UofT AstroTour: Placing the Planets
Speaker: Christa Van Laerhoven
The planets didn’t start off where they are now. We know this from looking at the small things: the asteroids, comets, and Kuiper Belt objects. The movements of the planets leaves its fingerprint on how these small bodies are distributed. Indeed, the small bodies are a better tracer of planet migration than the planets are. This talk will include an overview of the formation and migration of planets in the solar system, including the “Grand Tack” and “Nice Model.” It will also touch on how the planets might move in the future.
About the Speaker
Christa Van Laerhoven grew up in a small town just east of Vancouver, BC. She did her B.Sc. at U.B.C. and her Ph.D. at the University of Arizona in Tucson. She studies extra-solar planets in multi-planet systems and how their orbits change over long periods of time. She also studies the orbits of Kuiper Belt objects and what the structure of the Kuiper Belt means for how the solar system planets migrated.
The U of T Astronomy Public Tour, or AstroTour, is a monthly event operated by the graduate students of the U of T Astronomy Department. The Tour features a public lecture by a member of the Department on topics ranging from their research to great moments in astronomical history. Following the lecture, tour-goers can peer at the night sky through the Department’s balcony and dome telescopes, or watch a planetarium show run live by astronomer. Admission to the tour is free. Seating for the lecture is on a first-come, first-served basis (doors open ten minutes before the start of the lecture), and the telescope observing is walk-in.
Who can attend: Everyone
Fee: Free
Reservations: Only required for Planetarium Shows (available August 27th at noon)
Organized by: Graduate Astronomy Students Association. The AstroTours are generously financed by the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics and the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics.
Location: University of Toronto, McLennan Physical Laboratories (MP 102), 60 St George St., Toronto, ON M5S 1A7