SYNOPSIS
International Year of Astronomy, Public Lecture


Date/Time Fri., 2009 Feb. 27, 7:20p.m. ET

Location New Physics Building, Rm. 1002

Title The Moon's Dark Secrets: Its Violent Birth and Chaotic Youth

Speaker Prof. Charles Telesco (UF)

Synopsis Galileo's first glimpse of the heavens with his new telescope in 1609 was of the Moon. He was stunned by the image, which altered how we perceived the Universe and ourselves. Four hundred years later, the Moon is still full of surprises and mystery, being like no other planetary satellite in the Solar System. We will examine the Moon's puzzling properties, and follow this trail of clues to the remarkable and only recently proposed conclusion about the Moon's origin. This modern view ties in beautifully with new ideas and astronomical observations that underlie the explosion in our understanding of how world's are created in our own and other planetary systems.

Followed by telescope viewing (weather permitting) at Teaching Observatory

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