Free Astronomy Talk: Hunting Hazardous Asteroids

Near-Earth asteroids offer insights into the solar system’s formation and evolution, but they also pose a potential threat to Earth if on a collision course. In this free talk presented by the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Joseph Masiero, Ph.D., will discuss the survey to discover and characterize hazardous asteroids using the NEOWISE (Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) infrared space telescope. He will also present the plans for the next generation mission: NEO Surveyor. The talk will start at 7:30, but astronomy lovers are encouraged to arrive at 7:00 to mingle and network.

Dr. Masiero is a research scientist at the IPAC research organization at the California Institute of Technology and the deputy principal investigator of the NEOWISE mission. His research focuses on the physical and dynamic properties of asteroids using a range of techniques including photometry, polarimetry, and numerical simulations. Masiero received his B.S. in astronomy and astrophysics from Penn State and his Ph.D. in astronomy from the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii.

No tickets or reservations required. Questions? Contact Director of Education Rosina Garcia at rgarcia@sbnature2.org or 805-682-4711 ext. 172.

Composite picture showing the movement of the first near-Earth asteroid discovered by NEOWISE by NASA/JPL-Caltech