Extrasolar planets now number in the thousands, spanning a wide range of orbital and physical properties. Unlocking the atmospheric properties of these exotic worlds using facilities such as the Spitzer Space Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope have enabled us to probe chemistry, radiation, and weather regimes beyond our own solar system. This talk describes key observations to understand the atmospheres of extrasolar planets with comparisons to three-dimensional models, and how these models inform comparative exoplanet studies using current and future ground- and space-based telescopes, including the James Webb Space Telescope.

Tiffany Kataria, Unlocking the Atmospheres of Extrasolar Worlds

Amy Mainzer

Our solar system teems with asteroids and comets, which range in size from tiny dust particles to gigantic mountains that are worlds in their own right. While most of these objects remain in stable orbits that whirl them around the Sun for billions of years, every now and again something changes: Some objects can be perturbed into orbits that encounter Earth. In the last few decades, astronomers have begun systematic searches for potentially Earth-impacting asteroids and comets, and in the process have learned much about Earth’s nearest cosmic neighbors. As study of the distant universe has advanced, so has our understanding of the contents of our own solar system, and its potential to affect life on Earth.

Amy Mainzer, From Dust Motes to Icy Mountains: Asteroids and Comets

Catherine Espaillat

We know that planets are born in the protoplanetary disks that surround stars when they are young. How these disks evolve into planetary systems is a fundamental question in Astronomy. Observations have revealed remarkable structures in disks that may indicate the presence of newly born planets. This talk reviews these key observations and compares them to current theoretical predictions of planet formation. Finally, Dr. Espaillat discusses  possibilities for future progress.

Catherine Espaillat, Baby Planets and their Nurseries

We know that planets are born in the protoplanetary disks that surround stars when they are young. How these disks evolve into planetary systems is a fundamental question in Astronomy. Observations have revealed remarkable structures in disks that may indicate the presence of newly born planets. This talk reviews these key observations and compares them to current theoretical predictions of planet formation. Finally, Dr. Espaillat discusses possibilities for future progress in the field.

Laurance Doyle

We have been applying the mathematics of information theory—originally developed for human communication systems and computers—to humpback whales in order to measure the complexity of their vocalizations. Is their "language" as complex as ours, or even more complex? Are there general rules for communicating knowledge that even messages from extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) will have to obey?  As astrobiology uses Antarctica as a proxy for Mars, so we are using non-human but complex communication systems as a proxy for an ETI signal if and when one may be received. Humpback whales grew up on the same planet, and around the same star, as humans did, but their communication systems are certainly not human! Thus we can deprovincialize our thinking and approach to the detection of intelligent life in space.

Laurance Doyle, Humpback Whale Song as an Intelligence Filter for SETI

Belinda Wilkes

The launch of NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory in 1999 brought X-ray astronomy into the main stream, with 10 times the resolution and the ability to see objects 100 times fainter than previous x-ray satellites.As Chandra celebrates its 20th year of operations, Dr. Wilkes will review some of the major discoveries and highlights of its scientific progress to date. This encompasses determining whether habitable exoplanets can survive the birth of their stars, to finding very distant supermassive black holes when the Universe was 10 percent of its current age, and everything in between: the birth and death of stars, merging galaxies and black holes, and unexpectedly chaotic clusters of galaxies.What does the future hold for new Chandra scientific opportunities now and over the next decade, and what might follow Chandra when it ends its illustrious career?

The launch of NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory in 1999 brought X-ray astronomy into the main stream, with 10 times the resolution and the ability to see objects 100 times fainter than previous x-ray satellites. As Chandra celebrates its 20th year of operations, Dr. Wilkes will review some of the major discoveries and highlights of its scientific progress to date. This encompasses determining whether habitable exoplanets can survive the birth of their stars, to finding very distant supermassive black holes when the Universe was 10 percent of its current age, and everything in between: the birth and death of stars, merging galaxies and black holes, and unexpectedly chaotic clusters of galaxies. What does the future hold for new Chandra scientific opportunities now and over the next decade, and what might follow Chandra when it ends its illustrious career?

