“Meteorites and the Origin of the Solar System,” a lecture presented by Dr. Henning Haack, Associate Researcher, Maine Mineral and Gem Museum in Bethel.
In April 2016, a very bright fireball was observed over Maine most likely resulting in a meteorite fall north of Bethel. Unfortunately, the meteorite was never found, despite considerable effort to locate it. Meteorites contain material from the birth of our Solar System and are used to understand how and when it formed. These meteorites aid us in finding out which types of stars delivered material to our Solar System. The latest generation of astronomical telescopes can observe new Solar System forming today and based on the information from the meteorites we hope to find new Solar Systems that resemble our own. Meteorites bring us closer to understanding the origin of life on our own planet and answering two of the most important questions of all times: Why are we here? Are we alone? There will be an opportunity to see a selection of spectacular meteorites — the rocks that document the birth and early evolution of our Solar System.
Henning Haack received his Ph.D. in Geophysics from the University of Copenhagen and did postdoctoral work at the Planetary Geosciences division at the University of Hawaii and at the Institute of Physics in Odense. He has served as an Associate Research Professor at the Danish Center for Remote Sensing and curator for the Geological Museum at the University of Copenhagen. Haack has searched for meteorites in numerous locations including the Antarctica, Cape York, and the blue ice fields in Greenland. He has received a number of honors including the University of Copenhagen’s Gold Medal, The United States Congress Antarctic Service Medal, and has an asteroid named in his honor (Asteroid 7005 — Henninghaack). He currently is an Associate Researcher at the Maine Mineral and Gem Museum in Bethel and teaches at ScienceTalents in Denmark.
The Science Lecture Series at Emera Astronomy Center will take place the first Thursday of each month and is a partnership project with the Maine Science Festival. It will feature research from a variety of science disciplines from around our state and use the digital planetarium to visualize these discoveries in a new dramatic and immersive way.
Tickets for planetarium programs are $6 for Adults, $5 for UMaine Students/Veterans/Senior Citizens, and $4 for children under 12. Click here to view our calendar.
Tickets may be purchased online, by phone at 207.581.1341, or at the Emera Astronomy Center and the Maine Science Festival ticket box offices prior to the show.