Note: We had planned on having an Nasa astronaut speak with us this month, but they have not gotten back with us in time for out March meeting. We hope to get this speaker at a later date.
Abstract: Over the last few years, Pluto has turned out to be one of the most interesting places in our Solar System. Far from being just a remote rock/ice lump at the edge of the Solar System, it turns out that Pluto is a cooler cousin of Earth/Mars. The New Horizons mission transformed our understanding of Pluto and the data that was obtained is still leading to new questions and answers today. This talk will cover some of the latest research and theories on Pluto.
Speaker: Ian Hewitt is a long-time RAC member and long time amateur astronomer. He is a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, teaches astronomy at Coastal Carolina University and is an Research Adjunct at the Astronomy and Astrophysics Lab at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. Although his main efforts are in astronomical data processing, he has always been fascinated by Pluto.