and the Future of Humans
WHO: Walter Isaacson, Professor of History, Tulane University
Via the "Tickets" link below, enter data for GENERAL ADMISSION; then secure a $10 discount with code WONDERFESTPROMO; then enter "Contact" data; finally, "Checkout" with payment. Review your order, and click "Submit." You will receive a Commonwealth Club email with instructions and a live-stream link.
TicketsDiscount code WONDERFESTPROMO will reduce admission charge by $10.
Hailing frequencies open! Woman in Motion (2019) tells the inspiring story of Nichelle Nichols, recipient of NASA’s Public Service Award and portrayer of Lt. Uhura, Communications Officer for the glorious starship Enterprise (2019 + 2.5 centuries). Movie Nation’s Roger Moore says that this compelling documentary “underscores Nichols’ undeniable contribution to broadening NASA’s horizons and drumming up interest in STEM education among minority students all over America.” Moore also describes the film as “warm, sentimental, and delightful … transcending its natural ‘Star Trek’ fan appeal.” Alongside the movie, in a livestream video that starts at 8pm PST, we’ll enjoy the insights of another woman in motion: planetary scientist Erin Redwing will describe her own “search for new (solar system) life” through research at the University of California.
Erin Redwing is a 4th-year PhD student in Earth and Planetary Science at UC Berkeley. She has done research at Keck and Lick observatories, and has aided exploration at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab and Goddard Space Flight Center. Erin is also a Wonderfest Science Envoy.
Erin Redwing, UC Berkeley
WHAT: Woman In Motion + Searching for Solar System Life
WHO: Erin Redwing, UC Berkeley, Astrophysicist and Wonderfest Science Envoy
WHEN: 2021-03-15 — 8pm PDT, Monday, Mar 15 (2.5 hours)
HOW:
Pre-order a ticket for Woman In Motion via the "Tickets" link, below. Then, on the Ides of March (3/15), starting at 12:15am PDT, you'll have 72 hours to start watching. At 8:00pm on that Monday, consult the same "Tickets" link to join the livestream with Erin Redwing. The movie and recorded livestream can viewed any time until March 19th at 1:15am.
At least since physicist Irwin Schrödinger published “What Is Life?” (1944), the popular imagination has struggled alongside scientific exploration to recognize what is alive, and what isn’t. The question hangs over some of society’s most charged conflicts — whether a fertilized egg is a living person, and when we ought to declare a person legally dead. We even wonder if we can create life in the lab, and we certainly hope our billion-dollar interplanetary probes know how to look for it in space. This is the subject of Carl Zimmer’s brand new book, Life’s Edge: The Search for What It Means to Be Alive.
Wonderfest joins The Commonwealth Club in presenting science writer Carl Zimmer, in conversation with CalMatter’s Rachel Becker.Zimmer has written 14 books (including two biology textbooks), numerous essays (for The New York Times, Discover, National Geographic, and more), and he is an adjunct professor in Yale University’s Department of Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry.
