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HKU Science Public Lecture on the Historic Encounter of Pluto
Flyby of New Horizons Spacecraft over Pluto gives the first-ever detailed account of the dwarf planet

06 Jul 2015

 

The New Horizons spacecraft will fly by Pluto, making its closest approach on July 14, 2015 at 8 pm (HK time). It will give us the first-ever detailed look of this dwarf planet, which has fascinated scientists and the general public ever since its discovery in 1930. To unveil the mysterious Pluto, the Faculty of Science of the University of Hong Kong will organize a public lecture on this historic encounter on the same day.

Following a nine-year journey, New Horizons will pass approximately 12,500 kilometers above Pluto’s surface. The spacecraft will zip through the Pluto system at about 50,000 km/h with the most powerful suite of science instruments ever sent to the outer solar system.

What do we know about Pluto? Why is it classified as a dwarf planet? Why does it come closer to the Sun than Neptune periodically? How did it end up with a moon, Charon, almost half its size, as well as four smaller moons in an unusual configuration? How has Pluto and its siblings in the Kuiper Belt revolutionized our understanding of the evolution of our Solar System? This talk will give you some clues, in anticipation of the results that will be streaming in from New Horizons.

Members of the Press are cordially invited to this public lecture. Below please find the details.

Date: July 14, 2015 (Tuesday)
Time: 5:30 pm- 6:45 pm (light refreshments from 5 pm)
Venue: Rayson Huang Theatre, Main Campus, the University of Hong Kong
Speaker: Dr Lee Man Hoi, Associate Professor of Departments of Earth Sciences and Physics, HKU

Dr Lee Man Hoi is a planetary scientist who works on the formation, motion, and dynamical evolution of planetary bodies (planets, moons, etc.) in our Solar System and in planetary systems around other stars. He has written research articles on the evolution of Pluto-Charon and on the orbits and origin of the small moons of Pluto.

For more information of the talk, please visit: http://www.scifac.hku.hk/events/comm/2015/pluto

For the updates of New Horizons, please visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhorizons/main/index.html

For press enquiry, please contact Ms Cindy Chan, Senior Communication Manager of Faculty of Science (Tel: 3917-5286/ 6703-0212/ email: cindycst@hku.hk)