Belinda Wilkes, Celebrating 20 years with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory

Michael Busch

The near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) are a population of objects on orbit around the Sun that cross or come near the orbit of Earth; remnants of material from the early solar system that never accreted into planets. NEAs are accessible targets for space missions, but also pose a hazard due to potential future impacts onto Earth. Dr. Busch, of SETI Institute, will review the near-Earth population and efforts to address the asteroid impact hazard. He will also discuss past, current, and future missions to near-Earth asteroids, including missions by NASA, ESA, JAXA, the Chinese National Space Agency, and potentially other groups.

Michael Busch, Near Earth Asteroids, Space Missions, and the Impact Hazard

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey is an unprecedented all-sky spectroscopic survey of over six million objects. It is designed to decode the history of the Milky Way galaxy, trace the emergence of the chemical elements, reveal the inner workings of stars, and investigate the origin of planets. SDSS will also create a contiguous spectroscopic map of the interstellar gas in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies that is 1,000 times larger than the state of the art.

Juna Kollmeier, Mapping the Universe, The Sloan Digital Sky Survey

Luisa Rebull

The infrared lies beyond the red end of the visible spectrum of light. Cool and dusty things throughout the Universe appear bright in infrared. The Spitzer Space Telescope is one of NASA’s Great Observatories, designed to observe the universe in infrared light. It was launched in 2003 with an expected lifetime of 5 years. Spitzer has succeeded beyond our wildest expectations, observing things from dust in our Solar System out to dusty galaxies at the edge of the Universe. On January 30, 2020, Spitzer will complete its mission. Dr. Rebull will summarize some of the interesting engineering that made this mission so successful, and cover several scientific highlights from the past 16 years of Spitzer operations.

Luisa Rebull, The Universe in the Infrared: Spitzer’s Final Voyage

Rosalba Bonaccorsi

The search for life on Mars and elsewhere in the solar system requires life detection technology to be tested in real environments before flight. SETI's Rosalba Bonaccorsi describes field expeditions to various planetary analogs on Earth. The purpose of these is to gain scientific knowledge through a deeper understanding of the target environments, which informs how extreme and cryptic life can be discovered and studied. We also want to test technologies, system interactions, and analytical protocols enabling exploration and scientific breakthrough. At the remote sites, we train teachers, educators, and the next generation of scientists and space explorers. Last but not least, we have a burning desire to excite and engage the public worldwide as well as the local communities in the exploration vision through analog activities here on Earth.

Rosalba Bonaccorsi, Science Expeditions to Planetary Analogs

Space

On July 14, 2015, something amazing happened. More than 3 billion miles from Earth, a small NASA spacecraft called New Horizons screamed past Pluto at more than 32,000 miles per hour, focusing its instruments on the long mysterious icy worlds of the Pluto system, and then, just as quickly, continued on its journey out into the beyond. Nothing like this has occurred in a generation—a raw exploration of new worlds unparalleled since NASA’s Voyager missions to Uranus and Neptune—and nothing quite like it is planned to happen ever again. At a time when so many think that our most historic achievements are in the past, the most distant planetary exploration ever attempted not only succeeded in 2015 but made history and captured the world’s imagination.How did they do it? Mission Leader Dr. Alan Stern and co-author Dr. David Grinspoon share the ultimate insider’s look at this amazing mission. It is the story of decades-long commitment and persistence; political fights within and outside of NASA; and sheer human ingenuity in designing, building, and flying the mission. And Dr. Stern will give a preview of New Horizons’ next encounter, as it performs a flyby of MU69 in the Kuiper Belt, 1 billion miles past Pluto, in 2019.

On July 14, 2015, something amazing happened. More than 3 billion miles from Earth, a small NASA spacecraft called New Horizons screamed past Pluto at more than 32,000 miles per hour, focusing its instruments on the long mysterious icy worlds of the Pluto system, and then, just as quickly, continued on its journey out into the beyond. Nothing like this has occurred in a generation—a raw exploration of new worlds unparalleled since NASA’s Voyager missions to Uranus and Neptune—and nothing quite like it is planned to happen ever again. At a time when so many think that our most historic achievements are in the past, the most distant planetary exploration ever attempted not only succeeded in 2015 but made history and captured the world’s imagination. How did they do it? Mission Leader Dr. Alan Stern and co-author Dr. David Grinspoon share the ultimate insider’s look at this amazing mission. It is the story of decades-long commitment and persistence; political fights within and outside of NASA; and sheer human ingenuity in designing, building, and flying the mission. And Dr. Stern will give a preview of New Horizons’ next encounter, as it performs a flyby of MU69 in the Kuiper Belt, 1 billion miles past Pluto, in 2019.

Chasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto

Seth Shostak

For six decades, a tiny group of scientists has probed the cosmos for evidence of aliens. Is this an endless quest, or could we soon learn of other beings in the nearby universe? We’ll discuss the latest efforts to uncover the extraterrestrials, as well as some disturbing ideas that could change the way we hunt for cosmic company. Also, what happens if we do detect someone or something out there? Would that radically change our own society, or merely be an interesting story for a week or two?

Seth Shostak, New Approaches to Looking for E.T.

Lisa Kaltenegger

The detection of thousands of exoplanets orbiting alien suns revolutionized our view of the cosmos—and the next generation of telescopes will be able to peer into the atmospheres of rocky planets glimpse other worlds.In this lecture, Dr. Lisa Kaltenegger will reveal the latest research into these exoplanets' suitability for life, and the techniques and missions that could finally answer the question: "Are we alone in the Universe?"

The detection of thousands of exoplanets orbiting alien suns revolutionized our view of the cosmos—and the next generation of telescopes will be able to peer into the atmospheres of rocky planets glimpse other worlds. In this lecture, Dr. Lisa Kaltenegger will reveal the latest research into these exoplanets' suitability for life, and the techniques and missions that could finally answer the question: "Are we alone in the Universe?"

Lisa Kaltenegger, Are We Alone in the Universe?

The Event Horizon Telescope is an experiment that is being performed on a large and ever-increasing array of radio telescopes that span the Earth, from Hawaii to Chile and from the South Pole to Arizona. In April of this year, the EHT collaboration has performed its first set of observations with this full array of telescopes in order to take the first ever picture of a black hole. This unprecedented spatial resolution and the novel methods of this experiment will allow us to get up close and personal with the black hole at the center of our Galaxy, Sagittarius A*, and the black hole at the center of the nearby galaxy M87. The ultimate goal is to test Einstein’s theory of General Relativity by looking for its most bizarre prediction: a shadow that is a direct evidence for the event horizon of a black hole.

Feryal Ozel, Black Holes: An Up Close and Personal Look

Kathryn Bywaters

To search for life beyond Earth, we first have to decide on several key factors, such as where we should look. Several locations within our solar system have been identified that might be habitable. An ideal place to look might be the icy moons around Saturn and Jupiter with their liquid oceans. However, once we decide where to look for life we then need to determine what we will look for and how we will look for it. If there is life in this solar system, other than on Earth, it seems most likely that it will be in the form of microbes. But what if it doesn’t look like life on Earth—how will we know when we find it?

Kathryn Bywaters, SETI Institute: The Search for Life Beyond Earth

J.R. Skok

Our journey toward Mars and beyond will be humanity’s greatest adventure. It will determine the fate of our species and the extent of our legacy. This journey is already underway. Humans have walked on the Moon and have survived long-duration spaceflight. Our spacecraft have explored the solar system and mapped its routes and resources. Now we are on the verge of a revolution in space exploration as nations, corporations, and people like you are working to overcome the challenges that have held us back.Planetary scientist J.R. Skok of the SETI Institute discusses how scientists and engineers are using the most alien places on Earth to develop the technology, resources, and experience that we will need to become a multi-planetary species. We will see how places like the polar deserts of Antarctica, the volcanoes of Hawaii, and the thermal fields of Iceland are providing the insight and experience that will prepare us for the journey toward Mars and beyond.

Our journey toward Mars and beyond will be humanity’s greatest adventure. It will determine the fate of our species and the extent of our legacy. This journey is already underway. Humans have walked on the Moon and have survived long-duration spaceflight. Our spacecraft have explored the solar system and mapped its routes and resources. Now we are on the verge of a revolution in space exploration as nations, corporations, and people like you are working to overcome the challenges that have held us back. Planetary scientist J.R. Skok of the SETI Institute discusses how scientists and engineers are using the most alien places on Earth to develop the technology, resources, and experience that we will need to become a multi-planetary species. We will see how places like the polar deserts of Antarctica, the volcanoes of Hawaii, and the thermal fields of Iceland are providing the insight and experience that will prepare us for the journey toward Mars and beyond.

