Universe 2014: Beyond Earth - Planets, Life, and Intelligence in the Cosmos

To celebrate its 125th anniversary year of service to the public understanding of the cosmos, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific invites you to an afternoon learning and thinking about some of the most exciting questions in our exploration of the universe.  What kind of planets orbit other stars?   Is there an Earth 2.0 out there?  Could life exist in strange environments, quite different from our planet's?  And could there be intelligent life beyond Earth?  If so, how could we find them -- or even have a conversation with them?  Only in the last few decades have such questions moved from the realm of science fiction to the realm of scientific experiment.   Come hear from some of the most articulate scientists in the Bay Area where we stand with our quest to explore planets and life beyond our own world.

• Geoff Marcy (U. C. Berkeley), the world's foremost planet hunter: Finding Habitable Worlds Around Other Stars
• Chris McKay (Planetary Scientist and Astrobiologist, NASA Ames Research Ctr.): The Search for Life on Mars and the Moons of the Outer Planets
• Jill Tarter (Bernard Oliver Chair, SETI Institute): SETI: Finding Aliens and Finding Ourselves
• A Panel with all Three Speakers: Planets and Life: What Are our Next Steps? (Andrew Fraknoi, Foothill College, moderator)

We encourage you to bring students 13 or over, but ask that you leave younger children home.  Seating is first come, first served, so we suggest you be there a little early, just in case. Paid parking is available at the hotel & at several nearby lots.