Foothill College Pluto Talk Slated For Wednesday

LOS ALTOS, CA — A SETI Institute astronomer will provide a free talk on the universe surrounding Pluto Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Foothill College.

Ross Beyer will give the illustrated, non-technical talk on: "Charon, Pluto's Companion: What We're Learning from New Horizons" in the Smithwick Theater on the campus located in Los Altos Hills.

The talk is part of the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series at Foothill College, now in its 19th year.

Pluto's large moon Charon turned out to be far more interesting than astronomers expected. The features on Charon's surface tell a fascinating tale of how icy worlds could form far from the gravitational influences of the giant planets. There is evidence of a worldwide sub-surface ocean

Beyer is a planetary scientist with the Carl Sagan Center at the SETI Institute and NASA Ames Research Center. He is also a member of the New Horizons Science Team that explored the Pluto System and is currently exploring in the Kuiper Belt.

The lecture is co-sponsored by:

• The Foothill College Physical Science Division
• The Astronomical Society of the Pacific
• The SETI Institute
• NASA's Ames Research Center

Past lectures in the series can be found on YouTube at www.youtube.com/SVAstronomyLectures.

The event is free, including for parking on campus given the rainy evening.

Foothill College is located off the El Monte Road exit from Interstate 280 in Los Altos Hills. For directions and parking information, see foothill.edu/parking. For a campus map, see: foothill.edu/map.