Frontiers of Astronomy Community Lecture

"Killer Asteroids...and what we can do about them." Panelists: Astronaut Ed Lu, David Tholen, Rob Jedicke, Nick Kaiser
Asteroids: What are they? -- Dr. David Tholen is a planetary astronomer at the UH Institute for Astronomy who specializes in the study of asteroids and comets. He has developed a widely-used asteroid classification system, and is the discoverer of Apophis, the asteroid that will pass within 20,000 miles of the Earth in 2029.

"Asteroids: How dangerous are they?" -- Dr. Robert Jedicke is another astronomer at the UH Institute for Astronomy who specializes in the discovery and study of asteroids that may impact the Earth.

"Asteroids: How can we find them?" -- Dr. Nick Kaiser is a cosmologist at the UH Institute for Astronomy for the Pan-STARRS telescope project in Hawaii that will soon be the world's most powerful instrument for discovering asteroids.

"Asteroids: How could we protect ourselves?" -- Dr. Ed Lu used to be a solar physicist at the UH Institute for Astronomy before becoming a NASA astronaut in 1995. He spent six months aboard the International Space Station in 2003. More recently he has proposed a "gravity tractor" that could alter the orbit of a dangerous asteroid if necessary.

Sponsored by the Institute for Astronomy and NASA.

Monday, January 22, 2007 at 7:00 p.m.
UH Manoa Art Building Auditorium (Room 132)
Free Admission, Open to the Public
Parking Fee is $3.00.

Event Sponsor
Institute for Astronomy, Manoa

More Information
Karen Rehbock, 808-956-6829, rehbock@ifa.hawaii.edu, http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/specialevents/killer_asteroids.htm

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