Sifting Through the Clutter of Low Earth Orbit with astrophysicist Dr. Britt Lundgren.
   Upon reflection, my smugness for not over-contributing to landfills is undercut by the fact I can no longer safely navigate my basement’s accumulated … stuff (before judging, ask whether you really need that calculator in your kitchen drawer). Yes, humans produce a lot of things and, thanks to durable, modern materials, remnants of our enterprises persist across the globe. But what about beyond the globe?

In 1957, the basketball-sized Sputnik 1 became the first manufactured object to achieve orbit. Since then, humans have launched satellites, with gusto, for use in research, communication, navigation, spying, and defense. The recent rise of cheap, reusable rockets has fueled a massive increase – currently, more than 13,000 satellites are circling in low-Earth orbit (a band roughly 200-2,000 km / 120-1,240 miles over head), with plans to increase that number tenfold.

But … what are they doing up there? How are they affecting our night sky? And, are our satellites really under control?

At the May salon, sneak a peek into low Earth orbit’s junk drawer with astrophysicist Dr. Britt Lundgren. An observational astronomer, Dr. Lundgren is the Philip G. Carson Distinguished Professor in the Sciences at the University of North Carolina Asheville and recently served as Chair of the federal Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee. Britt’s research focuses on distant galaxies and how they evolved from humble star nurseries in the early universe into the structured behemoths seen today. She uses ground- and space-based telescopes to observe galaxies directly and the staggering amount of data they supply to infer galactic pasts and predict cosmic futures.

Doors: 5:00 PM. Explore interactive science models, have a drink with old friends, meet new ones, and get ready for some serious science in a seriously un-serious setting.
Presentation: 6:45. Then, stick around for Q&A, discussion, and general mingling.