Space art has played an important and inspiring role in planetary exploration since the dawn of the space age and it was no different leading up to the New Horizons flyby of Pluto in 2015. Ever since its discovery in 1930 artists helped us imagine what this icy world might look like, drawing from the […]
This talk shares some interesting facts about interplanetary exploration, including the latest robotic Mars missions, humans living in space and on other planetary bodies, and exciting prospects of the emerging commercial space age. Dive into what it takes to send a robotic explorer and its helicopter companion 300 million miles and land it on the […]
Robotic spacecraft probing our solar system represent a capstone of human exploration. That capstone resides on a foundation built by astronomical observations revealing scientific questions answerable only by on site investigation. The path from astronomical observations, defining science questions, and achieving mission success is an arduous one. Join MIT Professor Richard Binzel on a personal […]
Astronomical Time-lapse Imaging: From seconds to Centuries Nothing in the universe is static. Whether the bodies are moving or evolving, astronomical events play out in periods ranging from seconds to many centuries. This presentation clearly shows these changes, with descriptions of what to look for and why it is of interest. Most of the images […]
History Captured on Glass: The Pluto Discovery Plates with, Brian Skiff, Lauren Amundson, Dr. Stephen Levine | Hosted by Dr. Amanda Bosh Lowell Observatory has a treasure trove of astronomical images on glass photographic plates from the late 1800s to the mid 1900s. The most famous of these is the pair of plates on which […]
On February 18th, 2020, the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover landed on the surface of Mars. One of the main goals of this mission is to search for evidence of past life on Mars. Jezero crater, the landing site of the rover, was selected as an exciting astrobiological target because it is the site of an […]
Friday, February 18 5-8:30pm Experience A Night of Discovery, commemorating the anniversary of Clyde Tombaugh’s discovery of the icy world Pluto on February 18, 1930. This is the keynote event of the 3rd Annual I Heart Pluto Festival. Meet Eminent Scientists Headlining this year’s event is a panel discussion (“Exploring the Universe Near and Far”) that […]
Searching for Planets Around Other Stars with Dr. Julien de Wit | Hosted by Dr. Amanda Bosh
Saturn’s moon Titan is the second known Solar system world with active rivers and seas. Titan’s deceptively Earth-like landscape is the product of a methane cycle akin to Earth’s water cycle, but there are important differences between Earth and Titan that offer lessons about planetary climate. I will illustrate this through a tour of Titan’s […]
Over the past few decades, the quality and quantity of satellite observations of Earth have improved dramatically. Nowhere is this more true than in the polar regions. Over the past 20 years, a fleet of satellites operated by many different countries have provided unprecedented insight into the changes underway in the Arctic and Antarctic. In […]
How do you use a state-of-the-art, 4.3-meter telescope? Very carefully! LDT Scientist Dr. Stephen Levine and Telescope Operator Cecilia Siqueiros will join historian Kevin Schindler to demonstrate how we open and operate this massive eye on the sky. Along the way, they’ll explain the revolutionary instrument cube and other features of the LDT.
The Messier Marathon is upon us! Join Lowell Observatory for an all-night virtual star party, during which we'll hunt for all 110 objects in Charles Messier's famous catalog. These are among the most prominent deep-sky objects visible in the night sky, including a variety of star clusters, nebulae, galaxies. We'll broadcast live from the Giovale […]