Colloquium: Linda Spilker (JPL)

Abstract: Forty-seven years after launch, two Voyager spacecraft are exploring interstellar space, directly sampling the material and radiation between the stars and providing unique in situ measurements at distances of 140 AU (V2) and 165 AU (V1) from the sun.  Both spacecraft are flying through a very dynamic region, with solar shock waves, electron oscillations, and transient galactic cosmic ray intensities (high-energy radiation).  The Voyagers continue to provide surprises, compelling us to revise our understanding of the interaction of interstellar space with the heliopause, the boundary between the Sun’s influence and interstellar space.

Cassini followed in Voyager’s Saturn footsteps, orbiting Saturn for 13 years and sending back data that revolutionized our understanding of Saturn, its rings and moons.  Cassini’s findings have fundamentally altered many of our ideas of where life might be found in our solar system and beyond.  Voyager Project Scientist (and past Cassini Project Scientist) Linda Spilker will highlight some of Voyager and Cassini’s major discoveries.