Frontiers of Astronomy: Peter James

Date: Thu. October 3rd, 2019, 8:00 pm-9:00 pm
Location: Cleveland Museum of Natural History

What’s inside the Moon?

Peter James (Baylor University)

Abstract:  The Moon’s deep interior hides many clues about its formation and evolution. Unfortunately, it is easier to observe a star many light-years away than it is to peer through hundreds of miles of solid rock. We can nevertheless use geophysical techniques like seismic wave propagation, electromagnetic induction, and tidal deformation to learn about the interiors of planetary bodies. This talk will focus on recent exciting developments in the use of gravity anomalies; that is, geographic variations in the strength of the Moon’s gravitational pull, to study the Moon’s interior.

Bio:  Dr. Peter James is an assistant professor of geophysics at Baylor University in Waco, TX. He earned his Ph.D. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and he previously worked at the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory in New York as well as the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston. Dr. James has served on the science teams of three NASA missions: the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), the Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL), and the Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) mission.