UPCOMING EVENTS
Members: for full details about club-only events, log into your MemberPlanet account. If you are not yet a member, please consider joining us.

Loading Events

« All Events

  • This event has passed.

General Meeting – September 2018

September 7, 2018 @ 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm

6:30 pm – Introductory Presentation

Title:  Seasonal Night Sky Objects

Speaker:  Mary Turner, PhD

Mary Turner, TAAA’s appointed Chief Observer, takes us on an early tour of the upcoming winter night sky. As usual in her popular talks, Mary’s use of astronomical data, images, and mythology brings the seasonal changes in the sky to life.

7:30 pm – Main Presentation

Title:  Are We Alone: Extraterrestrial Technological Life in Our Galaxy

Speaker:  Dr. Robert Strom is Professor Emeritus at the University of Arizona. Retired after 36 years of teaching and research at UA, Dr. Strom remains active in research; his main interest is the planets, global warming, and exoplanet life. Dr. Strom holds numerous awards, including six from NASA, as well as the Career Distinguished Teaching Award from UA. He’s been part of many Imaging and other Science Teams for space missions, and brings us a wealth of knowledge, experience, and wisdom.

In Dr. Strom’s talk, he evaluates the number of technological civilizations likely to currently be in the Milky Way Galaxy, and presents a thought-provoking argument for why we are almost surely not alone. He begins with our current estimated number of Earth-like planets in the habitable region of Sun-like stars; about 6.6 billion. Using a modified Drake Equation and six constraints, he gives estimates that are “optimistic”, “pessimistic” and “unlikely.” Even “unlikely” values give over 600 technological civilizations in the Milky Way. Furthermore, almost all of their extra-solar system technologies are probably much more advanced than ours. For a lively talk and discussion, join us on September 7th.

Details

Date:
September 7, 2018
Time:
6:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Venue

Steward Observatory Lecture Hall (Room N210)
933 N Cherry Ave
Tucson, AZ 85721 United States
+ Google Map