The Boise State Department of Physics will host its monthly First Friday Astronomy event at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 2 in the Science and Education Building, room 112. This event is free and open to the public.
This month’s event will feature Matthew Pasek, professor in the Department of Geosciences at Southern Florida University, presenting “An Expectation of Aliens.”
From Star Wars to Star Trek, our expectations of how aliens look often leads to humanoid aliens as colleagues and collaborators, or reptilian/insectoid aliens as threats, leading Pasek to wonder, “how likely are humanoid styles of life outside the earth?”
Pasek will discuss what to expect of alien life—its chemistry, its environment, its advancement—and why those things might be expected. As he writes, “life on earth is both greatly varied and surprisingly similar in many aspects. How much are these aspects governed by the laws of science?”
For those who can not attend in person, the Boise State Department of Physics live-streams these lectures on their YouTube channel and viewers can join the discussion via live chat.
Attendees can stargaze in Boise State’s observatory following the lecture. An indoor planetarium may be set up in case weather interferes with the use of the observatory.
Donations help fund the First Friday Astronomy events and donations are accepted online.