RASC Vancouver Monthly Meeting

Join us for our monthly meeting. All of our monthly meetings are free and open to the public.

Topic: Finding Pluto's Compatriots

Speaker: Dr. Christa Van Laerhoven

Location: Room AQ3159

Abstract from Dr. Van Laerhoven: The trans-Neptunian belt (also called the Kuiper belt) has some pretty complicated substructure. I will talk about how surveys of the trans-Neptunian belt work: how astronomers find trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs), determine which population they belong to, and estimate the sizes of each population. I will also talk a bit about how the structure of the trans-Neptunain belt can teach about how it was formed/emplaced, and provide context for MU69, the upcoming target of the New Horizons spacecraft.

Dr. Van Laerhoven is a postdoctoral fellow at UBC. She gained her PhD from the Department of Planetary Sciences at the University of Arizona in May 2014. Christa has a B.Sc. from UBC in Physics and Astronomy (Honours) and is an ex-president of the UBC Physics Society. Christa is an OSIRIS-REx Ambassador and a panelist on reddit.com's AskScience. Dr. Van Laerhoven is interested in orbital dynamics in general, in particular that of multi-planet extra-solar systems.

About our Events:

All RASC lectures and observing events are open to the public, family friendly, and there is no charge for admission. Our organization is run entirely by volunteers who love astronomy and astrophysics. Whether you're a complete beginner, a seasoned astronomer, or you hope to work for NASA some day, anyone fascinated by space exploration is welcome and will enjoy our events