HYBRID – General Meeting – July 2024

Presentation:  SHARK-VIS Ushers In A New Age of Planetary Imaging

Since Voyager images in 1979 revealed volcanic activity on Jupiter’s moon Io, (the most volcanically active world in our solar system), Io’s surface has been monitored by both spacecraft and ground-based telescopes. In his presentation, scientist Al Conrad presents the highest resolution images of Io ever obtained from a ground-based telescope. Taken by the Large Binocular Telescope’s new instrument, SHARK-VIS, they show evidence of a recent major resurfacing event on Io, and usher in a new age of planetary imaging by using adaptive optics at optical wavelengths. Scientists hope monitoring Io’s eruptions will shed light on the tidal heating mechanism responsible for Io’s intense volcanism, and, according to Conrad, “Io, therefore presents a unique opportunity to learn about the mighty eruptions that helped shape the surfaces of the Earth and the moon in their distant pasts.”

Bio: Dr. Al Conrad, associate staff scientist at the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) received his PhD in Computer Science from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1994. Before joining LBT in 2014, he worked as a software engineer and support astronomer at both Lick and Keck Observatories, then at Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, where he led the development of the adaptive optics system for LINC-NIRVANA (near- infrared imaging instrument). At LBT, Al has served as the point of contact for commissioning of several instruments. His current duties include the science archive, SHARK-NIR (infra-red instrument), SHARK-VIS, and others. His research interests include asteroid systems and developing novel techniques to study comets, planets, and the moons of planets, in particular Jupiter’s moon Io. He enjoys cycling, sailing, and outrigger canoe paddling.

Jupiter’s moon Io imaged  by SHARK-VIS on Jan. 10, 2024