Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures

Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures
  • 4.7 (12)
  • ASTRONOMY
  • UPDATED MONTHLY

Listen to exciting, non-technical talks on some of the most interesting developments in astronomy and space science. Founded in 1999, the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures are presented on six Wednesday evenings during each school year at Foothill College, in the heart of California's Silicon Valley. Speakers include a wide range of noted scientists, explaining astronomical developments in everyday language. The series is organized and moderated by Foothill's astronomy instructor emeritus Andrew Fraknoi and jointly sponsored by the Foothill College Physical Science, Math, and Engineering Division, the SETI Institute, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, and the University of California Observatories (including the Lick Observatory.)

  1. The Search for Life on Saturn’s Intriguing Moon Enceladus

    DEC 1

    The Search for Life on Saturn’s Intriguing Moon Enceladus

    Dr. Alfonso Davila (NASA Ames Research Center) Nov. 24, 2025 In 2005, NASA's Cassini spacecraft made a groundbreaking discovery—it found massive plumes of ice and gas erupting from the south pole of Enceladus, a small but geologically-active moon of Saturn. These plumes are now believed to originate from a subsurface ocean of liquid water beneath the moon’s icy crust, with conditions compatible with life, as we know it. The talk focuses on our current understanding of Enceladus' plume and subsurface ocean, and on past and future strategies to search in them for possible evidence of life.    Alfonso Davila is a Research Scientist in the Exobiology branch at NASA Ames Research Center, where he helps develop strategies to search for evidence of life beyond Earth.

    1h 14m
  2. The Amazing Vera Rubin Observatory and Its Movie of the Sky

    OCT 16

    The Amazing Vera Rubin Observatory and Its Movie of the Sky

    A Nontechnical talk by Dr. Steven Kahn (University of California, Berkeley) Oct. 8, 2025 The amazing Vera Rubin Observatory is a unique astronomy facility just built in Chile, with the largest digital camera in the world, designed to provide a time-lapse “movie” of the entire sky from the Earth’s southern hemisphere.  Over its planned ten years of operation, the Rubin Observatory will obtain nearly 1,000 images of every part of that sky.  By comparing the various images, we will be able to detect everything that varies in brightness and everything that moves across the sky. By adding together all of the images, we will be able to catalog nearly 20 billion galaxies and a comparable number of stars.  After 20 years of development, this facility has just come on-line and will soon begin its nightly operations.  Prof. Kahn, who was Director of the Observatory during its construction phase, reviews the design, development, and construction of Rubin, and describes the exciting science that lies ahead.

    1h 26m
  3. Science at the Edge of the Solar System

    JUN 7

    Science at the Edge of the Solar System

    A Talk by Dr. Oliver White (SETI Institute) May 28, 2025 Ten years ago, the New Horizons spacecraft flew by the Pluto system and revealed an unexpectedly diverse range of landscapes on that dwarf planet and its largest moon Charon -- implying much more complex geological histories for these distant worlds than anyone expected. Dr. White leads a vivid tour of their often bizarre terrains, some of which are still evolving, and explains what processes scientists think molded them into their present appearances. After a brief stop at Pluto's four small moons, Dr. White extends the tour 2 billion km farther out into space, to show us Arrokoth, the tiny "planetesimal" that New Horizons flew past three and a half years after visiting Pluto.  It is the most primitive object in the Solar System ever visited by a spacecraft.

    1h 23m
  4. New Worlds: Analyzing the Atmospheres of Exoplanets with the James Webb Space Telescope

    APR 16

    New Worlds: Analyzing the Atmospheres of Exoplanets with the James Webb Space Telescope

    Non-technical Talk by Prof. Jonathan Fortney (U. of California, Santa Cruz)  Apr. 9, 2025 Over 6000 planets have now been found around other stars, but we only have information about what their atmospheres are like for a few dozen.  NASA's powerful James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which features a 20-foot mirror in space, is currently being used to understand planetary atmospheres.  Prof. Fortney explains how we can look for atmospheres around rocky planets the size of the Earth, and how his group and others are already measuring the abundances of molecules like water, methane, ammonia, and carbon dioxide in the atmospheres of larger planets, of sizes similar to Neptune and Jupiter.  And he tells us what astronomers are looking forward to in the next year or two with JWST.

