Ancient Stardust: A Guide to the Hitchhikers of the Galaxy

Pioneering Science Series

Featured Speaker: Evan Groopman, Ph.D. candidate, Laboratory for Space Sciences, Department of Physics, Washington University in St. Louis

Presolar grains are literally ancient stardust that formed in stellar ejecta before our solar system was born. Many of these grains survived their travels through interstellar space and the formation of the solar system, becoming trapped in early solar system material. By isolating these grains from primitive meteorites that have fallen to Earth and from cometary dust collected by spacecraft, scientists are able to study the grains’ isotopic, chemical, and crystallographic composition and structure; inferring information on their presolar origins and characteristics of their parent stars– the range of temperatures and pressures in the atmosphere, nucleosynthetic processes; galactic cosmic ray fluxes; and geological processes in the early solar system.

You won’t want to miss this cosmic talk on our galaxy’s hitchhikers… it’s astrophysics with a microscope! in this fascinating look at presolar grain research and galactic chemical evolution.

DRAWINGS FOR TWO FREE JUNIOR SCIENCE ACADEMY MEMBERSHIPS at each Pioneering Science Seminar. Junior Academy of Science— Real-world science opportunities and field trips monthly— for students of all abilities in grades 6 – 12.

Location: Kirkwood High School Keating Theater

801 West Essex, Kirkwood, MO 63122

FREE parking in Kirkwood High School lots.

FREE and OPEN to ALL—middle and high school students, teachers, adults and the general public. Registration not required.

Pioneering Science Series co-sponsor: