Astronomy on Tap Flagstaff | Magnetic Fields on Other Worlds

Join Lowell Observatory and Mother Road Brewing Co. on August 27th at 6:30pm for Astronomy on Tap! Listen to fascinating science talks, play trivia to win out-of-this-world prizes, and of course, enjoy Mother Road brews on tap.

This month’s speaker is Lowell astronomer Dr. Melodie Kao, who will talk about the magnetic fields of exoplanets! In 1958, James Van Allen discovered zones of extreme radiation surrounding Earth. We now know that these invisible bubbles of high energy radiation cocooning Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and even tiny Ganymede are some of the most hazardous environments in the Solar System for both crewed and uncrewed space missions. Ten years later, the Apollo 8 astronauts made the first human journey beyond the Van Allen Belts to orbit the moon. On the fifty-fifth anniversary of their discovery in 2023, a team led by Lowell’s newest astronomer Dr. Melodie Kao found and imaged the first example of radiation belts outside of the Solar System. Come spend an evening exploring what they can tell us about the magnetic fields of exoplanets and the presence of volcanoes on worlds outside of our Solar System. We’ll see you there!