MEDIA RELEASE 20th May 2016

Subject: Leading astronomer to visit and speak in Levin

Source: Horowhenua Astronomical Society Inc

Local astronomers are delighted to again host a leading space researcher with a Public Lecture in the Council Chambers on Sunday evening 10th July.

Dr. Michael Person. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a Research Astronomer at MIT's Planetary Astronomy Laboratory, & Director of the George R. Wallace Astrophysical Observatory is visiting to deliver the Annual Tinsley Lecture in memory of the late Professor Beatrice Tinsley, who died of melanoma in 1981 aged 40. She discovered (among many other things) that galaxies are both changing and interacting with one another. She proved that the universe is still evolving. Born in England, her family came to New Zealand when she was 5. She was educated first in New Plymouth and then at the University of Canterbury. Beatrice was celebrated for her work as a synthesizer - bringing together of apparently unrelated and individual scraps and strands of knowledge and theory, to help create a whole.

The Beatrice Hill Tinsley Lectures are administered by the RASNZ Lecture Trust to celebrate the life and work of this extraordinarily appealing and altogether remarkable young woman.

Dr. Michael Person is a Research Astronomer in MIT's Planetary Astronomy Laboratory, and Director of MIT's George R. Wallace Astrophysical Observatory. He specializes in the observational techniques needed to observe occultations, eclipses, and transits, including high-precision astrometry, and high-time-resolution photometry. His science interests include identifying and characterizing the atmospheres, compositions, and figures of distant solar-system bodies, particularly Triton, Pluto, and Kuiper Belt Objects. Dr. Person received his education at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA) where he received a Bachelor's degree in Physics, as well as Masters and Doctoral degrees from the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences. He trained in observational techniques and occultation science under the mentorship of the late Prof. James Elliot, one of the pioneers of modern occultation astronomy.

Dr. Person’s current research focuses on the atmospheres of Pluto and Triton, and the use of the SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) observatory and other assets to identify and monitor their changes.

Abstract

The year 2015 was truly the “Year of Pluto”. From the arrival of the historic New Horizons mission to the numerous dedicated Earth-based campaigns to examine Pluto near the flyby epoch, we potentially learned more about Pluto in 2015 than in all of the years since its discovery. During the weeks preceding the New Horizons flyby, a dedicated observation campaign was undertaken in New Zealand and parts of Australia to study Pluto’s atmosphere using the technique of stellar occultation, available only when Pluto passes directly in front of a star. A key component of this campaign was the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), a converted 747 with a 2.5-m telescope, which was based out of Christchurch for these events.

Dr. Michael Person of MIT will discuss the history of Pluto science starting with the discovery of Pluto, through the discovery and characterization of its atmosphere and moons, to provide context to the discoveries of 2015. Focusing on his own experiences aboard the SOFIA aircraft, and the New Horizons flyby, he will discuss the explosion of Pluto knowledge over the last year, and its context in our understanding of the outer solar system.

Horowhenua Astronomical Society Inc Royal Astronomical Society NZ

www.horoastronomy.org.nz www.rasnz.org.nz

ENDS

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