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Earth, Our Habitable Home A Grand Tour of the Solar System

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Earth, Our Habitable Home
A Grand Tour of the Solar System

Presented in partnership with George Mason University Observatory

Evening Lecture/Seminar

Tuesday, June 27, 2023 - 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. ET
Code: 1J0285
Location:
This online program is presented on Zoom.
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Please Note: This program has an updated time (originally 6:45-8:45 p.m. ET).

Being not too close and not too far from the sun helps make Earth habitable, but the composition of our atmosphere is a key ingredient. That’s because the combination and proportions of gases, specifically greenhouse gases, maintain a climate in which water—essential for life—can exist in its liquid form.

Earth’s climate has changed significantly over its 4.5-billion–year history. Natalie Burls, director of the Climate Dynamics Program at George Mason University, discusses the crucial role Earth’s atmosphere plays in determining its climate, how Earth’s climate has varied in the past, and how we are currently changing the composition of Earth's atmosphere and thus its climate.

Series Information

The Grand Tour of the Solar System series treks to the Sun and the four inner terrestrial planets before traveling outward to the asteroid belt, four Jovian planets, and beyond. At each session, a professional astronomer explores a solar system body, presenting the latest research.

Following the talk and a question-and-answer period, Peter Plavchan, a professor of physics and astronomy at George Mason University, brings that night’s sky right into participants’ living rooms via remote control of the university observatory, weather permitting.

Learn about the Series

Additional Grand Tour of Solar System Programs

General Information

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