2026-05-20
      19:30

RASCTO Speaker's and Social Night: What can we learn from Interstellar Comets?

Speaker: Dr. Jesse Rogerson, Associate Professor, Division of Natural Science, York University

Title: What can we learn from Interstellar Comets?

Abstract: Spoiler Alert! It's not Aliens. Or at least, that's an incredibly unlikely conclusion. However, that does not make the three known interstellar comets any less interesting! Beginning in 2017, with 1I/'Oumuamua, followed by 2I/Borisov in 2019, and now 3I/ATLAS this past summer, astronomers are learning more and more about the universe beyond our solar system. In this talk, I will present the origin stories of each object, what we have learned, and where this may take us in the future.

Speaker Bio: Jesse Rogerson is an Associate Professor at York University, in the Division of Natural Science. In this role, Jesse teaches a variety of astronomy and space science classes for non-science majors. He received his MSc and PhD in astrophysics from York University, with a specialization on quasars, and his HBSc from McMaster University. After completing his PhD, Jesse took his Education and Public Outreach experience and applied it to the Museum and Science Centre industry. He held positions at the Ontario Science Centre, Telus Spark, and notably was the Science Advisor at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa.  Now, back at York University, Jesse uses his extensive astrophysics and outreach experiences to generate conversations and engagement with the space sciences.

Who can attend: Everyone

Fee: No Charge

Locations:

Organized by: RASC, Toronto Centre

-