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For immediate release Contacts:
Mrs. Karen Rehbock Photos:
Captions on right. Institute for Astronomy
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Maintained by LG
Birth of Stars and Planets Lecture October 4
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Jonathan Williams |
The next Frontiers of Astronomy Community Lecture will feature Institute for Astronomy astronomer Jonathan Williams speaking on "The Birth of Stars and Planets" on Thursday, October 4 at 7:00 p.m. in the Institute for Astronomy (IfA) Manoa Auditorium.
Dr. Williams will address the question, "How did our Sun and solar system form?" To answer this question, astronomers study young stars that are in the process of forming new planetary systems, and cosmochemists study meteorites, fragments of asteroids found on Earth's surface that record conditions in the early solar system. Reconciling the two lines of evidence points to an unusual origin for our solar system, and suggests that Earth-like planets with both land and oceans may be rare.
Jonathan Williams specializes in using radio telescopes operating at millimeter wavelengths to study star and planet formation. He received his BA from the University of Cambridge in 1988 and his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1995, and joined the UH Institute for Astronomy faculty in 2002. In addition to doing research and teaching, he directs the IfA's Research Experiences for Undergraduates program funded by the National Science Foundation.
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Outflowing winds and scorching ultraviolet radiation coming from monster stars within the Carina Neubla are shredding the surrounding material that is the last verstige of the giant cloud from which these stars were born. Color information was added with data taken at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. Red corresponds to sulfur, green to hyrogen, and blue to oxygen emission. Credit: NASA, ESA, N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley), and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) |
Admission and parking will be free. For directions to the IfA, see this map.
The poster (pdf) for this event is available here.
Founded in 1967, the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii at Manoa conducts research into galaxies, cosmology, stars, planets, and the sun. Its faculty and staff are also involved in astronomy education, deep space missions, and in the development and management of the observatories on Haleakala and Mauna Kea.
Established in 1907 and fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, the University of Hawaii is the state's sole public system of higher education. The UH System provides an array of undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees and community programs on 10 campuses and through educational, training, and research centers across the state. UH enrolls more than 50,000 students from Hawaii, the U.S. mainland, and around the world.