| DATE | EVENT | LOCATION |
|---|---|---|
| Friday, Mar 1 |
Deadline: NASA Postdoctoral Program: The NASA Postdoctoral Program provides talented postdoctoral scientists and engineers with valuable opportunities to engage in ongoing NASA research programs and serves as a source of talent to ensure the continued quality of the NASA research workforce. These one- to three-year Fellowship appointments are competitive and are designed to advance NASA missions in space science, earth science, aeronautics, space operations, exploration systems, and astrobiology. The NASA Postdoctoral Program consists of two components: the NASA Postdoctoral Research Program and the NASA Postdoctoral Management Program. The NASA Postdoctoral Management Program is an adjunct to the NASA Postdoctoral Research Program and is designed to provide valuable research management experience for some of the research program Fellows. Together, the two components will be operated to provide some of the most talented new and senior Ph.D.s with opportunities to participate in NASA mission-related activities as guests at NASA Centers, Headquarters, and other NASA-approved sites. For more information visit the NASA Postdoctoral Program website. |
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| Monday, Mar 4 Noon |
Brown Bag Colloquium: Dr. Christopher Hamilton: Dr. Christopher Hamilton Planetary Geodynamics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park Host: Shane Byrne Volcanism on Jupiter's Moon Io Io is the most volcanically active body in the Solar System, but unlike the Earth, Io does not exhibit evidence of plate tectonics and its internal heating comes primarily from tidal dissipation rather than radiogenic sources. Nonetheless, volcanic systems on Io exhibit some similarities to mantle-plume fed hotspots on Earth. Here, volcanism on Io is compared to the Hawaiian hotspot and then the spatial distributions of Ionian hotpots are examined in detail to test predictions from a range of interior tidal heating models. Results show a statistically significant eastward offset between locations of enhanced volcanism and predicted surface heat flux maxima. Possible explanations for this offset are explored along with implications for other tidally heated bodies. |
Kuiper Space Sciences: Room 309 |
| Monday, Mar 4 4 p.m. |
TAP Colloquium: Dr. Charlie Conroy: Dr. Charlie Conroy University of California, Santa Cruz Our understanding of the stellar populations of unresolved galaxies is fundamentally limited by our lack of knowledge of the stellar initial mass function (IMF), and its variation with environment and epoch. In this talk I will present a technique that provides direct measurements of the low-mass IMF (~0.1-1 Msun) in unresolved stellar systems. When this technique is applied to high-quality optical-NIR spectra of nearby early-type galaxies, evidence is found for an IMF that is substantially more "bottom-heavy" than the Galactic IMF. I will also discuss ongoing work aimed at measuring elemental abundances (including C, N, O, Na, Mg, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Sr, and Ba) of these galaxies, with the goal of constraining their formation histories. |
Steward Observatory: Room N210 |
| Tuesday, Mar 5 3:45 p.m. |
LPL Colloquium: Dr. Christopher Hamilton Dr. Christopher Hamilton Planetary Geodynamics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park Host: Shane Byrne Volcano-Ice Interactions on Earth and Mars Volcanism is a fundamental planetary process that provides insight into the thermal, surficial, and atmospheric evolution of terrestrial bodies. Interactions between volcanoes and their near-surface water or ice can also produce distinctive landforms that are indicative of environments at the time of the eruption. Here, the products of explosive lava-water interactions in Iceland are compared to analogous structures on Mars to infer martian paleoenvironmental conditions, including ground ice depths and obliquity constraints. The broader implications of Amazonian-age flood lavas in Elysium Planitia are also considered to better constrain the volcanic history of Mars. |
Kuiper Space Sciences: Room 308 |
| Thursday, Mar 7 3 p.m. |
Arizona Imaging and Microanalysis Society: Professor Tom Zega: Assistant Professor Tom Zega will present an invited talk at the Arizona Imaging and Microanalysis Society annual conference. From the bottom up: Decoding the physical and chemical history of the early solar system through nanoscale characterization Graduate students Michelle Thompson and Diana Bolser will present posters. Thursday, March 7, 2013 3:00 to 4:00p.m. University of Arizona Student Union South Ballroom |
