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SLAS Regular Meeting
Friday, August 21, 7:30 pm
McDonnell Hall, Washington University
The Formation
of the Solar System
by
Angela Speck,
Assistant Professor,
University of
Missouri - Columbia,
The question of
origins ? where did we come from, and how did we get here ? has intrigued
humans throughout
the
ages. Today, observations
of the very large,
paired with observations of the very small, are answering at least part
of those questions. Huge Earth-based telescopes and orbiting space
telescopes are watching
new stars and their young planets evolve. Electron microscopes and other
modern research instruments are probing the sub-microscopic structure
of meteorites
and comet dust, which have multibillion year old origins clues locked
inside. Dr. Angela Speck will describe the current understanding of
how and when
the Sun, the Earth, and the other planets and satellites formed.
She will also
talk about the new questions that have arisen as scientists
seek to discover the details
of star and planet building processes.
Dr. Speck is an
assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at
the University
of Missouri - Columbia. She
is an infrared
astronomer
with a wide range of interests that include the life cycles of stars,
cosmic dust
around evolved stars, the chemical evolution of galaxies, and the
structure and composition of meteorites.
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