    1h 23m
  5. Copernicus 4.0: How the Views of Earth's Importance and the Search for Life are Changing

    MAR 13

    Copernicus 4.0: How the Views of Earth's Importance and the Search for Life are Changing

    Mar. 5, 2025  Dr. Simon Steel (SETI Institute) Dr. Steel discusses the Copernican revolution and how it changed humanity's view of its place in the universe. He then talked about other "Copernican" discoveries that displaced us from a central perch, including the revision of our place in the Galaxy, the discovery of other galaxies, and now our finding a remarkable number of planets (including Earth-like planets) orbiting other stars.  He explains how such discoveries give context for, and have prepared us for, the next potential Copernican revolution, the discover of intelligent life elsewhere in the cosmos. He concludes by describing some of the most exciting experiments now underway to find evidence of such life among the nearest stars and busiest galaxies.  Dr. Steel is  Deputy Director of the Carl Sagan Center for Research at the SETI Institute.

    1h 13m
  6. Human-Robotic Exploration from the Moon to Mars

    FEB 6

    Human-Robotic Exploration from the Moon to Mars

    Jan. 29, 2025 Dr. Darlene Lim (NASA Ames Research Center) NASA's Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) is a planned mission to go to the South Pole of the Moon and get a close-up view of the locations that can sustain water ice – ice that could eventually be harvested to support human exploration on the Moon, on Mars — and beyond. Dr. Lim discusses how, for the first time in NASA’s history, the science team would be fully integrated into the mission operations team and will provide near real-time input on where to explore on the Moon.  While the fate of the mission is now in some doubt, Dr. Lim discusses the lessons learned, and the remarkable techniques the team developed to make real-time, almost instant decisions about what the rover does next at each point in its journey.  She also tells about how her earlier experience exploring deep lakes on Earth with robotic and crewed vehicles taught her valuable lessons that she could apply to designing lunar exploration protocols.

    1h 13m
  7. Observing with the James Webb Space Telescope: Glimpsing the First Stars

    11/16/2024

    Observing with the James Webb Space Telescope: Glimpsing the First Stars

    Nov. 13, 2024 Dr. Dan Coe (Space Telescope Science Institute) The Webb Telescope was designed to look back in time, to study the first generation of stars, and reveal our cosmic origins. Now in its second year of operation, JWST has already brought us tantalizingly close to our dream of seeing those first stars. Dr. Coe takes us on a tour of some of the  latest results from the telescope, and tells us about his and others' observations of the most distant stars and galaxies astronomers have ever seen, providing a view of the universe as it was 13 billion years ago. Dan Coe is an Astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. STScI is home to JWST mission control and science operations, where staff scientists like Dan support other astronomers using Hubble and JWST. Dan has also led the Hubble RELICS and JWST Cosmic Spring science teams in discovering and studying some of the most distant galaxies known in the early universe.

    1h 4m
  8. Profound and Staggering: The Impact on Religion of the Discovery of Life around Other Stars

    10/14/2024

    Profound and Staggering: The Impact on Religion of the Discovery of Life around Other Stars

    Recorded Oct. 9, 2024 Astronomers have now discovered thousands of planets in orbit around other stars. Dr. Weintraub discusses those discoveries, and predicts the progress astronomers are likely to make in their more detailed studies of these planets over the next fifty years. Then he considers the consequences of those potential discoveries for Roman Catholicism, Mainline Protestantism, Christian Creationism, Seventh Day Adventism, Judaism, Islam, and Hinduism -- for all of which the discovery of a planet with life on it may be profound. These thoughts are based on the writings of key religious leaders on this topic -- in the past and in our times. Dr. David A. Weintraub is Professor of Astronomy Emeritus at Vanderbilt University where he founded and directed the Communication of Science and Technology program, and conducted research on the formation of stars and planets. His most recent book is The Sky is for Everyone: Women Astronomers in Their Own Words (2022; with Virginia Trimble). Previous books include Religions and Extraterrestrial Life: How Will We Deal With It? (2014), Life on Mars: What to Know Before We Go (2018), How Old is the Universe? (2010), and Is Pluto a Planet? (2006). He also created the Who Me? series of inspirational scientific autobiographies for fifth-grade level readers (from World Scientific Publishing), which helps young people see themselves as scientists.

    1h 21m
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About

Listen to exciting, non-technical talks on some of the most interesting developments in astronomy and space science. Founded in 1999, the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures are presented on six Wednesday evenings during each school year at Foothill College, in the heart of California's Silicon Valley. Speakers include a wide range of noted scientists, explaining astronomical developments in everyday language. The series is organized and moderated by Foothill's astronomy instructor emeritus Andrew Fraknoi and jointly sponsored by the Foothill College Physical Science, Math, and Engineering Division, the SETI Institute, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, and the University of California Observatories (including the Lick Observatory.)

Information

  • Creator
    Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2025
  • Episodes
    56
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures
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    Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures

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