J.R. Skok, Planetary Scientist, SETI Institute

The NASA Kepler mission revealed that our Galaxy is teeming with planetary systems and that Earth-sized planets are common, but most of the planets detected by Kepler orbit stars that are too faint to permit detailed study. Excitingly, the NASA Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is scheduled to launch this spring and find hundreds of small planets orbiting stars that are much closer and brighter. Unlike the Kepler planets, the TESS planets will be ideal targets for follow-up observations to determine their masses, compositions, and atmospheric properties. Dr. Dressing will describe the TESS mission and explain how in-depth analyses of the TESS planets will allow us to probe the compositional diversity of small planets, investigate the formation of planetary systems, and set the stage for the next phase of exoplanet exploration: the quest for biosignatures in the atmospheres of strange new worlds.

Meet the Neighbors: Searching for Nearby Planets with the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite 

Franck Marchis

In only two decades, we’ve gone from the mere speculation about planets beyond our solar system (“exoplanets”) to being able to observe them through a variety of methods. Dr. Franck Marchis, Planetary Astronomer and chair of the exoplanet group at the SETI Institute will discuss new and sophisticated projects which aim to image directly those exoplanets.  Future instruments could soon deliver an image of a cousin of Earth, or another Pale Blue Dot, a planet similar to our own.

Franck Marchis, Another Pale Blue Dot

In recent decades, our ability to study the universe with telescopes detecting a range of wavelengths of light - enabled by placing them on mountain tops, on airplanes, on balloons, to rockets and satellites in orbit - has revealed a beautiful, mystifying, dynamic, and rather extraordinary place. Infrared light, in particular, penetrating deep into dark clouds, allows us to observe the birth of stars, measure the re-emission of the dust left behind by violent supernovae stellar deaths, and study the environments of gas and dust from which stars and planets form. Will these new observations bring us closer to learning how our universe works and where we come from?

Seeing Our Universe in New Ways – the Infrared Sky Re-imagined

Bruce Macintosh

In less than three decades, more than three thousand planets have been discovered orbiting other stars. This has sparked a post-Copernican revolution, as we realize our solar system is not alone. However, we still don't know if our solar system is rare or unique—the powerful techniques that detect extrasolar planets are still too insensitive to see any of the planets in our solar system; and the known extrasolar planets are 'seen' through indirect methods such as Doppler shift or photometric measurements of their effects on their parent star.An alternative to indirect detection is imaging: blocking out the light of the bright star to reveal the faint planet nearby. This is extremely challenging—the Earth is ten billion times fainter than the sun. In recent years, however, advances in technology have allowed a handful of giant planets to be seen directly.Macintosh will discuss these planets—the first-ever images of other solar systems—and the technology that has allowed us to discover them. New instruments, such as the advanced Gemini Planet Imager, promise to find dozens more, including the youthful equivalent of our own Jupiter. We will also learn about the prospects for the future, including behemoth 30-m ground-based telescopes and the WFIRST-AFTA space mission. The latter will use a repurposed military telescope to potentially image "super-Earth" planets around the nearest stars.The ultimate goal is detection of a second 'pale blue dot'—an Earth twin where we could even see the biosignatures of extrasolar life. Such a discovery may require even more advanced space telescopes - but will truly complete the evolution of our view of the universe.

In less than three decades, more than three thousand planets have been discovered orbiting other stars. This has sparked a post-Copernican revolution, as we realize our solar system is not alone. However, we still don't know if our solar system is rare or unique—the powerful techniques that detect extrasolar planets are still too insensitive to see any of the planets in our solar system; and the known extrasolar planets are 'seen' through indirect methods such as Doppler shift or photometric measurements of their effects on their parent star. An alternative to indirect detection is imaging: blocking out the light of the bright star to reveal the faint planet nearby. This is extremely challenging—the Earth is ten billion times fainter than the sun. In recent years, however, advances in technology have allowed a handful of giant planets to be seen directly. Macintosh will discuss these planets—the first-ever images of other solar systems—and the technology that has allowed us to discover them. New instruments, such as the advanced Gemini Planet Imager, promise to find dozens more, including the youthful equivalent of our own Jupiter. We will also learn about the prospects for the future, including behemoth 30-m ground-based telescopes and the WFIRST-AFTA space mission. The latter will use a repurposed military telescope to potentially image "super-Earth" planets around the nearest stars. The ultimate goal is detection of a second 'pale blue dot'—an Earth twin where we could even see the biosignatures of extrasolar life. Such a discovery may require even more advanced space telescopes - but will truly complete the evolution of our view of the universe.

