May 22, 2012 "Exploration of Mercury, Venus, and Europa"

Professor Jean-Luc Margot is in town!
Associate Professor, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy (Please Scroll Down to see his Profiles)

"Exploration of Mercury, Venus, and Europa"

"The discovery of numerous planets around other stars suggests that our galaxy is replete with habitable worlds. How did these worlds form?
Under what conditions can they support life? Most of the detailed information about Earth-like planets comes from studies of bodies in our own solar system, and UCLA plays a leading role in these efforts.
I will describe recent developments in our understanding of our planetary neighbors. Thanks to spacecraft and telescopic observations, we are answering key questions about Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun. Venus, our sister planet, remains mysterious, hidden in part by a dense atmosphere affected by a dramatic greenhouse effect. Europa, a satellite of Jupiter, likely has a liquid water ocean under its icy crust, and this ocean may offer habitable niches for certain life forms. Ultimately our exploration of planets around the Sun and other stars will answer the question: is there life elsewhere?"

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TUESDAY, 22 MAY 2012
7:00 to 9:30 PM (Speech starts at 7:30) TOKYO 21c CLUB 10th Floor,
Shin-Marunouchi Building (Very light food and wine)

2,000 yen Guests and non-members (registered by May 20th)
1,000 yen UCLA Club of Japan Paid Member and Bruins under 30
3,000 yen for non-registered guests

Please contact us to attend this event.

?Please invite your friends. Non-UCLA guests are also welcome!

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Profile of Dr. Jean-Luc Margot
"Jean-Luc Margot is a planetary astronomer trained in Belgium, Denmark and the U.S. He is affiliated with the Department of Earth and Space Sciences and the Department of Physics and Astronomy at UCLA. Margot conducts research on the formation and evolution of habitable planets using a variety of telescopes, including the largest telescope on Earth at Arecibo in Puerto Rico, the Keck telescopes atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii, and the Hubble Space Telescope. In 2004, he was awarded the Urey Prize by the American Astronomical Society to recognize outstanding achievements in planetary science by a young scientist. The asteroid 9531 Jean-Luc is named after him. At UCLA, Margot enjoys teaching large introductory astronomy classes such as "The Solar System" and "Astrobiology". At the graduate level Margot teaches courses about Planet Formation and Evolution. More information about his teaching and research interests is available at http://www2.ess.ucla.edu/~jlm/ "