Student Union: Room South Ballroom |
| Thursday, Mar 7 3:45 p.m. |
LPL Colloquium: Dr. Amaya Moro-Martin Dr. Amaya Moro-Martin Ramon y Cajal Fellow Center for Astrobiology (INTA-CSIC) "Seeing Worlds in Grains of Sand" Abstract: Debris disks are disks of dust that surround mature stars. From lifetime arguments it is inferred that the dust is not primordial but must originate from the collision/sublimation of planetesimals (that could be similar to the asteroids, comets and KBOs in our solar system). The presence of debris around stars of a wide range of masses (from the progenitors of white dwarfs to M dwarfs) indicates that planetesimal formation is a robust process that can take place under a wide range of conditions. Debris disks can help us learn about the diversity of planetary systems shedding light on the frequency and timing of planetesimal formation, their dynamical evolution, in some cases the parent bodies properties, the location of the dust-producing planetesimals and give hints on the presence of perturbing planetary companions. Of particular interest is the study of debris around stars known to harbor planets, the search for giant planets in debris disks systems and the exchange of debris between planetary systems. Host: Ilaria Pascucci |
Kuiper Space Sciences: Room 308 |
| Friday, Mar 8 |
Deadline: Kuiper Award nominations: The Gerard P. Kuiper award is presented to students of the planetary sciences who best exemplify, through the high quality of their researches and the excellence of their scholastic achievements, the goals and standards established and maintained by Gerard P. Kuiper, founder of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory and the Department of Planetary Sciences at the University of Arizona." Graduate students admitted to candidacy prior to January 1, 2013 are eligible for the Kuiper Award. Persons who have already graduated but who were enrolled as graduate students during the 2012-2013 academic year are eligible. As well as PtyS graduate students, students from other departments who are doing dissertation research under the supervision of PtyS/LPL faculty are eligible. The Kuiper Award consists of a $1,000 stipend and an award plaque. A nomination for the Kuiper Award should consist of the following: 1. A letter of support discussing the student's research and academic prowess. If the nominee is not a PtyS student, please include a copy of his or her academic record at the University of Arizona. 2. The student's CV (including publications). 3. Relevant reprints or preprints. 4. A copy of the dissertation or dissertation draft (if it is available). For more information, contact Mary Guerrieri, Kuiper 317. |
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| Friday, Mar 8 |
Deadline: Galileo Circle Scholarship: The College of Science Galileo Circle Scholarships honors the most outstanding students in the college. Scholarship recipients receive $1,000 each; these awards are supported through the generous donations of Galileo Circle members.Galileo scholars attend an early evening reception on Thursday, April 18, 2013, so they can meet Galileo Circle donors. Galileo Circle Scholars must be full-time majors in a College of Science undergraduate or graduate degree program, with a minimum GPA of 3.2. The scholarship application packet consists of: * Galileo Circle Scholarship Information Form * Personal Statement * Resume * Letter of support from a College of Science faculty member For more information, contact Mary Guerrieri, Kuiper 317. |
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| Friday, Mar 8 12:30 pm |
