February 12, 2018 7:30-9:30PM

Event: Astronomy on Tap
Venue: Der Wolfskopf

Talk 1

Title: Can Science Fiction Predict the Future?
Lecturer: Harriet Brettle
Position: Caltech / Planetary Society
Institution: Graduate Student / Outreach Coordinator

Talk 2

Title: The Stellar Ultrasound: Journey to the Center of a Star
Lecturer: Jim Fuller
Position: Professor
Institution: Caltech

Talk 3

Title: Earth 2.0: Will We Find Another Potential Home?
Lecturer: Elizabeth Tasker
Position: Professor
Institution: JAXA

Quiz Questions / Answers

1. Last week, what company successfully launched a Tesla Roadster into orbit in the inner solar system? SpaceX
2. The Falcon Heavy rocket which launched the Tesla Roadster is the most powerful operational launch vehicle--what is the most powerful launch vehicle in history? Saturn V (70T vs 160 LEO)
3. The Earth Similarity Index (ESI—see dr. tanker’s talk) ranges from 0 (not Earthlike) to 1 (Earth) with a value of 0.8 considered Earthlike. What is Venus's ESI? 0.9
4. Last month we had a Blue Blood Super Moon. How much bigger across does a super moon appear than a normal moon? 6%
5. President Trump's fiscal budget was released today calling for the elimination of NASA's Department of Education and what astronomical space-based telescope? WFIRST
6. Light rays created by nuclear fusion in the Sun's core take how long to reach the solar surface? 10,000 years
7. Last week, astronomers announced the discovery of what near a black hole in a distant galaxy for the first time? Exoplanets
8. In Star Wars, what ocean planet has been the residence of Luke Skywalker since he went into hiding? Ahch-To
9. There are two major proposed paradigms for what dark matter is: MACHOs and WIMPs. What does WIMP stand for? Weakly Interacting Massive Particles
10. Two elements reached their peak abundance in the universe within minutes after the big bang and have only been decreasing since then. Which elements are they? Hydrogen, Lithium