December 6, 2019 7-9PM

Event Type: Lecture and Stargazing
Title: The Solar System’s Volcanic Wonderland
Lecturer: Katherine de Kleer
Position: Professor
Institution:Caltech
Abstract:
Jupiter’s moon Io is covered with active volcanoes, many of them significantly more powerful than anything on Earth today. From lava lakes and lava fountains to massive umbrella plumes, Io’s volcanic features span a wide spectrum of styles and give us information about this moon’s interior. Telescope technologies allow us to watch volcanoes erupt on Io from telescopes on Earth, and such observations have led to recent breakthroughs in our understanding of this exotic world. This talk will present discoveries from such observations, and from spacecraft visits to Io over the past 20 years, and will discuss new mysteries that these discoveries have uncovered.