Planetary Collisions: From the Moon's Origin to the Dino's Demise

Event Date:
2020-01-20T15:00:00
2020-01-20T16:00:00
Event Location:
Hennings 318
Speaker:
Jay Melosh (Purdue)
Related Upcoming Events:
Astronomy Colloquia
Intended Audience:
Undergraduate
Local Contact:

Brett Gladman

Event Information:

Collisions with asteroids and comets used to be the stuff of science fiction.  However, starting with the Apollo missions' revelations about our Moon, it has gradually dawned on the scientific world that collisions between objects from microscopic to planetary scales dominated nearly every aspect of our planetary system's birth and its later evolution.  Long after the birth of our planet, a rare asteroid impact initiated the extinction of the dinosaurs.  As recently as Feb. 15, 2013 the atmospheric disintegration of a building-sized space rock terrified residents of the city of Chelyabinsk, Siberia.  While impact craters are presently rare on the Earth, they dominate the surfaces of many planets and Moons.  Impacts on Mars have sent us samples of that planet in the form of meteorites and just might have once transferred living organisms between our two planets. Modern computer models are now revealing just what happens when an irresistible force—a speeding asteroid—meets an immovable object—the Earth, Mars or the Moon.

Add to Calendar 2020-01-20T15:00:00 2020-01-20T16:00:00 Planetary Collisions: From the Moon's Origin to the Dino's Demise Event Information: Collisions with asteroids and comets used to be the stuff of science fiction.  However, starting with the Apollo missions' revelations about our Moon, it has gradually dawned on the scientific world that collisions between objects from microscopic to planetary scales dominated nearly every aspect of our planetary system's birth and its later evolution.  Long after the birth of our planet, a rare asteroid impact initiated the extinction of the dinosaurs.  As recently as Feb. 15, 2013 the atmospheric disintegration of a building-sized space rock terrified residents of the city of Chelyabinsk, Siberia.  While impact craters are presently rare on the Earth, they dominate the surfaces of many planets and Moons.  Impacts on Mars have sent us samples of that planet in the form of meteorites and just might have once transferred living organisms between our two planets. Modern computer models are now revealing just what happens when an irresistible force—a speeding asteroid—meets an immovable object—the Earth, Mars or the Moon. Event Location: Hennings 318