"Our Universe: From the Big Bang to Life" is the theme of the 2009 Penn State Lectures on the Frontiers of Science, an event in the worldwide celebration proclaimed as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations. The series of six public lectures, designed as a free minicourse for the general public, will take place on consecutive Saturday mornings, beginning on 24 January, from 11:00 a.m. to about 12:30 p.m. in 100 Thomas Building on the Penn State University Park campus. No registration is required.

The events in the 2009 Penn State Lectures on the Frontiers of Science include:

#1) 24 January
"Exploring the Dark Side of the Universe"
Speaker: Tony Tyson, University of California-Davis
Summary: Astronomers have discovered that the expansion of the universe is accelerating, as if there is a repulsive force that permeates all of space. Invisible components, named Dark Matter and Dark Energy, appear to be controlling the large-scale evolution of the universe. Share in the adventure of recent explorations of this dark side of our universe.

#2) 31 January
"Extrasolar Planets and the Search for Habitable Worlds"
Speaker: Sara Seager, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Summary: For thousands of years people have wondered, "Are we alone?" Now, with over 300 planets discovered orbiting nearby stars, astronomers are routinely measuring the sizes, masses, and atmospheres of a growing collection of big, hot exoplanets. Learn about recent discoveries and find out how we might soon find a potentially habitable planet that is more like Earth.

#3) 7 February: Telescope Adventures in the Antarctic Icecap
Speaker: Fancis Halzen, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Summary: Deep inside the Antarctic Icecap, in a grid of 80 2-kilometer-deep holes, scientists are building a new telescope called IceCube. Each hole will hold a string of basketball-sized detectors to record the shimmering blue glow that ghostly neutrino particles create in the clear ice as they flee from the the most violent explosions in the universe. Learn more about the IceCube adventure and the mysteries scientists hope it will solve.

#4) 14 February: Galaxies and Their Supermassive Black Holes
Speaker: Michael Eracleous, Penn State
Summary: How does a galaxy's evolution determine the growth of the supermassive black hole that lurks in its heart? How does the powerful black hole influence the evolution of its host galaxy? Learn how scientists are pairing theoretical models with observations from the most modern telescopes to crack the mystery of galactic evolution throughout the universe.

#5) 21 February: Chaos in Our Solar System
Speaker: Peter Goldreich, Institute for Advanced Study
Summary: Chaos frustrates our ability to predict the future from present conditions in dynamic systems such as the weather and human behavior. With movies, demonstrations, and meteorites, Dr. Goldreich will reveal the frontiers of knowledge about the physics behind the origin of chaos in the climate variations on Mars, the unpredictable orbits of objects in space, and the paths of meteorites from the asteroid belt to Earth.

#6) 28 February: The Search for Life on Other Planets
Speaker: James Kasting, Penn State
Summary: Lots of gas-giant planets have been found around other stars, but astronomers hope soon to find planets that are much more like our Earth. Learn how NASA's proposed twin Terrestrial Planet Finder missions could search for planets directly to learn the compositions of their atmospheres, provide information about their habitability, and possibly detect the presence of life.

The Penn State Lectures on the Frontiers of Science are a program of the Penn State Eberly College of Science. For more information or access assistance, contact the Eberly College of Science Office of Media Relations and Public Information by telephone at (814) 863-0901, by e-mail atscience@psu.edu. More information about the Penn State Lectures on the Frontiers of Science, including archived recordings of each completed lecture, is on the web athttp://www.science.psu.edu/alert/frontiers/ . More information about the 2009 International Year of Astronomy is on the web at http://www.iau.org/public_press/news/release/iau0702/ and athttp://www.astronomy2009.org/

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