A seminar by Dr Michele Bannister, University of Canterbury.
The discovery of 1I/‘Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov have created great interest in the population of interstellar objects that pass through the Solar System.
These small worlds are samples of the building blocks of planet formation that took place at other stars, but which come close enough for the same detailed physical characterisation possible for Solar System asteroids and comets.
1I/ʻOumuamua and 2I/Borisov share some features with local populations — and a delightful array of variation, hinting at remarkable differences in their original homes. Their 10^26 cousins wandering the Galaxy are part of an overarching cycle of planetesimal formation and scattering over billions of years.
I will outline how this vast population of interstellar objects across the Galaxy provide a rich scope of possibilities for linking together very different areas of understanding, from the formation of planets and their Oort clouds to the star-formation history of the Milky Way.
Presenter:
Dr Michele Bannister is a Royal Society Te Apārangi Rutherford Discovery Fellow and Senior Lecturer at the University of Canterbury.
Her work focusses on the exploration and observation of small worlds both interstellar and in our Solar System, with broad experience in wide-field surveys of the sky with observatories in Australia and Hawaii.
Her contributions to these collaborative efforts were recognised in 2020 by the Royal Astronomical Society’s early-career Winton Award in Geophysics, and by COSPAR's Zel’dovich Medal for Scientific Commission B (Solar System).
Streaming details:
Zoom link: https://bit.ly/otagogeology
| Date | Wednesday, 1 June 2022 |
|---|---|
| Time | 1:00pm - 2:00pm |
| Audience | Career advisers,Future students,Parents,Public,Undergraduate students,Postgraduate students,Staff,Alumni |
| Event Category | Sciences |
| Event Type |
Seminar Online and in-person |
| Campus | Dunedin |
| Department | Geology |
| Location | Benson Common Room, Geology Building, Dunedin Campus. Also available via Zoom |
| Cost | Free |
| Contact Name | Jack Williams |
| Contact Email | jack.williams@otago.ac.nz |
