Event type:
Lecture, Hybrid
Organised by:
Geological Society Events
Venue:
Hybrid In person at Burlington House and Virtual via Zoom
Event status:
EVENT CLOSED
Time and location
17:00-18:30 BST. Burlington House, Piccadilly, London and online via Zoom
Event details
Our Solar System is an incredibly diverse place, with planets, moons, and asteroids all exhibiting geological features that we recognise from Earth, and others we have yet to explain. From volcanoes three times the height of Mt Everest and canyons twice the depth of the Grand Canyon on Mars, to the alien Moons around Saturn and Jupiter with global, salty oceans, or icy surfaces and cryo-volcanism. These extra-terrestrial worlds have a lot to keep geologists occupied!
However, only one geologist has ever stepped foot on an extra-terrestrial body to examine it’s Geology; Harrison ‘Jack’ Schmitt of Apollo 17, honorary fellow of the Geological Society, who returned from the Moon in 1972. Since then, geologists largely rely on remote observations from space missions, including rovers, landers, and satellites, to map and explore the worlds around us. Sample-return missions to asteroids are beginning to become more common, but the Mars sample return programme won’t bring samples back to Earth until 2035 at the earliest, and the Artemis programme has yet to schedule a new lunar return mission. Instead, planetary geologists are using meteorites – rocks naturally delivered to Earth from other parent bodies – to explore the Solar System. But what can they tell us?
Join Natasha as she explores the Solar System using these enigmatic rocks, with real samples from the Moon, Mars, and various asteroids on hand, showcasing what we know about the geology of our Solar System, and how we’ve worked it out without true fieldwork to help…
Speaker
Dr Natasha Stephen is the Director of Science & Engagement at the Geological Society. Natasha is a geologist by training, with an MSci (Hons) from Royal Holloway, University of London, and a PhD from Imperial College London. Whilst her master’s research focused on isotope geochemistry of Icelandic lavas, her PhD and subsequent academic career at the University of Plymouth have focused almost exclusively on extra-terrestrial geology, mainly meteorites and Mars. Natasha is passionate about developing Outreach and Education within learned societies.
Registration
This is a FREE event and is open to everyone.
Past Public Lectures
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