Science Briefing: Cosmic Dust, from Solar Systems to Galaxies
Location
Virtual
Contact Information
About Event
Please join us for this edition of NASA’s Universe of Learning Science Briefings!
We will learn what scientists believe we (and the whole material Universe) are all built of (spoiler: dust) and how dust processing takes place at three different scales: in disks around stars, in the space between stars, and in and between galaxies.
Dr. Joan Najita will introduce cosmic dust, what it is made of, how we can observe it, and how we believe it builds solar systems around stars.
Dr. Brandon Hensley will discuss how we can infer the physical properties of dust grains from observations of dust scattering, absorption, and emission in the interstellar medium of the Milky Way.
Dr. Daniela Calzetti will give us an overview of what is the origin of dust in galaxies, how it affects galaxy evolution, and what we have learned about dust distribution on the largest scales in the Universe.
About the Series
The NASA’s Universe of Learning Science Briefings are professional learning telecons for the informal science education community, done in partnership with the NASA’s Museum & Informal Education Alliance, now found on NASA CONNECTS. These monthly thematic briefings highlight current NASA astrophysics explorations and discoveries from across the suite of NASA astrophysics missions. NASA scientists and engineers provide contemporary science results, and are able to respond to listener questions during the telecon. NASA-developed education and outreach resources, matched to the monthly theme, are included in every briefing.
In order to participate in the telecon and ask questions of the scientists, please join NASA’s Museum & Informal Education Alliance.
Facilitator & Presenters
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Dr. Seppo Laine is a staff scientist at Caltech/IPAC. He was a member of the Science User Support and IRAC instrument support teams of the Spitzer Space Telescope from 2002 to 2021. He is currently involved in the formulation of the Roman Space Telescope’s Science Support Center at IRAC and in the IPAC Communications and Education team. His scientific interests include low surface brightness objects, and galaxy dynamics and interactions. -
Joan Najita is an astronomer at NOIRLab, the National Science Foundation’s research and development center for ground-based optical and infrared astronomy. Her research focuses on how stars form from interstellar clouds and how disks surrounding young stars evolve to produce planets and the chemical ingredients of life. She is also interested in the nature of discovery in astronomy, the power of science to inspire, and in the role of science in society.
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Brandon Hensley is an associate research scholar at Princeton University. He received his Ph.D. from Princeton in 2015 and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory before returning to Princeton in 2018. He is interested in all facets of interstellar dust and builds detailed physical models of dust to interpret data across the electromagnetic spectrum.
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Daniela Calzetti is a professor and head of the astronomy department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She obtained her Ph.D. at the University of Rome in 1992. She was a member of the staff at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore from 1990 to 2007. She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2020. Her research interests focus on the interstellar dust and star formation in external galaxies.
Dr. Seppo Laine is a staff scientist at Caltech/IPAC. He was a member of the Science User Support and IRAC instrument support teams of the Spitzer Space Telescope from 2002 to 2021. He is currently involved in the formulation of the Roman Space Telescope’s Science Support Center at IRAC and in the IPAC Communications and Education team. His scientific interests include low surface brightness objects, and galaxy dynamics and interactions.
Joan Najita is an astronomer at NOIRLab, the National Science Foundation’s research and development center for ground-based optical and infrared astronomy. Her research focuses on how stars form from interstellar clouds and how disks surrounding young stars evolve to produce planets and the chemical ingredients of life. She is also interested in the nature of discovery in astronomy, the power of science to inspire, and in the role of science in society.
Brandon Hensley is an associate research scholar at Princeton University. He received his Ph.D. from Princeton in 2015 and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory before returning to Princeton in 2018. He is interested in all facets of interstellar dust and builds detailed physical models of dust to interpret data across the electromagnetic spectrum.
Daniela Calzetti is a professor and head of the astronomy department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She obtained her Ph.D. at the University of Rome in 1992. She was a member of the staff at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore from 1990 to 2007. She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2020. Her research interests focus on the interstellar dust and star formation in external galaxies.Event Resources
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Presentation Resources
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Transcript
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Chat Transcript
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