Bruce Macintosh, Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University

Seth Redfield

It is important to know what is going on in your neighborhood, and that is also true of the immediate vicinity of our Sun in the Milky Way Galaxy. The Sun, along with our nearest stellar neighbors, is moving through giant clouds of interstellar gas and dust. Indeed, there is an interaction zone where the outward moving winds of stars push against the inward pressure of the surrounding interstellar gas. This interaction can even have important implications for the Earth and other planets. Prof. Redfield will describe what kind of astronomical objects reside in our Galactic neighborhood, how we know they are there, and why it is so important to learn all we can about the astronomical objects that share our small corner of the Galaxy.

Seth Redfield, The Interstellar Medium

Matthew Tiscareno

Cassini’s 13 years at Saturn have made it the most spectacularly successful interplanetary mission in the history of NASA. In its final 10 months, Cassini has transformed itself into a whole new mission with its Grand Finale, including 20 close flybys off the outer edge of Saturn’s rings and 22 passes between the rings and the cloud-tops of the planet. With detailed new data, Saturn’s rings, its clouds, its small inner moons, and more are coming into sharper focus than ever before. In this lecture, only four days before Cassini’s final plunge into the depths of Saturn, Cassini rings scientist Matthew Tiscareno will review the rich harvest of the Cassini mission.

Matthew Tiscareno - Farewell to Saturn

Jill Tarter

This century will permit us the first opportunities to study biology beyond Earth; biology as we don’t yet know it, and biology that we have exported off the surface of our planet. The technologies needed for discovering biology beyond Earth are different, depending on whether you are searching for microbes or mathematicians, and depending on whether you are searching in-situ or remotely. In many cases the necessary technologies do not yet exist, but they will probably develop more rapidly - and in more ways - than anyone of us can now imagine.

Jill Tarter, The 21st Century: The Century of Biology on Earth and Beyond

Ruth Angus

David Charbonneau

To coincide with the Kepler &amp; K2 Science Conference taking place in Mountain View, the Academy is pleased to host a double-header talk by two scientists who use the Kepler Mission to explore different aspects of the Universe! David Charbonneau discovers exoplanets with Kepler, while Ruth Angus studies the ages of stars. Hear directly from two scientists doing cutting-edge work with this amazing instrument.

Ruth Angus and David Charbonneau, The Two Sides of Kepler: Planets and Stars

Stephen Kane

Over the past few decades, hundreds of new planetary systems have been discovered, many of which show remarkable diversity compared with our own Solar System. A key step towards characterizing these planets is the determination of which planets occupy the Habitable Zone (HZ) of their host stars. In this talk, Dr. Kane describes the properties of the HZ, the dependence on the stellar properties, and the current state of exoplanet detections in the HZ. Along the way, he will attempt to dispel some common misconceptions regarding the Habitable Zone. Finally, he will present several case studies of HZ Kepler planets, including new results from Kepler and the planet orbiting Proxima Centauri.

Stephen Kane, The Diversity of Alien Worlds

Carolyn Porco

Twenty-six years ago, the United States and Europe joined hands and set off together on a spectacular adventure. It was a mission named Cassini and it called for a journey across the solar system and into orbit around Saturn, followed by an in-depth, comprehensive look at everything in the Saturn system.Cassini is now in its 13th year in orbit around Saturn. In that time, it has revealed a planetary system rich in scientific wonder and splendor beyond compare. Processes at work in the early solar system have been found within Saturn’s rings. The planet itself has been a lavish source of meteorological detail, permitting comparison with the Earth’s atmosphere. And environments found on and within its moons give hope of learning the mechanisms by which life has arisen on our own planet.In this presentation, Carolyn Porco, the leader of Cassini’s imaging team, will guide us through the enchanting realm of Saturn and the mission’s most profound scientific findings, and conclude with the legacy that Cassini will ultimately leave behind.

