ONLINE: Astronomy Talk: Hunting for new minor planets

*************************** This is an online event *******************************

We don't have the use of the clubhouse and we wouldn't want to use it until the shelter-in-place order is lifted anyway. But the night sky is still there, and there's still lots to learn. So we'll do this online.

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Many of SJAA’s events, like this one, are public and free to attend, but if you’re enjoying what SJAA has to offer, consider becoming a paid member for only $20 per year: https://www.sjaa.net/membership/benefits-of-membership-2/

Come join us for our monthly Astronomy talk!

Topic: Hunting for new minor planets
Speaker: Pranvera Hyseni, Graduate Student, UC Santa Cruz

Description:
Why study asteroids? The scientific interest in asteroids is due largely to their status as the remnant debris from the inner solar system formation process. The probability of an asteroid striking the Earth and causing serious damage is very remote but the devastating consequences of such an impact suggests we should closely study different types of asteroids to understand their compositions, structures, sizes, and future trajectories. In this talk, I will be presenting various methods how we detect new minor planets in our solar system, and will be focusing on how to get the general public to contribute in making new discoveries using the same techniques and data provided by some of the world’s largest fully robotic telescopes.

Speaker Bio:
Pranvera Hyseni is a graduate student from the Republic of Kosovo, pursuing a Master’s degree in Earth and Planetary Science at UC Santa Cruz. She is the founder of Astronomy Outreach of Kosovo – the largest astronomy outreach program in Eastern Europe. AOK reaches over 25,000 people every year, and thanks to this work Hyseni was chosen as one of the five most influential women in Kosovo.