Exoplanets Everywhere
Discovery by the Kepler Mission and validation by the Gemini Observatory
Hilo, Hawai‘i – The NASA Kepler mission was launched in March of 2009 and has been providing astounding results such as the discovery of over 3,000 exoplanets orbiting alien suns as well as paradigm changing astrophysics.
Join Dr. Steve Howell, the project scientist for the NASA Kepler Space telescope, Saturday, July 27 at 7:00 p.m. in the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center’s planetarium for his presentation “Exoplanets are Everywhere: Discovery by the Kepler Mission and validation by the Gemini Observatory.” He will introduce the audience to the Kepler mission and discuss some of the major scientific discoveries. He will then detail the work on exoplanets and discuss how the Gemini Observatory is playing a leading role in their validation and characterization. He will conclude with a summary of the exoplanet systems discovered to date and their implication for our solar systems and our home world, the Earth.
Steve B. Howell is currently the project scientist for the NASA Kepler Space telescope. Dr. Howell is a highly distinguished astronomer having worked in the field for over 25 years. He has been a university professor, built instruments for the NASA Space Shuttle and telescopes at the Kitt Peak National Observatory, and now is the project scientist for NASA’s most scientifically and publicly visible mission, Kepler. He is the author of over 600 scientific publications, numerous popular and technical articles, has written and edited 8 books on astronomy and astronomical instrumentation, and recently published his first work of science fiction, “A Kepler’s Dozen.” Dr. Howell is highly involved with informal and formal scientific education for kids to adults and is an entertaining speaker. He currently lives in Redwood City, CA.
Ticketing at $10 for non-members and $8 for members (member level discounts apply). Tickets may be pre-purchased at the ‘Imiloa front desk or by phone using Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or JCB, by calling (808) 969-9703 during regular business hours. Tickets are non-refundable.
‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai‘i is located at 600 ‘Imiloa Place in Hilo, off Komohana and Nowelo Streets at the UH-Hilo Science and Technology Park. For more information, go to www.imiloahawaii.org, or call (808) 969-9700.
