OK, I’ve been to a number of sessions on topics that I’m familiar with. It’s time to stretch my mind and venture into unfamiliar territory to learn something new. Dr. Gibor Basri from Berkeley gave a presentation on The Search for Earth-Sized Planets Around Other Stars. He described NASA’s Kepler mission, designed to search for earth-like planets by using a telescope to monitor stars and look for “the telltale dip in their light cause when a planet crosses in front of them.” Astronomy is something I never had any formal coursework in, and judging from the sophisticated level of questions from those in the audience, I was definitely the new (and semi-clueless) kid on the block!
But Dr. Basri is a wonderful example of how someone who is passionate about his topic and who has excellent presentation skills can motivate someone who is a novice learner in a topic (in this case, me) to get excited enough to want to learn more! I’ve bookmarked the Kepler Mission website and put Kepler’s tentative launch date (next February) on my calendar.