May 1, 2002 at 6:30 pm
Carnegie Institution of Washington
Elihu Root Auditorium
1530 P Street, NW
(Metro: Dupont Circle)

On the Trail of Life in the Universe

Cosponsored with the Carnegie Institution of Washington and in Celebration of its Centennial Anniversary (2002)

Are we alone in the Universe? Are there other worlds either in our solar system or elsewhere that could harbor life? Is there evidence that life did or could develop somewhere other than Earth? Tantalizing evidence from meteorites and observations from robotic spacecraft suggest that there are other worlds where life could exist.

In a fascinating presentation, Wesley Huntress from the Carnegie Institution and Glenn MacPherson from the Smithsonian Institution discuss the ongoing scientific detective stories that may answer one of the most important scientific and philosophical questions of all time. They explain how some astronomical evidence now suggests that planets around other stars are common and a natural consequence of star formation, and that some meteorites, and probably comets, contain basic building blocks of life that originated by purely chemical processes in space. Experimental laboratory studies are beginning to show how life might form from these basic building blocks.

Wesley Huntress is director of the Carnegie Institution’s Geophysical Laboratory; Glenn MacPherson is chair of the department of mineral sciences at the National Museum of Natural History.

CODE: 1J0-188

Resident Members $10; Senior Members $9; Gen. Admission $13

The lecture is held at the Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1530 P St., N.W.

 

Founded by Andrew Carnegie as an institution devoted to human knowledge and discovery, the Carnegie Institution has been a pioneering force at the forefront of scientific research and education for one hundred years in the fields of astronomy, life sciences, and earth sciences.