Science Briefing: Inside Stellar Nurseries
Location
Virtual
Contact Information
About Event
In this edition of NASA’s Universe of Learning Science Briefings, we’ll learn the basics of stellar births, we’ll discuss the chemistry of molecular clouds—also known as stellar nurseries—and take a look at the first images taken by JWST of the Orion Nebula, a star formation factory.
Aaron Lee will outline the narrative of how large light-year-sized molecular clouds of gas collapse to form stars such as our own Sun.
Brandt Gaches will discuss the build-up in the complexity of the chemistry of the interstellar medium, from simple molecules such as Carbon Monoxide, to prebiotics, and the different energy sources which regulate molecular cloud chemistry.
Els Peeters will take us to JWST’s breathtaking view of the Orion Nebula.
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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Kelly Lepo is an Education and Outreach Scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute, where she primarily works to support outreach efforts for the James Webb Space Telescope. She received a Ph.D. in Astronomy and Astrophysics from the University of Toronto. During her time in Canada, she made numerous local and national media appearances to talk about everything from the 2012 Mayan Apocalypse to the Super Blue Blood Moon. She previously served as the Coordinator of the McGill Space Institute, designed undergraduate teaching labs, taught physics at Gonzaga University, and helped build the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. -
Aaron Lee is an assistant professor in physics & astronomy at Saint Mary's College of California. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of California Berkeley. His research interests include star formation, binary stars, computational methods, and the pedagogy of teaching introductory astronomy.
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Brandt Gaches is currently a Cosmic Origins postdoctoral fellow at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg Sweden, and was previously a researcher at the University of Cologne. Brandt is also currently an associated member of the Center for Planetary Systems Habitability at the University of Texas at Austin. Brandt received his Ph.D. in 2019 from the University of Massachusetts, and his Bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona. His main research interests are in astrochemistry, low-energy cosmic rays, and star formation.
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Els Peeters is an astrophysicist at Western University. She holds an MSc degree in Physics from the Catholic University of Leuven and a European MSc in Astronomy and Astrophysics. She obtained her Ph.D. in Astronomy at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. She then spent several years at the NASA Ames Research Center and the SETI Institute before becoming professor in the department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Western Ontario. Her research focuses on star formation and interstellar gas and dust in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies.
Kelly Lepo is an Education and Outreach Scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute, where she primarily works to support outreach efforts for the James Webb Space Telescope. She received a Ph.D. in Astronomy and Astrophysics from the University of Toronto. During her time in Canada, she made numerous local and national media appearances to talk about everything from the 2012 Mayan Apocalypse to the Super Blue Blood Moon. She previously served as the Coordinator of the McGill Space Institute, designed undergraduate teaching labs, taught physics at Gonzaga University, and helped build the Large Hadron Collider at CERN.
Aaron Lee is an assistant professor in physics & astronomy at Saint Mary's College of California. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of California Berkeley. His research interests include star formation, binary stars, computational methods, and the pedagogy of teaching introductory astronomy.
Brandt Gaches is currently a Cosmic Origins postdoctoral fellow at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg Sweden, and was previously a researcher at the University of Cologne. Brandt is also currently an associated member of the Center for Planetary Systems Habitability at the University of Texas at Austin. Brandt received his Ph.D. in 2019 from the University of Massachusetts, and his Bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona. His main research interests are in astrochemistry, low-energy cosmic rays, and star formation.
Els Peeters is an astrophysicist at Western University. She holds an MSc degree in Physics from the Catholic University of Leuven and a European MSc in Astronomy and Astrophysics. She obtained her Ph.D. in Astronomy at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. She then spent several years at the NASA Ames Research Center and the SETI Institute before becoming professor in the department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Western Ontario. Her research focuses on star formation and interstellar gas and dust in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies.Event Resources
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Slide Presentation PPT
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Resources PDF
399 KB -
Q&A Chat Transcript
122 KB