[Baps] CORRECTION: Two Malhotra talks this week

[Sarah T. Stewart-Mukhopadhyay]

CfA Institute for Theory and Computation Colloquia
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13
12:30 pm, Pratt Conference Room
"Eccentric Extra-Solar Planets"
Prof. Renu Malhotra
University of Arizona. 
Abstract: Orbital eccentricities in exo-planetary systems discovered thus
far are often surprisingly large and pose a challenge to planet formation
theory. In multiple-planet systems, there is also a tendency for alignment
of the major axes of two planets. The best-constrained case is that of
Upsilon Andromedae: new data indicates a history of strong dynamical
perturbation in this system, and suggests that the phenomenon of
planet-planet scattering may be a natural explanation for eccentric planets.

Astronomy Colloquia
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15
4:00 pm, Phillips Auditorium
"The Origin of Planetary Impactors in the Inner Solar system"
Prof. Renu Malhotra
University of Arizona. 
Abstract: The Moon and all the terrestrial planets were resurfaced during a
period of intense impact cratering that occurred between the time of their
accretion, ~4.5 billion years ago, and ~3.85 billion years ago: the crater
record and radiometric dating of lunar rocks attests to this conclusion.
However, identifying the source(s) of those planetary impactors has proven
elusive; speculations have included comets, asteroids, and fragments of a
shattered 'large planetesimal'. I will describe compelling new evidence that
the source of the impactors was the main asteroid belt, and that the
dynamical mechanism that caused the so-called 'Late Heavy Bombardment' ~3.9
billion years ago was unique in the history of the Solar System and distinct
from the processes producing the flux of objects that currently hit
planetary surfaces. The Late Heavy Bombardment was a rain of asteroids
dynamically ejected from the main asteroid belt due to the effects of
orbital migration of Jupiter and Saturn. 
http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/cfa/calendar/latest.html 
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/tad/events/ 
Directions/map: 
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/mapsdir.html 
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/images/cfa_60Garden.jpg 

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