Posted at 1:07 a.m., Thursday, October 4, 2007
Birth of Stars and Planets lecture at UH
Advertiser Staff
The next Frontiers of Astronomy Community Lecture at 7 tonight will feature UH Institute for Astronomy astronomer Jonathan Williams speaking on "The Birth of Stars and Planets" in the Institute for Astronomy Manoa Auditorium.Williams will address "How did our Sun and solar system form?"
Astronomers are studying young stars that are in the process of forming new planetary systems, and cosmochemists study meteorites, fragments of asteroids found on Earth's surface that record conditions in the early solar system. Reconciling the two lines of evidence points to an unusual origin for our solar system, and suggests that Earth-like planets with both land and oceans may be rare.
Williams specializes in using radio telescopes operating at millimeter wavelengths to study star and planet formation. Admission and parking is free. For directions to the IfA, see http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/open-house/map.htm.
