NASA Scientist to Discuss 'Big Telescopes, Big Discoveries' at Library of Congress

GREENBELT, Md., Sept. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The public is invited to a free lecture called "Big Telescopes and Big Discoveries in Our Solar System" with Dr. Stefanie Milam, a NASA interdisciplinary astrobiologist. The talk will occur in the Pickford Theater, third floor, Madison Building, 101 Independence Avenue SE, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Sept. 21 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EDT.

Dr. Milam will discuss how big telescopes, including the James Webb Space Telescope and other new space telescopes underway, will peer into the far reaches of our solar system and into distant corners of the universe. This new generation of big telescopes will reveal new worlds, moons, interstellar interlopers, and more, and spark new insights into our solar system's formation, history, evolution, and composition.

Dr. Milam is the James Webb Space Telescope's deputy project scientist for planetary science and works in the Astrochemistry Laboratory at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Dr. Milam conducts high-resolution spectroscopic studies of evolved stars, star-forming regions, and the galactic interstellar medium, and she has a laboratory that simulates ices and interprets data from missions observing ice features. Dr. Milam also maintains a program in which radio telescopes and space-based observatories collaborate to observe and characterize comets.

The Library of Congress maintains one of the largest and most diverse collections of scientific and technical information in the world. The Library of Congress is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution and the largest library in the world and holds nearly 151.8 million items in various languages, disciplines, and formats. The Library serves both Congress and the nation online and on-site in its reading rooms on Capitol Hill.

This program is presented through a partnership between NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and the Library's Science, Technology, and Business Division. It will be recorded but will not be streamed live. For those unable to attend this program in person, the recording will be posted on the Library of Congress Event Videos collection page and on the Library's YouTube channel "Topics in Science" playlist in the coming months. 

For inquiries about this program, contact Sean Bryant in the Science, Technology and Business Division at [email protected] or the division office at 202-707-1212. Individuals requiring accommodations for this event are requested to submit a request at least five business days in advance by contacting 202-707-6362 or [email protected].

For more information, visit: https://blogs.loc.gov/inside_adams/2022/09/big-telescopes/

For directions, visit: http://www.loc.gov/visit/maps-and-floor-plans/ or www.loc.gov

For information about Dr. Milam, visit: https://webb.nasa.gov/content/meetTheTeam/people/milam.html

Video: A Virtual Talk:  Dr. Stefanie Milam, Webb Deputy Project Scientist for Planetary Science talks Webb and planetary science in 2019.
https://youtu.be/8bI1jYp1IQU  

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SOURCE NASA