Public Talk: What we DON'T know about comets & Telescope viewing (weather permitting)
Topic: What we do and don’t know about Comets
Tuesday 30th June 2009 7pm
Lecture Theatre C1, Building 63 Monash Clayton campus
Bookings recommended - please contact Doris Herft at the School of Mathematical Sciences,
Phone 03 990 54465, or email: Doris.Herft@sci.monash.edu.au
A few times every year, comets wander into our solar system, out from the vast darkness beyond Pluto. Where do they come from? And why do they come to visit us? We don’t know, though there are several wild theories, some involving vast rings containing trillions of orbiting ice-blocs, or whole families of planets hundreds of times further out than Pluto. In this public lecture, Dr Paul Francis will review these mysteries, and the enduring puzzle of what might lurk in the vast, dark, unexplored reaches between Pluto and the nearest stars.
Following the lecture there will be a public astronomical viewing session (weather permitting). This will take place at 8pm, on the top level of the multi-storey car park at the north west corner of the Clayton Campus. It could be very cold outdoors, so please bring warm clothing with you
Dr Paul Francis is one of Australia's most versatile astronomers, working on comets in our Solar System, "blobs" of gas forming new galaxies, and untangling the spectra of powerful quasars. He has also developed new and engaging ways of teaching astronomy to students and the general public.
