Lecture
Vesta in the Light of Dawn
National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC
Join Carol Raymond on a tour of this ancient world and learn what it can tell us about the early days of the solar system.
Past Events
Exploring Space Lectures
Hear about recent innovative missions and take a look back at the history of space exploration with distinguished lecturers and experts on the forefront of space science and history. The Exploring Space Lecture series runs annually, from March to June. The 2025 series will explore planetary oceans:
Life as we know it requires access to water, usually liquid water, and Earth is not the only place in our solar system where we can find this resource. In this year’s Exploring Space Lecture Series, we will explore the distribution of liquid oceans in our solar system, past and present; consider the origins of Earth’s oceans and learn about what happened to Mars’ oceans; question whether Earth’s twin, Venus, could have ever been cool enough to support oceans; and examine why the outer solar system is dominated by moons with salty, underground oceans.
This lecture series is made possible by the generous support of Aerojet Rocketdyne, An L3Harris Technologies Company and United Launch Alliance.
Lecture
How to Find an Inhabited Exoplanet
National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC
David Charbonneau, professor of astronomy at Harvard University, will discuss how, using upcoming large telescopes, astronomers will search the atmospheres of Earth-like planets for the telltale chemical fingerprints of life.
Lecture
The Hubble Space Telescope: Opening Cosmic Doors for JWST
National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC
In this lecture, Jennifer Wiseman, Hubble Space Telescope senior project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, will highlight Hubble’s newest incredible observations of stars, distant galaxies, and even planets outside our solar system. Tickets are free but required.
Lecture
Seeing the Unseeable: Capturing an Image of a Black Hole
Presented Online
Sheperd Doeleman, founding director of the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration, talks about how his team accomplished the historic achievement of imaging a black hole.
Lecture
Living with a Star
National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC
Dr. Barbara Thompson will further explore the Sun-Earth connection and how it is being studied by the armada of ground-based and space-based observatories that are making more than a global effort, cooperating in the International Heliophysical Year (IHY).
Lecture
Impact Cratering and the Solar System Cataclysm
National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC
Discover how impacts shaped the Solar System we see today as Robert Strom guides us through the history of these dramatic events.
Lecture
50 Years of Solar System Exploration: New Worlds, New Discoveries
National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC
Through the decades of planetary exploration, a wide variety of spacecraft (orbiters, landers, rovers, and more) have revealed an amazing diversity of worlds, each with its own story to tell. Learn about these remarkable journeys as James L. Green guides us through the 50-year voyage of discovery.
Lecture
The Historical Quest to See to the End of the Universe Or Its Beginning
National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC
In this lecture, Robert Smith, professor of history at the University of Alberta, will examine how astronomers in the past set out to address fundamental questions about the universe. Tickets are free but required.
Lecture
POSTPONED When Did the Universe Begin?
National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC
A century ago there was a "Great Debate" among astronomers if galaxies exist. Today, a new debate has arisen: How old is the Universe? Join Wendy Freedman, John and Marion Sullivan University Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago, as she explores the options in this newest and most fascinating question.