Astrobiology Lecture Series: Rory Barnes: Rory Barnes Research Scientist, University of Washington Exomoon Habitability Abstract: The detection of moons orbiting extrasolar planets ("exomoons") has now become feasible. Once they are discovered in the circumstellar habitable zone, questions about their habitability will emerge. First, I will review formation mechanisms for habitable exomoons and show that they are likely to orbit within a few tens of planetary radii. Hence, exomoons are likely to be tidally locked to their planet and experience days much shorter than their orbital period around the star and have seasons, both of which increase the likelihood for habitability. These satellites can receive more illumination per area than their host planets, as the planet reflects stellar light and emits thermal photons (both from reradiating stellar energy and its own gravitational contraction). On the other hand, eclipses may cool local climates on exomoons by reducing stellar illumination. In addition to radiative heating, tidal heating can be very large on Earth-sized exomoons, possibly even large enough for sterilization. We identify combinations of physical and orbital parameters for which radiative and tidal heating are strong enough to trigger a runaway greenhouse. By analogy with the circumstellar habitable zone, these constraints define a circumplanetary "habitable edge". Finally, I will discuss how Kepler observations of exomoons can be used to characterize exomoons. For more information visit the Center for Astrobiology website. |
Steward Observatory: Room N505 |
| Friday, Mar 8 3:30 pm |
Special LPL Colloquium: Dr. Amaya Moro-Martin: Dr. Amaya Moro-Martin Ramon y Cajal Fellow Center for Astrobiology (INTA-CSIC) Host: Ilaria Pascucci Topic: Debris Disks |
Kuiper Space Sciences: Room 309 |
| Saturday, Mar 9–Sunday, Mar 17 |
Spring Break: |
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| Monday, Mar 18–Friday, Mar 22 |
44th Annual LPSC: The Woodlands, Texas 44th Annual LPSC |
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| Monday, Mar 18 4 p.m. |
TAP Colloquium: Dr. Lars Hernquist: Dr. Lars Hernquist Harvard University |
Steward Observatory: Room N210 |
| Monday, Mar 25 Noon |
Brown Bag Colloquium: Dr. Vladimir Florinski: Dr. Vladimir Florinski Assistant Professor University of Alabama, Huntsville Host: Randy Jokipii The Physics of the Heliopause The heliopause is a plasma boundary separating the region of space controlled by the Sun's expanding atmosphere (the solar wind) from the interstellar cloud surrounding our star. It is likely that the plasmas on each side of the boundary have vastly different bulk properties and are in very different states of turbulent agitation. Last year Voyager 1 reported a series of energetic particle dropout events followed by a crossing of a sharp plasma boundary, that may have been the heliopause, or another, yet unknown interface. The plasma on the far side of the boundary was much less turbulent than what was observed previously in the heliosheath. Coincident with the boundary crossing was an almost complete disappearance of energetic particles produced in the heliosphere (such as anomalous cosmic rays), and a simultaneous increase in galactic cosmic-ray intensity. I will discuss these new results and suggest possible theoretical interpretations of the particle dropout events. |
Kuiper Space Sciences: Room 309 |
| Monday, Mar 25 4 p.m. |
TAP Colloquium: TBA |
Steward Observatory: Room N210 |
| Tuesday, Mar 26 3:45 p.m. |
LPL Colloquium: Dr. Vladimir Florinski Dr. Vladimir Florinski* Assistant Professor University of Alabama, Huntsville Host: Randy Jokipii Exploring the boundary of the solar system A momentous event is unfolding some 123 astronomical units from the Sun. For the first time a space probe is leaving the confines of the heliosphere and entering interstellar space. Over the past decade the twin Voyager probes have confirmed experimentally the existence of the solar wind termination shock and the region of compressed and heated plasma beyond, known as the heliosheath. Voyager results have also challenged previously accepted theories of the origin, properties, and acceleration mechanism of energetic charged particle populations in the outer heliosphere. A classic example is the theory anomalous cosmic rays (ACRs) which underwent a substantial revision following Voyager discoveries. In this talk I will present an overview of the physics of the heliospheric interface from a theoretical and modeling perspective. I will discuss the plasma flow structure and magnetic field topology inside the heliosheath and beyond, and their imprint on the anomalous and galactic cosmic-ray populations. I will also review recent modeling activities and computational infrastructure development by my research team at the UA Huntsville. *Contributions to this work by X. Guo, F. Alouani-Bibi and U. Senanayake is acknowledged. |
Kuiper Space Sciences: Room 308 |
| Thursday, Mar 28 |
PTYS 594 Fieldtrip: Fieldtrip to the Mojave Desert |
