Dust in Time: A Solar System Mystery -- Don Brownlee Lecture

When: Saturday, April 29, 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Where: Kane Hall - 120 - View Map
Cost: Free
Contact: Bruce Balick, balick@astro.washington.edu
More information:
https://ealumni.washington.edu/events/EventView.asp?ID=302&Private=N

The Astronomy Department presents a lecture with Professor Donald E. Brownlee, principal investigator for the NASA Stardust mission, and Professor of Astronomy at the University of Washington, will speak at a free, public lecture at Kane Hall on the Seattle campus at 4 p.m.

Brownlee will share his multi-year involvement in this dramatic undertaking. He will examine what clues scientists around the world hope to gain by analyzing particles from space, and his belief that these grains carry evidence of the forming of the sun and the solar system more that 4.6 billion years ago.

Background:
More than seven years ago the Stardust spacecraft was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Stardust was the first such mission dedicated solely to exploring a comet, and the first to return material from outside the Earth's moon orbit. The mission was designed allow the spacecraft to be precisely positioned to capture dust from a comet passing by.

The spacecraft was scheduled to obtain samples of interstellar dust, including some recently discovered particles streaming into our solar system. Scientists believe these materials might contain answers to some big questions as they are likely to contain ancient interstellar grains which include remnants from the creation of our Solar System.

The grains have been preserved from the beginning of the solar system in the "deep freeze of space 50 times farther away from the sun that Earth is," according to the NASA web site. Samples from the mission have been sent to 150 scientists throughout the world, who are determining properties of the grains using a variety of techniques.

After a 2.88 billion mile round-trip through space, Stardust lit up the night sky on January 15, 2006 as it returned with tens of thousands of grains of comet dust and interstellar materials.

On March 13, 2006, the first findings of the analysis of the grains were disclosed in Houston. Surprisingly, scientists are finding minerals believed to only be formed at high temperatures in the coldest place in our solar system, including olivine. The comet from which this sample was obtained, Wild 2, formed 4.6 billion years ago beyond the orbit of Neptune.

For the next six months, scientists will be involved in the preliminary examination of the interstellar grains, using all possible types of analytical instruments on these tiny samples.

Join us as Professor Brownlee discusses the planning of this incredible adventure, the mission itself, and first results obtained, April 29, 2006 in room Kane 120 at the University of Washington.

This lecture is free, but advance registration is required by clicking on the link above.

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