Public Lectures

Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series
Foothill College
Los Altos Hills, CA

Speaker: David Morrison, NASA's Ames Research Center
Topic: A Scientist Looks at "Doomsday 2012" and the Rise of Cosmophobia
Date & Time: Wednesday, April 21, 2010, 7:00 p.m.
Location: Smithwick Theater, Foothill College, El Monte Road and Freeway 280, in Los Altos Hills, California

Free and open to the public. Parking on campus costs $2.

Call the series hot-line at 650-949-7888 for more information and driving directions.

No background in science will be required for this talk. Seating is first come, first served.

Many people have heard the rumors (through the media, on the Internet, seeing the big-budget movie, or from friends) that the world will end in 2012 -- and that some astronomical event or alignment is to blame. According to some versions, this doomsday scenario was predicted by ancient civilizations and we are just waking up to the truth! Is there scientific basis to these rumors?

Dr. David Morrison runs the web site through which the public can ask NASA questions about life in the universe, and for the past two years he has found himself overwhelmed by questions on this topic. He has now tracked down many of the stories that gave rise to a new fear of the heavens (what he calls "cosmophobia"). He will tell us about the scientific perspective on the chances that we won't be around after 2012. There are lessons here about the way a scientifically unsophisticated segment of the public can be manipulated by hoaxers out to make a buck by frightening people.

David Morrison is the Director of NASA's Lunar Science Institute and the Director of the Carl Sagan Center for the Study of Life at the SETI Institute. Dr. Morrison, a world-renowned planetary scientist and expert in the field of asteroid impacts, is the author of more than 155 technical papers and has published a dozen popular books and intro- ductory textbooks. He is the recipient of numerous awards for his scientific and educational work, including the Sagan Medal of the American Astronomical Society for public communication. Dr. Morrison was a founder of the multi-disciplinary field of astrobiology. Asteroid 2410 Morrison is named in his honor, but he assures us that it is not one of those that might hit the Earth.

Co-sponsored by:
NASA Ames Research Center
The Foothill College Astronomy Program
The SETI Institute
The Astronomical Society of the Pacific

Past Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures are available
in MP3 format at: http://www.astrosociety.org/education/podcast/index.html

Pennsylvania State - Erie

Lectures by a faculty member or visitor are followed by astronomical observing, weather permitting. Most of the talks are about astronomy, although sometimes there is another science topic. Access the Full Schedule.

The Schedule is at http://www.pserie.psu.edu/science/Seminars.htm under "Open House Nights In Astronomy."

Steward Observatory Public Evening Series

Monday night public astronomy lectures
Location: Steward Observatory at the University of Arizona - Tucson

For more information on the lectures go to their website - Steward Observatory Public Evening Series.

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