Twenty-six years ago, the United States and Europe joined hands and set off together on a spectacular adventure. It was a mission named Cassini and it called for a journey across the solar system and into orbit around Saturn, followed by an in-depth, comprehensive look at everything in the Saturn system. Cassini is now in its 13th year in orbit around Saturn. In that time, it has revealed a planetary system rich in scientific wonder and splendor beyond compare. Processes at work in the early solar system have been found within Saturn’s rings. The planet itself has been a lavish source of meteorological detail, permitting comparison with the Earth’s atmosphere. And environments found on and within its moons give hope of learning the mechanisms by which life has arisen on our own planet. In this presentation, Carolyn Porco, the leader of Cassini’s imaging team, will guide us through the enchanting realm of Saturn and the mission’s most profound scientific findings, and conclude with the legacy that Cassini will ultimately leave behind.

Carolyn Porco, Cassini to Saturn: The Journey and the Legacy

Mark Krumholz

We’ve all learned that space is an empty vacuum, but it’s not. The space between the stars in our Galaxy contains, on average, about 1 atom per cubic centimeter. That’s a better vacuum than the best vacuum chamber we know how to make, but there are a lot of cubic centimeters in interstellar space, so the mass of all the gas between the stars adds up to about 10% of the mass of all the stars put together. The temperature of this gas varies enormously from place to place in the Galaxy, with temperatures as high as millions of degrees and as low as a few degrees above absolute zero. In the coldest regions of interstellar space, over millions of years gravity is able to draw the atoms together into immense clouds that ultimately condense into clusters of new stars. In our Galaxy, this process produces stars at a rate of about 1 new Sun per year, the stars it makes are typically the size of the Sun or a little smaller.While we understand how this happens in general outline, many fundamental questions remain unanswered. What sets the rate at which stars form? What determines the final sizes of the individual stars? Where did our Sun form, and what happened to its siblings, the stars that formed out of the same cloud? In this talk I will describe what we currently know, and what we don’t, about the birth of new Suns.

We’ve all learned that space is an empty vacuum, but it’s not. The space between the stars in our Galaxy contains, on average, about 1 atom per cubic centimeter. That’s a better vacuum than the best vacuum chamber we know how to make, but there are a lot of cubic centimeters in interstellar space, so the mass of all the gas between the stars adds up to about 10% of the mass of all the stars put together. The temperature of this gas varies enormously from place to place in the Galaxy, with temperatures as high as millions of degrees and as low as a few degrees above absolute zero. In the coldest regions of interstellar space, over millions of years gravity is able to draw the atoms together into immense clouds that ultimately condense into clusters of new stars. In our Galaxy, this process produces stars at a rate of about 1 new Sun per year, the stars it makes are typically the size of the Sun or a little smaller. While we understand how this happens in general outline, many fundamental questions remain unanswered. What sets the rate at which stars form? What determines the final sizes of the individual stars? Where did our Sun form, and what happened to its siblings, the stars that formed out of the same cloud? In this talk I will describe what we currently know, and what we don’t, about the birth of new Suns.

Mark Krumholz, Professor, Astronomy & Astrophysics Dept. UC Santa Cruz - 7/6/15

Yashar Hezaveh

What is "dark matter?" This is a question that has preoccupied astrophysicists for many decades. Observations show that 80% of the matter in our universe is in this mysterious, invisible form. In this talk, Dr. Hezaveh discusses how ALMA, the world's most sophisticated radio telescope, is used to observe some of the most distant galaxies of our universe to learn new things about dark matter. On their 12 billion light year journey to us, light rays from these galaxies pass near other galaxies. As this happens, the dark matter halos of the intervening galaxies, large and small, bend their trajectories, causing the images here on the Earth to look distorted, like images in a funhouse mirror.

Yashar Hezaveh, Unveiling the dark universe: A tale of fish tanks, wine glasses, and the smallest dark matter clumps

Renu Malhotra

Our understanding of the history of the solar system has undergone a revolution in recent years, owing to new theoretical insights into the origin of Pluto and the discovery of the Kuiper Belt and its rich dynamical structure. The emerging picture is one of dramatic orbital migration of the planets in the early history of the solar system, driven by interaction with the primordial Kuiper Belt, which produced the final solar system architecture that we live in today. The evidence is all over the solar system, as close as the Moon and as far away as Pluto and the remnant Kuiper Belt. Dr. Malhotra will review this new view of our solar system's history, describe the astronomical evidence, and critically assess current theoretical models.

Renu Malhotra, Department of Planetary Sciences, University of Arizona, Pluto Matters

Did a moon form Saturn's rings? Do the building blocks for life exist on Titan? Seltzer water inside Enceladus? Here are three headlines about Saturn's moons.

Saturn's Moons

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